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Dutch.

Of or pertaining to the Netherlands, the Dutch people or the Dutch language.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/dʌt͡ʃ//dʊt͡ʃ/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. Of or pertaining to the Netherlands, the Dutch people or the Dutch language.

  2. Pertaining to Germanic-speaking peoples on the European continent, chiefly the Germans (especially established German-speaking communities in parts of the USA), or the Dutch; Teutonic; Germanic.

    archaic
  3. Substitute, inferior, ersatz.

    archaic · derogatory · obsolete
  4. Thrifty.

    dated
  5. Pertaining to Afrikaner culture (Cape Dutch).

    South-Africa · derogatory · ethnic · slur
Where this word comes from

PIE word *tewtéh₂ From Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu. Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic. Cognate with Persian توده (tude, “people, nation”). The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.

name/dʌt͡ʃ//dʊt͡ʃ/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. The main language of the Netherlands, Flanders (i.e., the northern half of Belgium) and Suriname; Netherlandic.

  2. German; the main language of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany, Austria, Alsace, Luxembourg).

    archaic
  3. A male given name, more often given as a nickname to someone of Dutch or German ancestry than as an official given name.

Where this word comes from

PIE word *tewtéh₂ From Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu. Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic. Cognate with Persian توده (tude, “people, nation”). The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.

noun/dʌt͡ʃ//dʊt͡ʃ/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. The people of the Netherlands, or one of certain ethnic groups descending from the people of the Netherlands.

    collective · plural · plural-only
    The Dutch will vote on the matter next month.
    In upstate New York, the Dutch continued to speak their language into the nineteenth century.
  2. Afrikaner people (Cape Dutch).

    South-Africa · collective · derogatory · ethnic · offensive · plural · plural-only · slur
  3. The Pennsylvania Dutch people.

    collective · plural · plural-only
Where this word comes from

PIE word *tewtéh₂ From Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu. Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic. Cognate with Persian توده (tude, “people, nation”). The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.

noun/dʌt͡ʃ//dʊt͡ʃ/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. Synonym of double Dutch (“incomprehensible language or speech”).

    dated · uncountable
Where this word comes from

PIE word *tewtéh₂ From Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu. Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic. Cognate with Persian توده (tude, “people, nation”). The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.

verb/dʌt͡ʃ//dʊt͡ʃ/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. To treat cocoa beans or powder with an alkali solution to darken the color and lessen the bitterness of the flavor.

Where this word comes from

PIE word *tewtéh₂ From Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu. Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic. Cognate with Persian توده (tude, “people, nation”). The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.