Stijve

Stijve is a Dutch adjective meaning stiff or rigid. It describes something that has little flexibility, most often a body part such as muscles or joints, but it can also refer to objects that do not bend easily. The form stijve is used before a noun (for example, een stijve knie, de stijve deur). The corresponding noun for the general concept of stiffness is stijfheid.

Etymology and related terms: stijve derives from the base adjective stijf, with stijve functioning as an inflected form used in attributive position. Related words include stijfheid (stiffness) and rigiditeit (rigidity). In everyday language, stijve is common for describing physical stiffness; in formal medical language, stiffness is more often expressed by stijfheid, while stijve is used to convey the descriptive sense.

Usage and nuance: Stijve is typically employed to indicate noticeable resistance to bending or movement. Examples include stijve spieren (stiff muscles), een stijve rug (a stiff back), and een stijve nek (a stiff neck). It can also describe non-l literal rigidity, such as a stijve houding (rigid posture) or a stijve deur (a door that is hard to open).

See also: Stijfheid, Rigidity.