Guess who invented English?

The Dutch of course! Hundreds of English words come directly from the Dutch language. Now go eat a cookie on your yacht like a boss!

1. Yankee

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This term originates from 17th century New York (New Amsterdam) where it was used by Dutch settlers as a derogatory name for the English colonists in neighboring Connecticut. The word “Yankee” may come from the Dutch name Janke (a diminutive of the name Jan) or from the name Jan Kes (a familiar form of Jan Cornelius). Others believe it comes instead from the name Jan Kaas (“John Cheese”) which was a generic nickname, at the time, for the Dutch. It seems the term was first used insultingly towards the Dutch, who later turned it around on the English themselves!

2. BOSS

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It turns out the Dutch also invented the expression “like a boss”! Well, indirectly that is. The Dutch word baas was first used in the 1620’s as the standard title for a ship’s captain. The Americans may have taken the word on as their own to avoid the use of the word “master” which implied slave subordinates rather than free labourers.

3. Booze

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Booze – the word oozes fun, but where o’ where does it come from? This slang word for alcohol comes from the old Dutch verb busen which meant to “drink heavily”.

FUN FACT :
The origin of the word “booze” is often mistakenly credited to E.C. Booz. Mr Booz was an American alcohol distiller in the 19th century, however, his appropriate surname was simply a happy coincidence as the Dutch word predates him!

4. Santa Claus

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It’s no fairytale that the modern day figure of Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas was named after St. Nicolaus, the Bishop of Mira, who lived in Turkey in the 3rd century. According to the legend, he saved the town from starvation, revived a couple of dead children, and offered gifts of dowries to poor girls so they didn’t have to become prostitutes: a pretty saintly dude. It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City (which was a former Dutch colonial town) reinvented the Sinterklaas tradition. In 1773 the New York Gazetteer first made reference to a celebration of ‘St. A Claus’ by the descendants of the ancient Dutch families”. You say Sinterklaas, I say Santa Claus… let’s call the whole thing off!

5. Cookie

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The word “cookie” is directly borrowed from the Dutch word koekje (biscuit/cookie), which is pronounced kook-ye.

FUN FACT :
The English spelling of Dutch words typically omitted combinations of vowels which do not exist in English (like “oe”) and replaced them with existing vowel combinations respectively (like “oo”). Hence, the oe in koekje became oo in cookie.

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6. Spooky

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This Dutch word, and its variations, made its way into the English language as early as 1801. Spook, in Dutch, is defined as a “spectre, apparition or ghost”. In English, it is used as a verb, as in “to frighten a person or animal” (e.g “After the horror film, he was spooked!”) or an adjective (spooky) meaning “sinister or ghostly in a way that causes fear and unease”.

7. Coleslaw

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The English word “coleslaw” is a bastardization of the Dutch word koolsla. The Dutch word literally translates to “cabbage salad”. And there you were thinking all along that this word was utterly weird! Look who’s hungry for some fried chicken and coleslaw now!

8. Quack

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The word “quack” is defined as “a person who pretends to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess” or a “medical charlatan”. The word is derived from the now obsolete Dutch word quacksalver (spelled kwakzalver in contemporary Dutch). Kwakzalver literally means “hawker of salve” (salve being a medical ointment).

9. Skate

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With the Dutch dominance in Olympic skating, it’s no wonder they invented the word! It is said that the word (derived from the Dutch word schaats) was brought to England in the 1660s by the exiled followers of King Charles the Second who had taken refuge in the Netherlands.

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10. Cruise

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The origin of this word is the Dutch verb kruisen, which means “to cross” or to “sail to and fro”. With the Dutch being one of the leading seafaring nations it’s no wonder so many English words relating to the sea or sailing (such as “sloop”, “buoy”, “deck”, “pump”, “bow”, “skipper” and “yacht” ) have their origins in the Lowlands.