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fasteddie · 02-21-2006, 10:34 PM

Why the Dutch are called the Dutch...
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Subject: Why are people from Holland called Dutch?

Question
Really simple question and which is (I know) shouldn't bother me. Why are people from Holland called Dutch?

I know it's used as a corny joke but I wonder if anyone ever stops to wonder what the answer really is?

nswer
Hello Simon,

Well, people from Holland are called Dutch by English speaking people only. In German and French and even in Russian they are called

- German: Holländer, Niederländer
- French: les Hollandais
- Russisn: gollantskij

As you can see all these words are derived from the Dutch word Holland.
Strictly spoken even Holland is wrong. Holland was the name of the county Holland until 1795. But as the economic and cultural centre of The Netherlands was situated in the old county of Holland, this last name stood for the whole of The Netherlands. Moreover the name "The Netherlands" also applies for Belgium historically. Originally there were 17 counties united as the Low Countries, in French Les Pays Bas. History divided them into two groups which became Belgium and Netherlands.
Now about Dutch. This word is the English counterpart of the Dutch words "Diets" and "Duits". In Dutch "Duits" means "German", where the Germans call themselves "Deutsche". Around 1290 in the northern and eastern part of the Netherlands the word was: "duutsc" and as the Frisian people (living in the North) spoke a language much more alike English, the English adapted "dutch" from Frisian "duutsc". Later "duutsc" became the Dutch word for our eastern neighbors: Duits (German).
I know that one can find a lot of expressions in an English dictionary related to habits which are supposed to be typically Dutch. But here as in so many cases the pot calls the kettle black.

Have a nice day,

Carel Janssen

http://experts.about.com/q/Dutch-235...lled-Dutch.htm

02-21-2006, 10:34 PM	#12
fasteddie *YT 6000 Club Member* Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 6,238	Why the Dutch are called the Dutch... --- Subject: Why are people from Holland called Dutch? Question Really simple question and which is (I know) shouldn't bother me. Why are people from Holland called Dutch? I know it's used as a corny joke but I wonder if anyone ever stops to wonder what the answer really is? nswer Hello Simon, Well, people from Holland are called Dutch by English speaking people only. In German and French and even in Russian they are called - German: Holländer, Niederländer - French: les Hollandais - Russisn: gollantskij As you can see all these words are derived from the Dutch word Holland. Strictly spoken even Holland is wrong. Holland was the name of the county Holland until 1795. But as the economic and cultural centre of The Netherlands was situated in the old county of Holland, this last name stood for the whole of The Netherlands. Moreover the name "The Netherlands" also applies for Belgium historically. Originally there were 17 counties united as the Low Countries, in French Les Pays Bas. History divided them into two groups which became Belgium and Netherlands. Now about Dutch. This word is the English counterpart of the Dutch words "Diets" and "Duits". In Dutch "Duits" means "German", where the Germans call themselves "Deutsche". Around 1290 in the northern and eastern part of the Netherlands the word was: "duutsc" and as the Frisian people (living in the North) spoke a language much more alike English, the English adapted "dutch" from Frisian "duutsc". Later "duutsc" became the Dutch word for our eastern neighbors: Duits (German). I know that one can find a lot of expressions in an English dictionary related to habits which are supposed to be typically Dutch. But here as in so many cases the pot calls the kettle black. Have a nice day, Carel Janssen http://experts.about.com/q/Dutch-235...lled-Dutch.htm __________________ YODA & WINKY R ::: RIP Winky ::: RIP Yoda!