A
Aardvark , from Afrikaans Dutch, literally "earth-pig" (the animal burrows), from aard (="earth") + varken (="pig")[1]
Afrikaans, from Afrikaans (via Afrikaans) (="African" adj.)
Ahoy, from hoi (="hello")
Aloof, from a- + Middle English loof (="weather gage," also "windward direction"), probably from Dutch loef (="the weather side of a ship"); originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart" [2]
Anchor, "liquid measure," that of Rotterdam, once used in England, from Dutch [3]
Apartheid, from Afrikaans apartheid (literally "separateness"), from Dutch apart (="separate") + suffix -heid (cognate of English -hood) [4]
Avast , a nautical interjection (="hold! stop!"), probably worn down from Dutch houd vast (="hold fast")[5]
B
Bamboo, from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, earlier mambu (16th century), probably from Malay samambu, though some suspect this is itself an imported word [6]
Bantam
after Bantam, former Dutch residency in Java, from which the small domestic fowl were said to have been first imported [7]
Batik
from Dutch, from Malay mbatik (="writing, drawing") [8]
Bazooka
"metal tube rocket launcher," from name of a junkyard musical instrument used as a prop by U.S. comedian Bob Burns, extension of bazoo (slang for "mouth" or "boastful talk"), probably from Dutch bazuin (="trumpet") [9]
Beaker
from beker [10] (="mug, cup")
Beleaguer
from belegeren (="besiege, attack with an army") [11]
Berm
from French berme, from Old Dutch baerm (in Dutch, the English meaning is now archaic, berm being used as "usually grassy ground alongside a road") [12]
Bicker
"a skirmish, fight," bikern, probably from Middle Dutch bicken (="to slash, stab, attack") + -er, Middle English frequentative suffix [13]
Blare
blèren (="to wail"), possibly from an unrecorded Old English *blæren, or from Middle Dutch bleren (="to bleat, cry, bawl, shout") [14]
Blasé
from French blasé, past participle of blaser (="to satiate"), origin unknown; perhaps from Dutch blazen (="to blow"), with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking" [15]
Blaze (to make public, often in a bad sense, boastfully)
from Middle Dutch blasen (="to blow, on a trumpet) [16]
Blink
from Middle Dutch blinken (="to glitter") [17]
Blister
from Old French blestre, perhaps from a Scandinavian source or from Middle Dutch blyster (="swelling") [18]
Block (solid piece)
from Old French bloc (="log, block"), via Middle Dutch bloc (="trunk of a tree") or Old High German bloh [19]
Blow (hard hit)
blowe, from northern and East Midlands dialects, perhaps from Middle Dutch blouwen (="to beat") [20]
Bluff (poker term)
perhaps from Dutch bluffen (="to brag, boast") or verbluffen (="to baffle, mislead") [21]
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 [22]
Blunderbuss
from Dutch donderbus, from donder (="thunder") + bus (="gun," originally "box, tube"), altered by resemblance to blunder [23]
Boer (="Dutch colonist in South Africa") from Dutch boer (="farmer"), from Middle Dutch [24]
Bogart after Humphrey Bogart[25]. Bogart means "(keeper of an) orchard"[26].
Boodle perhaps from Dutch boedel (="property") [27]
Boom from boom (="tree"); cognate to English beam, German baum[28]
Boomslang via Afrikaans from boomslang (="tree snake")
Booze from Middle Dutch busen (="to drink in excess"); [29] according to JW de Vries busen is equivalent to buizen [1]
Boss from baas [30]
Bow (front of a ship)
from boeg [31]
Brackish
from Scottish brack, from Middle Dutch brak (="salty," also "worthless") [32]
Brandy (wine)
from brandewijn (literally "burnt wine") [33]
Brawl
from brallen [34]
Brooklyn
after the town of Breukelen near Utrecht [35]
Bully
from boel (="lover," "brother"), from Middle High German buole, maybe influenced by bull[36].
Bulwark
from bolwerk [37]
Bundle
from Middle Dutch bondel (=diminutive of bond), from binden "bind," or perhaps a merger of this word and Old English byndele (="binding") [38]
Bumpkin
from bommekijn (="little barrel") [39]
Bung
from Middle Dutch bonge (="stopper"), or perhaps from French bonde, which may be of Germanic origin, or from Gaulish bunda [40]
Buoy
from boei (="shackle" or "buoy") [41]
Bush (uncleared district of a British colony)
probably from Dutch bosch, in the same sense, since it seems to appear first in former Dutch colonies [42]
C
Caboose
from kambuis or kombuis (="ship's kitchen", "galley") [43]
Cam
from Dutch cam (="cog of a wheel," originally "comb"), cognate of English comb
Clove (disambiguation)
from kloof [1] (="steep valley", "gorge")
Cockatoo
from kaketoe [44]
Coleslaw
from koolsla (literally "cabbage salad") [45]
Commodore
probably from Dutch kommandeur, from French commandeur, from Old French comandeor [46]
Cookie
from koekje, or in informal Dutch koekie [47] (="biscuit", "cookie")
Coney Island
from Conyne Eylandt (literally "Rabbits' Island")
Crimp
from krimpen (= "to shrink") [1]
Cruise
from Dutch kruisen (="to cross, sail to and fro"), from kruis (="cross") [48]
Cruller
from Dutch krullen (="to curl") [49]
D
Dam
from Middle Dutch dam (compare Amsterdam or Rotterdam) [50]
Dapper
from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German dapper (="bold, strong, sturdy,") [51]
Deck
from dek (originally "covering") [52]
Decoy
from de kooi (="the cage," used of a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture) [53]
Delftware
from Delft, town in Holland where the glazed earthenware was made; the town named from its chief canal, from Dutch delf, (literally "ditch, canal"), which is related to Old English dælf and modern delve [54]
Dike
from dijk (="embankment") [55]
Dock (maritime)
from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German docke [56]
Domineer
from Dutch domineren (="to rule") [57]
Dope
old meaning "sauce," now "drugs," comes from the Dutch verb (in)dopen (usually ="to baptize," but here ="to dip in") [58]
Dredge
from Scottish dreg-boat (="boat for dredging") or Middle Dutch dregghe (="drag-net"), one possibly from the other but hard to tell which came first; probably ultimately from root of drag [59]
Drill (verb)
from Middle Dutch dril, drille and in modern Dutch drillen [60]
Drug
from Old French drogue, perhaps from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge-vate (="dry barrels"), with first element mistaken as word for the contents (see dry goods), or because medicines mostly consisted of dried herbs [61]
Dune
from Middle Dutch dune, before from Celtic dun (="hill"), in modern Dutch duin
E
Easel
from ezel (=originally (and still) "donkey") [62]
Etch
from ets or etsen [63]
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 Holland [64]
F
Filibuster
from Spanish filibustero from French flibustier ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter (="pirate" or "freebooter") [65]
Flense
from Danish flense or Dutch vlensen [66]
Foist
from Dutch vuisten (="take in hand"), from Middle Dutch vuist (="fist") [67]
Forlorn hope
from verloren hoop (literally "lost troop," figuratively "suicide mission," "cannon fodder") [68]
Freebooter
from vrijbuiter [69]
Freight
from vracht [70]
Frolic
from vrolijk (="cheerful") [71]
Furlough
from verlof (="permission (to leave)") [72]
G
Galoot
(="awkward or boorish man"), originally a sailor's contemptuous word (="raw recruit, green hand") for soldiers or marines, of uncertain origin; "Dictionary of American Slang" proposes galut, Sierra Leone creole form of Spanish galeoto (="galley slave"); perhaps rather Dutch slang kloot (="testicle"), klootzak (="scrotum"), used figuratively as an insult [73]
Gas
from gas, a neologism from Jan Baptista van Helmont, derived from the Greek chaos [74]
Geek
from geck (gek) (="fool") [75] [76]
Gherkin
from Dutch plural of gurk (="cucumber"), shortened form of East Frisian augurk [77]
Gimp (cord or thread)
from Dutch gimp [78]
Gin
from jenever [79]
Gnu
from gnoe (from Bushman !nu) [80]
Golf
from kolf (="bat, club," but also a game played with these) [1]
Grab
from grijpen (="to seize, to grasp, to snatch") [81]
Gruff
from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German grof (="coarse (in quality), thick, large") [82]
Guilder
from gulden [83]
H
Hale (verb)
(="drag, summon"), from Old Frankonian haler (="to pull, haul"), from Frankonian *halon or Old Dutch halen, both from Proto Germanic [84]
Hankering
from Middle Dutch hankeren or Dutch hunkeren [85]
Harlem
called after the city of Haarlem near Amsterdam
Hartebeest
from Afrikaans, from Dutch hertebeest "antelope," from hert "deer" (cognate to "hart") + beest "beast" [86]
Hoboken
possibly named after the Flemish town Hoboken, from Middle Dutch Hooghe Buechen or Hoge Beuken (="High Beeches" or "Tall Beeches")
howitzer
from Dutch houwitzer, which in turn comes from German Haussnitz and later Haubitze.
Hottentot
from South African Dutch, said to mean "stammerer," it is from hot en tot "hot and tot," nonsense words imitative of the clicking, jerking Khoisan speech [87]
Hoist
possibly from Middle Dutch hijsen [88]
Holster
from holster [89]
Hooky
from hoekje (=corner) in the sense of "to go around the corner" [90]
Hoyden
maybe from heiden (=backwoodsman), from Middle Dutch (=heathern) [91]
I
Iceberg
probably from Dutch ijsberg (literally ice mountain). [92]
Ietsism
from Dutch ietsisme (literally: somethingism) an unspecified faith in a higher or supernatural power or force
Isinglass
probably from Dutch huizenblas (No longer used) [93]
J
K
Keelhauling
from kielhalen (literally "to haul keel")[94]
Keeshond
prob. from special use of Kees (shortening of proper name Cornelius) + hond "dog" [95]
Kill (body of water)
from kil from Middle Dutch kille (literally "riverbed") [96]
Kink
from kink referring to a twist in a rope [97]
Knapsack
possibly from knapzak (literally "bag of snacks") [98]
Knickerbocker
The pen-name was borrowed from Washington Irving's friend Herman Knickerbacker, and literally means "toy marble-baker." Also descendants of Dutch settler of New York are referred to as Knickerbockers and later became used in reference to a style of pants [99]
L
Landscape
from landschap [100]
Leak
possibly from lekken (="to drip, to leak") [101]
Loafer
from loper (="walker") [102]
Loiter
from Middle Dutch loteren [103]
Luck
from Middle Dutch luc, shortening of gheluc (="happiness, good fortune")('geluk' in modern Dutch) [104]
M
Maelstrom
from maalstroom (literally "grinding current" or "stirring current") (possibly Norse in origin) [105]
Manikin
from Brabantian manneken (literally "little man") [106]
Mannequin
via French from Dutch (Brabantian) manneken (literally "little man") [107]
Mart
from Middle Dutch marct (literally "market") (modern Dutch: markt) [108]
Measles
possibly from Middle Dutch masel "blemish" (modern Dutch: mazelen) [109]
Meerkat
from Dutch meerkat [110]
Morass
from moeras (="swamp") [111]
N
O
Offal
possibly from Middle Dutch afval (="leftovers, rubbish") [112]
P
Patroon
from patroon (="patron") [113]
Pickle
c.1440, probably from Middle Dutch pekel [114]
Pinkie
Pinkje/Pinkie [115]
Pit
the stone of a drupaceous fruit : from pit [116]
Plug
from plugge, originally a maritime term.[117]
Polder
from polder
Poppycock
from pappekak (=dialect for "soft dung") [118]
Pump
from pomp [119]
Q
Quack
shortened from quacksalver, from kwakzalver (literally "someone who daubs ointments") [120]
R
Roster
from rooster (="schedule, or grating/grill") [121]
Rover
from rover (="robber") [122]
S
Santa Claus
from Middle Dutch Sinterklaas (="Saint Nicholas"), bishop of Asia Minor who became a patron saint for children. (Dutch and Flemish feast celebrated on the 5th and 6th of December respectively) (Origins of Santa Claus in US culture)[123]
Schooner (boat)
from schoener
Scone
from schoon (="clean") [124]
Scow
from schouw (a type of boat) [125]
Shoal
from Middle Dutch schole (="large number (of fish)") (etymology not sure)
Skate
from schaats. The noun was originally adopted as in Dutch, with 'skates' being the singular form of the noun; due to the similarity to regular English plurals this form was ultimately used as the plural while 'skate' was derived for use as singular." [126]
Sketch
from schets [127]
to Scour
from Middle Dutch scuren (now "schuren") [128]
Skipper
from Middle Dutch scipper (now schipper, literally "shipper") [129]
Sled, sleigh
from Middle Dutch slede, slee [130]
Slim
"thin, slight, slender," from Dutch slim "bad, sly, clever," from Middle Dutch slim "bad, crooked," [131]
Sloop
from sloep [132]
Slurp
from slurpen [133]
Smack (boat)
possibly from smak "sailboat," perhaps so-called from the sound made by its sails [134]
Smelt
from smelten (="to melt") [135]
Smuggler
from Low German smuggeln or Dutch smokkelen (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak" [136]
Snack
perhaps from Middle Dutch snakken (="to long" (snakken naar lucht="to gasp for air") originally "to eat"/"chatter") [137]
Snoop
from snoepen (to eat (possibly in secret) something sweet) [138]
Snuff
from snuiftabak (literally "sniff tobacco") [139]
Splinter
from splinter [140]
Split
from Middle Dutch splitten [141]
Spook
from spook (="ghost(ly image)") [142]
Spoor
from spoor (="track"/"trail")
Stoker
from stoken (="stoke a fire") [143]
Stern
hind part of a ship related to Steven in Dutch and Stiarn in Frisian [144]
Still life
from Dutch stilleven [145]
Stoop (steps)
from stoep (="flight of steps, doorstep") [146]
Stockfish
from Dutch stokvis (= "stick fish")
Stove
from Middle Dutch stove (="heated room"). The Dutch word stoof, pronounced similarly, is a small (often wooden) box with holes in it. One would place glowing coals inside so it would emanate heat, and then put one's feet on top of it while sitting (in a chair) to keep one's feet warm. [147]
Sutler
from zoetelaar (="one who sweetens", sweetener, old-fashioned for "camp cook") [148]
T
Tattoo (military term)
from taptoe (literally "close the tap"). So called because police used to visit taverns in the evening to shut off the taps of casks. [149]
Tickle
from kietelen [150]
Trek
from trekken (via Afrikaans) (literally "to march" or "to travel") [151]
Trigger
from trekker (Trekken ="to pull") [152]
Tulip
from tulp [153]
U
V
Vang
from Dutch vangen (=to catch)
Veldt
South African grassland, 1785, from Afrikaans, from older Dutch veld (="field") [154]
W
Waffle (noun)
from Dutch wafel, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wafel [155]
Walrus
from walrus [156]
Wagon
from Middle Dutch wagen, waghen (= "cart, carriage, wagon") [157]
Wentletrap
from 16th century wendeltrap: wenden (= "winding, spiraling") and trap (= "stairway").
Wiggle
from wiggelen (= "to wobble, to wiggle") or wiegen (= "to rock") [158]
Wildebeest
from wildebeest (literally wild beast, via Afrikaans) [159]
Witloof
from witlof (literally wit "white" + loof "foliage") [160]
Wrack
probably from wrak [161]
X
Y
Yacht
from obsolete Dutch jaght, from Middle Low German jacht, short for jachtschip (literally "hunting ship") [162]
Yankee
from Jan Kees, a personal name, originally used mockingly to describe pro-French revolutionary citizens, with allusion to the small keeshond dog, then for "colonials" in New Amsterdam (Note: this is not the only possible etymology for the word yankee. For one thing, the Oxford English Dictionary has quotes with the term from as early as 1765, quite some time before the French Revolution.) [163]
Z
Aardvark , from Afrikaans Dutch, literally "earth-pig" (the animal burrows), from aard (="earth") + varken (="pig")[1]
Afrikaans, from Afrikaans (via Afrikaans) (="African" adj.)
Ahoy, from hoi (="hello")
Aloof, from a- + Middle English loof (="weather gage," also "windward direction"), probably from Dutch loef (="the weather side of a ship"); originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart" [2]
Anchor, "liquid measure," that of Rotterdam, once used in England, from Dutch [3]
Apartheid, from Afrikaans apartheid (literally "separateness"), from Dutch apart (="separate") + suffix -heid (cognate of English -hood) [4]
Avast , a nautical interjection (="hold! stop!"), probably worn down from Dutch houd vast (="hold fast")[5]
B
Bamboo, from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, earlier mambu (16th century), probably from Malay samambu, though some suspect this is itself an imported word [6]
Bantam
after Bantam, former Dutch residency in Java, from which the small domestic fowl were said to have been first imported [7]
Batik
from Dutch, from Malay mbatik (="writing, drawing") [8]
Bazooka
"metal tube rocket launcher," from name of a junkyard musical instrument used as a prop by U.S. comedian Bob Burns, extension of bazoo (slang for "mouth" or "boastful talk"), probably from Dutch bazuin (="trumpet") [9]
Beaker
from beker [10] (="mug, cup")
Beleaguer
from belegeren (="besiege, attack with an army") [11]
Berm
from French berme, from Old Dutch baerm (in Dutch, the English meaning is now archaic, berm being used as "usually grassy ground alongside a road") [12]
Bicker
"a skirmish, fight," bikern, probably from Middle Dutch bicken (="to slash, stab, attack") + -er, Middle English frequentative suffix [13]
Blare
blèren (="to wail"), possibly from an unrecorded Old English *blæren, or from Middle Dutch bleren (="to bleat, cry, bawl, shout") [14]
Blasé
from French blasé, past participle of blaser (="to satiate"), origin unknown; perhaps from Dutch blazen (="to blow"), with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking" [15]
Blaze (to make public, often in a bad sense, boastfully)
from Middle Dutch blasen (="to blow, on a trumpet) [16]
Blink
from Middle Dutch blinken (="to glitter") [17]
Blister
from Old French blestre, perhaps from a Scandinavian source or from Middle Dutch blyster (="swelling") [18]
Block (solid piece)
from Old French bloc (="log, block"), via Middle Dutch bloc (="trunk of a tree") or Old High German bloh [19]
Blow (hard hit)
blowe, from northern and East Midlands dialects, perhaps from Middle Dutch blouwen (="to beat") [20]
Bluff (poker term)
perhaps from Dutch bluffen (="to brag, boast") or verbluffen (="to baffle, mislead") [21]
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 [22]
Blunderbuss
from Dutch donderbus, from donder (="thunder") + bus (="gun," originally "box, tube"), altered by resemblance to blunder [23]
Boer (="Dutch colonist in South Africa") from Dutch boer (="farmer"), from Middle Dutch [24]
Bogart after Humphrey Bogart[25]. Bogart means "(keeper of an) orchard"[26].
Boodle perhaps from Dutch boedel (="property") [27]
Boom from boom (="tree"); cognate to English beam, German baum[28]
Boomslang via Afrikaans from boomslang (="tree snake")
Booze from Middle Dutch busen (="to drink in excess"); [29] according to JW de Vries busen is equivalent to buizen [1]
Boss from baas [30]
Bow (front of a ship)
from boeg [31]
Brackish
from Scottish brack, from Middle Dutch brak (="salty," also "worthless") [32]
Brandy (wine)
from brandewijn (literally "burnt wine") [33]
Brawl
from brallen [34]
Brooklyn
after the town of Breukelen near Utrecht [35]
Bully
from boel (="lover," "brother"), from Middle High German buole, maybe influenced by bull[36].
Bulwark
from bolwerk [37]
Bundle
from Middle Dutch bondel (=diminutive of bond), from binden "bind," or perhaps a merger of this word and Old English byndele (="binding") [38]
Bumpkin
from bommekijn (="little barrel") [39]
Bung
from Middle Dutch bonge (="stopper"), or perhaps from French bonde, which may be of Germanic origin, or from Gaulish bunda [40]
Buoy
from boei (="shackle" or "buoy") [41]
Bush (uncleared district of a British colony)
probably from Dutch bosch, in the same sense, since it seems to appear first in former Dutch colonies [42]
C
Caboose
from kambuis or kombuis (="ship's kitchen", "galley") [43]
Cam
from Dutch cam (="cog of a wheel," originally "comb"), cognate of English comb
Clove (disambiguation)
from kloof [1] (="steep valley", "gorge")
Cockatoo
from kaketoe [44]
Coleslaw
from koolsla (literally "cabbage salad") [45]
Commodore
probably from Dutch kommandeur, from French commandeur, from Old French comandeor [46]
Cookie
from koekje, or in informal Dutch koekie [47] (="biscuit", "cookie")
Coney Island
from Conyne Eylandt (literally "Rabbits' Island")
Crimp
from krimpen (= "to shrink") [1]
Cruise
from Dutch kruisen (="to cross, sail to and fro"), from kruis (="cross") [48]
Cruller
from Dutch krullen (="to curl") [49]
D
Dam
from Middle Dutch dam (compare Amsterdam or Rotterdam) [50]
Dapper
from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German dapper (="bold, strong, sturdy,") [51]
Deck
from dek (originally "covering") [52]
Decoy
from de kooi (="the cage," used of a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture) [53]
Delftware
from Delft, town in Holland where the glazed earthenware was made; the town named from its chief canal, from Dutch delf, (literally "ditch, canal"), which is related to Old English dælf and modern delve [54]
Dike
from dijk (="embankment") [55]
Dock (maritime)
from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German docke [56]
Domineer
from Dutch domineren (="to rule") [57]
Dope
old meaning "sauce," now "drugs," comes from the Dutch verb (in)dopen (usually ="to baptize," but here ="to dip in") [58]
Dredge
from Scottish dreg-boat (="boat for dredging") or Middle Dutch dregghe (="drag-net"), one possibly from the other but hard to tell which came first; probably ultimately from root of drag [59]
Drill (verb)
from Middle Dutch dril, drille and in modern Dutch drillen [60]
Drug
from Old French drogue, perhaps from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge-vate (="dry barrels"), with first element mistaken as word for the contents (see dry goods), or because medicines mostly consisted of dried herbs [61]
Dune
from Middle Dutch dune, before from Celtic dun (="hill"), in modern Dutch duin
E
Easel
from ezel (=originally (and still) "donkey") [62]
Etch
from ets or etsen [63]
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 Holland [64]
F
Filibuster
from Spanish filibustero from French flibustier ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter (="pirate" or "freebooter") [65]
Flense
from Danish flense or Dutch vlensen [66]
Foist
from Dutch vuisten (="take in hand"), from Middle Dutch vuist (="fist") [67]
Forlorn hope
from verloren hoop (literally "lost troop," figuratively "suicide mission," "cannon fodder") [68]
Freebooter
from vrijbuiter [69]
Freight
from vracht [70]
Frolic
from vrolijk (="cheerful") [71]
Furlough
from verlof (="permission (to leave)") [72]
G
Galoot
(="awkward or boorish man"), originally a sailor's contemptuous word (="raw recruit, green hand") for soldiers or marines, of uncertain origin; "Dictionary of American Slang" proposes galut, Sierra Leone creole form of Spanish galeoto (="galley slave"); perhaps rather Dutch slang kloot (="testicle"), klootzak (="scrotum"), used figuratively as an insult [73]
Gas
from gas, a neologism from Jan Baptista van Helmont, derived from the Greek chaos [74]
Geek
from geck (gek) (="fool") [75] [76]
Gherkin
from Dutch plural of gurk (="cucumber"), shortened form of East Frisian augurk [77]
Gimp (cord or thread)
from Dutch gimp [78]
Gin
from jenever [79]
Gnu
from gnoe (from Bushman !nu) [80]
Golf
from kolf (="bat, club," but also a game played with these) [1]
Grab
from grijpen (="to seize, to grasp, to snatch") [81]
Gruff
from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German grof (="coarse (in quality), thick, large") [82]
Guilder
from gulden [83]
H
Hale (verb)
(="drag, summon"), from Old Frankonian haler (="to pull, haul"), from Frankonian *halon or Old Dutch halen, both from Proto Germanic [84]
Hankering
from Middle Dutch hankeren or Dutch hunkeren [85]
Harlem
called after the city of Haarlem near Amsterdam
Hartebeest
from Afrikaans, from Dutch hertebeest "antelope," from hert "deer" (cognate to "hart") + beest "beast" [86]
Hoboken
possibly named after the Flemish town Hoboken, from Middle Dutch Hooghe Buechen or Hoge Beuken (="High Beeches" or "Tall Beeches")
howitzer
from Dutch houwitzer, which in turn comes from German Haussnitz and later Haubitze.
Hottentot
from South African Dutch, said to mean "stammerer," it is from hot en tot "hot and tot," nonsense words imitative of the clicking, jerking Khoisan speech [87]
Hoist
possibly from Middle Dutch hijsen [88]
Holster
from holster [89]
Hooky
from hoekje (=corner) in the sense of "to go around the corner" [90]
Hoyden
maybe from heiden (=backwoodsman), from Middle Dutch (=heathern) [91]
I
Iceberg
probably from Dutch ijsberg (literally ice mountain). [92]
Ietsism
from Dutch ietsisme (literally: somethingism) an unspecified faith in a higher or supernatural power or force
Isinglass
probably from Dutch huizenblas (No longer used) [93]
J
K
Keelhauling
from kielhalen (literally "to haul keel")[94]
Keeshond
prob. from special use of Kees (shortening of proper name Cornelius) + hond "dog" [95]
Kill (body of water)
from kil from Middle Dutch kille (literally "riverbed") [96]
Kink
from kink referring to a twist in a rope [97]
Knapsack
possibly from knapzak (literally "bag of snacks") [98]
Knickerbocker
The pen-name was borrowed from Washington Irving's friend Herman Knickerbacker, and literally means "toy marble-baker." Also descendants of Dutch settler of New York are referred to as Knickerbockers and later became used in reference to a style of pants [99]
L
Landscape
from landschap [100]
Leak
possibly from lekken (="to drip, to leak") [101]
Loafer
from loper (="walker") [102]
Loiter
from Middle Dutch loteren [103]
Luck
from Middle Dutch luc, shortening of gheluc (="happiness, good fortune")('geluk' in modern Dutch) [104]
M
Maelstrom
from maalstroom (literally "grinding current" or "stirring current") (possibly Norse in origin) [105]
Manikin
from Brabantian manneken (literally "little man") [106]
Mannequin
via French from Dutch (Brabantian) manneken (literally "little man") [107]
Mart
from Middle Dutch marct (literally "market") (modern Dutch: markt) [108]
Measles
possibly from Middle Dutch masel "blemish" (modern Dutch: mazelen) [109]
Meerkat
from Dutch meerkat [110]
Morass
from moeras (="swamp") [111]
N
O
Offal
possibly from Middle Dutch afval (="leftovers, rubbish") [112]
P
Patroon
from patroon (="patron") [113]
Pickle
c.1440, probably from Middle Dutch pekel [114]
Pinkie
Pinkje/Pinkie [115]
Pit
the stone of a drupaceous fruit : from pit [116]
Plug
from plugge, originally a maritime term.[117]
Polder
from polder
Poppycock
from pappekak (=dialect for "soft dung") [118]
Pump
from pomp [119]
Q
Quack
shortened from quacksalver, from kwakzalver (literally "someone who daubs ointments") [120]
R
Roster
from rooster (="schedule, or grating/grill") [121]
Rover
from rover (="robber") [122]
S
Santa Claus
from Middle Dutch Sinterklaas (="Saint Nicholas"), bishop of Asia Minor who became a patron saint for children. (Dutch and Flemish feast celebrated on the 5th and 6th of December respectively) (Origins of Santa Claus in US culture)[123]
Schooner (boat)
from schoener
Scone
from schoon (="clean") [124]
Scow
from schouw (a type of boat) [125]
Shoal
from Middle Dutch schole (="large number (of fish)") (etymology not sure)
Skate
from schaats. The noun was originally adopted as in Dutch, with 'skates' being the singular form of the noun; due to the similarity to regular English plurals this form was ultimately used as the plural while 'skate' was derived for use as singular." [126]
Sketch
from schets [127]
to Scour
from Middle Dutch scuren (now "schuren") [128]
Skipper
from Middle Dutch scipper (now schipper, literally "shipper") [129]
Sled, sleigh
from Middle Dutch slede, slee [130]
Slim
"thin, slight, slender," from Dutch slim "bad, sly, clever," from Middle Dutch slim "bad, crooked," [131]
Sloop
from sloep [132]
Slurp
from slurpen [133]
Smack (boat)
possibly from smak "sailboat," perhaps so-called from the sound made by its sails [134]
Smelt
from smelten (="to melt") [135]
Smuggler
from Low German smuggeln or Dutch smokkelen (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak" [136]
Snack
perhaps from Middle Dutch snakken (="to long" (snakken naar lucht="to gasp for air") originally "to eat"/"chatter") [137]
Snoop
from snoepen (to eat (possibly in secret) something sweet) [138]
Snuff
from snuiftabak (literally "sniff tobacco") [139]
Splinter
from splinter [140]
Split
from Middle Dutch splitten [141]
Spook
from spook (="ghost(ly image)") [142]
Spoor
from spoor (="track"/"trail")
Stoker
from stoken (="stoke a fire") [143]
Stern
hind part of a ship related to Steven in Dutch and Stiarn in Frisian [144]
Still life
from Dutch stilleven [145]
Stoop (steps)
from stoep (="flight of steps, doorstep") [146]
Stockfish
from Dutch stokvis (= "stick fish")
Stove
from Middle Dutch stove (="heated room"). The Dutch word stoof, pronounced similarly, is a small (often wooden) box with holes in it. One would place glowing coals inside so it would emanate heat, and then put one's feet on top of it while sitting (in a chair) to keep one's feet warm. [147]
Sutler
from zoetelaar (="one who sweetens", sweetener, old-fashioned for "camp cook") [148]
T
Tattoo (military term)
from taptoe (literally "close the tap"). So called because police used to visit taverns in the evening to shut off the taps of casks. [149]
Tickle
from kietelen [150]
Trek
from trekken (via Afrikaans) (literally "to march" or "to travel") [151]
Trigger
from trekker (Trekken ="to pull") [152]
Tulip
from tulp [153]
U
V
Vang
from Dutch vangen (=to catch)
Veldt
South African grassland, 1785, from Afrikaans, from older Dutch veld (="field") [154]
W
Waffle (noun)
from Dutch wafel, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wafel [155]
Walrus
from walrus [156]
Wagon
from Middle Dutch wagen, waghen (= "cart, carriage, wagon") [157]
Wentletrap
from 16th century wendeltrap: wenden (= "winding, spiraling") and trap (= "stairway").
Wiggle
from wiggelen (= "to wobble, to wiggle") or wiegen (= "to rock") [158]
Wildebeest
from wildebeest (literally wild beast, via Afrikaans) [159]
Witloof
from witlof (literally wit "white" + loof "foliage") [160]
Wrack
probably from wrak [161]
X
Y
Yacht
from obsolete Dutch jaght, from Middle Low German jacht, short for jachtschip (literally "hunting ship") [162]
Yankee
from Jan Kees, a personal name, originally used mockingly to describe pro-French revolutionary citizens, with allusion to the small keeshond dog, then for "colonials" in New Amsterdam (Note: this is not the only possible etymology for the word yankee. For one thing, the Oxford English Dictionary has quotes with the term from as early as 1765, quite some time before the French Revolution.) [163]
Z
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