Why are people from the Netherlands called 'Dutch'?

Question

This question came up over the New Year holiday, and no-one knew the answer. Why is the nomenclature 'dutch' applied to the people of the Netherlands? Can anyone tell me please? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Etymology of the word "Dutch"
The word Dutch comes from the proto-Germanic word *þeudisko-z, and became Duutsc in Middle Dutch, which later gave the two early modern Dutch forms, Duits in the north and Diets in the south.[2] Duits has taken on the meaning of "German" and Diets meaning "Dutch" (along with "Nederlands") but no longer in general use (see the Diets article), dropped for its Nazi-era overtones. German Deutsch meaning "German" has the same origin.[3][4]

The English word Dutch has also changed with time. It was only around 1550, with growing cultural and economical contacts and the rise of an independent country, that the modern meaning arose, i.e., 'designating the people of the Netherlands or their language'. Prior to this, the meaning was more general and could refer to any Germanic-speaking area or the languages there (including the current Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as well as the Netherlands).

Answer 2

The word Dutch formerly meant the same as German in English usage, since in the early Middle Ages there was no real distinction between the Dutch and the Germans. This should be borne in mind when reading very old literature, and also accounts for the name Pennsylvania Dutch, whose ancestral origins lie in Southern Germany and not the Netherlands. The term 'Low Countries' is sometimes used to refer to the Netherlands, but historically it refers (as does the word Netherlands) to a bigger region in western Europe, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and a part of France. It is simply the English usage for the old Dutch name Nederlanden (now Nederland). In the early middle ages it was considered part of the German geographical area (this is why the German Deutsch was used by the English to describe the Netherlands, becoming the English word Dutch), known as Low Germany because of its low topography, and this simply became Low Countries as the identity of the Netherlands as a separate national entity developed.

When the Dutch say "Duits" they mean German!

Answer 3

don't sense ignorant! Frankly, it truly is a large number that gets many non-Dutch at a loss for words. at the start, Germany and the Netherlands are 2 separate international locations mendacity next to a minimum of one yet another. Holland is a western province of the Netherlands. even nonetheless, it wasn't continuously like that. in the seventeenth century whilst the 1st Dutch got down to the Americas, the Netherlands as such did not exist, it replaced right into a Republic of 7 self reliant provinces (Holland being certainly one of them and the main efficient). Up till the sixteenth century those provinces have been part of the German Empire. not extraordinarily, the individuals of the Republic used a dialect that replaced into derived from a Germanic language prevalent as Low Saxon or Low German. Many German dialects are derived from it besides. The audio equipment of this language (and all the dialectical editions of it) noted it as Thuidisk or Duidisk, meaning language of the individuals. Duidisk replaced into reported Diets in the Holland section and Deutsch in what's now Germany. whilst human beings from the Netherlands and Germany emigrated to united statesa., they the two noted their language as something that sounded to the English as Dutch. for this reason in the seventeenth century the two human beings from Germany and the Netherlands have been noted as Dutch. in all probability to the English Dutch and Germans have been all the comparable, inspite of each and every thing the Dutch Republic replaced into nevertheless very youthful and it truly is German roots have been glaring. it truly is merely later that a particular large difference between Germans and Dutch replaced into made. those days do not dare to call a Dutch individual German, for the Dutch have progressed an exceptionally particular way of existence of their very own and don't in any respect sense on the subject remember of Germany anymore ;o)

Answer 4

In the early middle ages the Netherlands was considered part of Germany, and was known as Low Germany because of its low topography. Later, the Netherlands became an independent nation and the Netherlands came to be known simply as Low Countries. Due to the affiliation of the Netherlands with Germany, the English used the word German Deutsch to describe it, which went on to become the English word Dutch.

Answer 5

"..the word Dutch formerly meant 'from the people' (Diets), the same as German (Deutsch) in English usage, since in the early Middle Ages there was no real distinction between the Dutch and the Germans. This should be borne in mind when reading very old literature, and also accounts for the name Pennsylvania Dutch, whose ancestral origins lie in Southern Germany and not the Netherlands."

Answer 6

In the Low German languages the word for themselves and their language is deutsch (often pronounced in English as "dutch"). Their country is called niederland, or "low land". So the country is called the Netherlands (low lands), but they are called Dutch (deutsch).

Answer 7

I think it is to do with the word Deutsch - which applies to the people of Germany - at one time both Germany and Holland were part of Prussia

Answer 8

Because they speak Dutch

Answer 9

i have always wondered about this myself is it because they have courage? (dutch courage) lol or that they just drink a lot???