Influence of the Dutch on English language

400 years ago explorer Henry Hudson sailed his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) along a body of water we now call the Hudson river. He did so under the auspices of the Dutch trade organisation VOC (Dutch East India Company). He, along with a crew of 20 men, founded a colony called New Amsterdam. Now, this colony is better known as New York City, the city that never sleeps, the Big Apple. But it is not just the old name of New York City that is a testament of Dutch influence in contemporary America.

The Dutch settlers following Hudson lived in small isolated communities where Dutch was the language spoken by all. Gradually the Dutch lost most of their colonies to England, and Dutch settlers were exposed to other immigrants. This resulting in the Dutch language disappearing from everyday live. However, the roots of this bit of Dutch history of the American capital, and ultimately, the entire nation, can still be found in the English language and in names of American towns or neighbourhoods. Words like apartheid, bling, dapper, mast and even Santa Claus all stem from Dutch. And places like Harlem, Brooklyn and Hoboken are named after Dutch towns. Here a few more examples with their origin. A lot of these, as you will find, have strong ties with trade and naval industries.

Gin – from jenever. A spirit drink made from juniper berries. The Dutch word for juniper is jenever .

Schoener – From schoener, a type of boat

Santa Claus– From Sinterklaas which comes from Saint Nicholas, the children's patron saint. Both in Germany and Belgium, the feast of Sinterklaas is celebrated in early December.

Skipper – from schipper, which means shipper.

Yankee – From Jan Kees, a typical Dutch personal name. It was mockingly used for the Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam

Wildebeest and Aardvark– Wildebeest from Wild Beest, whichliteralymeansWild Beast. Aardvark comesfrom aardor aarde, both meaning soil or earth, and from varken, which means pig