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START / NODE 296DutchPresent-day Dutch

lief

The Dutch adjective for dear, sweet, or kind and its substantivized use for a beloved person, inherited through the Germanic adjective branch.

“Dutch lief is not descended from English love. It is an inherited adjective whose closest graph neighbors include Gothic liufs and German lieb.”
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00Dutch · attestedlief

dear, sweet, kind; substantivized, a beloved person

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PARENT ROUTES1 REVIEWED RELATIONSHIP
EDGE 287HISTORICAL CONTINUATIONESTABLISHED
Dutchlief

dear, sweet, kind; substantivized, a beloved person

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Middle Dutch · Middle Dutchlief

dear, beloved, pleasant

SOUND CHANGE
Middle Dutch lief continues into modern Dutch lief with stable spelling and later standardization of pronunciation and inflection.
SEMANTIC CHANGE
Dear, beloved, pleasant, and kind remain within the inherited adjective’s semantic range.
SCHOLAR
Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal editors · N. van Wijk
CONFIDENCE
established — Modern grammar and the historical form are directly documented.
CHRONOLOGY
Middle Dutch to present-day Dutch.
2 CITATIONSAUDIT CANONICAL EDGE 287 ↗
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