Where does “zwartepieten” come from?
zwartepieten (Dutch) comes from Dutch en, from Middle Dutch ende, from Old Dutch endi, from Proto-West Germanic andī, from Proto-Germanic andijaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂entíos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.
zwartepieten (Dutch): to pass the buck, to assign blame to each other
Definitions
- to pass the buck, to assign blame to each other
Ancestry of “zwartepieten”, step by step
zwartepieten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Dutch en
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | en | and; well, so; plus, and |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | ende | and; end |
| 3 | Old Dutch | endi | end |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | andī | end |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | andijaz | end |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂entíos | front; forehead |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |
via Dutch zwartepiet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | zwartepiet | old maid; the undesirable card in the card game... |
| 2 | Dutch | Zwarte Piet | Any person dressed up like the companion of... |