Ophouden

Ophouden is a Dutch verb that translates to “to hold”, “to keep”, or “to retain” in English. It is used across a variety of contexts, ranging from everyday speech to legal, financial, and technical language. In its most general sense, ophouden describes the act of maintaining possession of an object, maintaining a state, or suspending an activity. For example, “Hij houdt de deur open” can be expressed as “Hij houdt de deur ophouden” in certain dialects, meaning “He keeps the door open.”

The word originates from Middle Dutch *ophouden*, a compound of the prefix *op-* (indicating upward or completion) and the verb *houden* (to hold). Historically, ophouden was employed in medieval legal texts to denote the act of retaining rights or obligations. In modern Dutch, the term has specialized meanings in several fields. In law, ophouden can refer to the suspension of a legal proceeding or the maintenance of a claim. In finance, ophouden is used to describe the retention of assets or capital, as in “het ophouden van kapitaal.” In computing, the verb appears in user interfaces to indicate pausing a process or keeping a file open without alteration.

While ophouden is a common verb in Dutch, it is less frequently encountered in formal written language than its root, houden. Nonetheless, it remains a useful term for expressing continuity, retention, or suspension across diverse domains, and it exemplifies the productive nature of Dutch verb formation through prefixation.