This is an incomplete list of Dutch expressions used in English; some are relatively common (e.g. cookie), some are comparatively rare. In a survey by Joseph M. Williams in Origins of the English Language it is estimated that about 1% of English words are of Dutch origin.
In many cases the loanword has assumed a meaning substantially different from its Dutch forebear. Some English words have been borrowed directly from Dutch. But typically, English spellings of Dutch loanwords suppress combinations of vowels in the original word which do not exist in English, and replace them with existing vowel combinations. For example, the oe in koekje or koekie becomes oo in cookie, the ij (considered a vowel in Dutch) and the ui in vrijbuiter become ee and oo in freebooter, the aa in baas becomes o in boss, the oo in rooster becomes o in roster.
As languages, English and Dutch are both West Germanic, and descend further back from the common ancestor language Proto-Germanic. Their relationship however, has been obscured by the lexical influence of Old Norse brought in after the Viking expansion from the 9th to the 11th century, and Norman French, as a consequence of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Because of their close common relationship – in addition to the large Latin and French vocabulary both languages possess – many English words are very similar to their Dutch lexical counterparts: either identical in spelling (plant, begin, fruit), similar in pronunciation (pool = pole, boek = book, diep = deep), or both (offer, hard, lip); or may be false friends (ramp = disaster, roof = robbery, mop = joke). These cognates, or words related in other ways related words, are excluded from this list.
Dutch expressions have been incorporated into English usage for many reasons and in different periods in time. These are some of the most common ones:
From Old Dutch Many Latinate words in the English lexicon were borrowed from Latin. Quite a few of these words can further trace their origins back to a Germanic source - usually Old Low Franconian. Old Dutch is the western variant of this language. In cases it is not clear whether the loanword is from Old Dutch (Old West Low Franconian) or another Germanic language, they have been excluded from the list. See also: List of English Latinates of Germanic origin Since speakers of West Germanic languages spoken along the North Sea coast from the 5th to the 9th century lived close enough together to form a linguistic crossroads - water was the main way of transportation - Dutch and English share some traits that other West Germanic languages do not possess. Lexical examples are Dutch vijf / English five (compare German: Fünf) and Dutch leef / English live (compare German Leben). These words have been excluded from the list. See also: Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, many Latinate words entered the English lexicon via French, which has – via Old French – a substantial base of Old Dutch (or Old Low Franconian) and Middle Dutch. For instance, French boulevard comes from Dutch bolwerk. In cases it is not clear whether the loanword in French is from Dutch or another Germanic language, they have been excluded from the list. See also: Influence of Franconian language on French For some loanwords stemming from this period it is not always clear whether they are of Old Dutch, Old Norse, another Germanic language or an unknown Old English origin. These words have been excluded from the list, or indicated as such.
From Middle Dutch About one-third of the invading Norman army of 1066 came from Dutch speaking Flemish. Many Flemings stayed in England after the Conquest and influenced the English language. The main part of refugees to England, Wales and Scotland from the 11th till the 17th century were from the Low Countries; particularly Flemish skilled weavers and textile workers immigrated as a result of floods, overpopulation and warfare in Flanders. In 1527, when England's population numbered 5 million, London alone had tens of thousands of Flemings, while an estimated third of the Scottish population has a Flemish background. The Hanseatic League had in the late Middle Ages a trade network along the coast of Northern Europe and England, using to Dutch related Middle Low German as lingua franca. Some loanwords from this period could come from either language. These words have been excluded from the list, or indicated as such.
From Modern Dutch In the Dutch Golden Age, spanning most of the 17th century, Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world, and many English words of Dutch origin concerning these areas are stemming from this period. English and Dutch rivalry at sea resulted in many Dutch naval terms in English. Via settlements in North America and elsewhere in the world Dutch language influenced English spoken there, particularly American English. That resulted also in numerous place names based on Dutch words and places. These are excluded from the list unless they are well known, like Brooklyn (from the Dutch town Breukelen) and Wall Street (from Dutch Walstraat). See also: List of place names of Dutch origin Due to contact between Afrikaans and English speakers in South Africa, many Dutch words entered English via Afrikaans, which has an estimated 90 to 95% vocabulary of Dutch origin. Only the words that entered standard English are listed here: Afrikaans words that do not stem from Cape Dutch but from an African, Indian or other European language, are not. See also: List of English words of Afrikaans origin and List of South African slang words
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A Aardvark from South African Dutch aardvark (earth + pig) Aboard from Dutch Aan boord Afrikaans from Dutch Afrikaans (Africanish) Aloof from Old French lof, based on Middle Dutch lof (windward direction), now oploeven + Middle English a Apartheid from Afrikaans apartheid, from Dutch apart + suffix -heid (separate + -hood) Avast from 17th century Dutch hou'vast (hold fast, hold steady)
B Bamboo from 16th century Dutch bamboe, based on Malay bambu Batik from Dutch batik, based on Javanese amba + titik (to write + dot, point) Bazooka from US slang bazoo (mouth), based on Dutch bazuin (trompet) Beaker from either Old Norse bikarr or Middle Dutch beker (mug, cup) Beleaguer from 16th century Dutch belegeren (besiege) Berm from French berme, based on Old Dutch b(a)erm Bicker from Middle Dutch bicken (to slash, attack) + Middle English frequentative suffix -er Blasé via French blasé, past participle of blaser (="to satiate"), perhaps from Dutch blazen (="to blow"), with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking" Blaze (to make public, often in a bad sense, boastfully) from Middle Dutch blasen (="to blow, on a trumpet) Blink perhaps from Middle Dutch blinken (="to glitter") Blister via Old French blestre, perhaps from a Scandinavian source or from Middle Dutch blyster (="swelling") Block (solid piece) via Old French bloc (="log, block"), from Middle Dutch blok (="trunk of a tree") Bluff (poker term) from Dutch bluffen (="to brag, boast") or verbluffen (="to baffle, mislead") Bluff (landscape feature) from Dutch blaf (="flat, broad"), apparently a North Sea nautical term for ships with flat vertical bows, later extended to landscape features Blunderbuss from Dutch donderbus, from donder (="thunder") + bus (="gun," originally "box, tube"), altered by resemblance to blunder Boer (Dutch colonist in South Africa) from Dutch boer (="farmer"), from Middle Dutch Bogart after Humphrey Bogart. Boomgaard means "orchard" ("tree-garden"). Bokkoms from Dutch bokking (="buckling"), a type of salter fish Boodle from Dutch boedel (="property") Boom from boom (="tree"); cognate to English beam Boomslang from boomslang (="tree snake"), a type of snake Booze from Middle Dutch busen (="to drink in excess"); according to JW de Vries busen is equivalent to buizenHet verhaal van een taal, negen eeuwen nederlands, http://www.pbo.nl Boss from baas Boulevard from "bolwerk", which came as boulevard into French, then into English. "Bolwerk" was also directly borrowed as 'bulwark' Bow (front of a ship) from Old Norse bogr, Low German boog or Dutch boeg Brackish from Middle Dutch or Low German brac (="salty", also "worthless"), now brak Brandy (wine) from brandewijn (literally "burnt wine") Brooklyn after the town of Breukelen near Utrecht Bruin/Bruins archaic English word for brown bear, derived from the Dutch word for brown bruin Buckwheatfrom Middle Dutch boecweite (="beech wheat") because of its resemblance to grains and seed of beech wheat Bully from boel (="lover", "brother") Bulwark from bolwerk Bumpkin from bommekijn ('little barrel') Bundle from Middle Dutch bondel or perhaps a merger of this word and Old English byndele ('binding') Bung from Middle Dutch bonge (="stopper") Buoy from boei (="shackle" or "buoy") Bush (uncleared district of a British colony) probably from Dutch bosch, now bos or bosje in the same sense, since it seems to appear first in former Dutch colonies
C Caboose from kambuis or kombuis (="ship's kitchen", "galley") Cam from 18th century Dutch cam (cog of a wheel", originally comb, cognate of English comb), nowadays kam, or from English camber (having a slight arch) Cockatoo from kaketoe Cashier from Middle Dutch cassier Coleslaw from 18th century Dutch koolsla (cabbage salad) Commodore probably from Dutch kommandeur, from French commandeur, from Old French comandeor Cookie from koekje, or in informal Dutch koekie (="biscuit", "cookie") Coney Island (English dialect word for Rabbit) from Conyne Eylandt (literally "Rabbit Island"), in modern Dutch konijn and eiland. Cramp (metal bar bent at both ends) from Middle Dutch crampe or Middle Low German krampe. Cricket from Old French criquet 'goal post', 'stick', perhaps from Middle Dutch cricke 'stick, staff' Crimp from Old English gecrympan, perhaps reintroduced from Low German or Dutch krimpen (to shrink) Croon via Scottish, from Middle Dutch kronen (= to lament, mourn) Cruise from Dutch kruisen (="to cross, sail to and fro"), from kruis (="cross") Cruller from 19th century Dutch krullen (to curl)
D Dam from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German dam, or from Old Norse dammr Dapper from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German dapper (bold, sturdy) in modern Dutch “brave” Deck from 16th century Middle Dutch dec or dekken (to cover) Decoy possibly from 16th century Dutch de (the) + kooi (cage, used of a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture). Or from 16th century Dutch "eendekooi" (duck cage; a cage with an artificial duck to lure wild ducks); mistranslated as "een" dekooi; should have been read as "eend (duck)" -e- "kooi (cage)"-> a (article) dekooi -> (a) decoy Dingus from Dutch dinges, literally "thing". Dock from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German docke, nowadays dok Dollar from Dutch (Rijks)daalder Domineer from late 16th century Dutch dominieren (to rule), based on Middle French dominer Dope from American English dope, based on Dutch doop (sauce) or dopen (to dip or to baptise) Dredge from Scottish dreg-boat (boat for dredging), perhaps based on Middle Dutch dregghe (drag-net), nowadays dreggen Drill (verb) from 17th century Dutch drillen Drug from Old French drogue, based on Middle Dutch droge-vate (dry barrels, with first element mistaken as word for the contents) Drum probably from Middle Dutch tromme, now trom Dune from French dune, based on Middle Dutch dune, now duin
E Easel from ezel (=originally (and still) "donkey"; "(schilders)ezel"=easel, lit. "painter's donkey") Elope from ontlopen (run away) Etch from Dutch ets or etsen Excise (noun) (="tax on goods") from Middle Dutch excijs, apparently altered from accijns (="tax"); English got the word, and the idea for the tax, from the Netherlands.
F