bewijse

Bewijse is a term encountered in Dutch-language sources that is not used in contemporary standard Dutch. In most modern contexts the corresponding noun isbewijs, meaning proof or evidence. Bewijse may appear as a historical or dialectal variant, or as a misspelling in older texts. In linguistic and philological work, it is often described as an archaic form related to the same semantic field as bewijs and bewijzen.

In historical documents, legal records, and regional writings, bewijse can reflect older orthographic conventions before standardization. As such, its meaning tends to align with the idea of evidence or proof, but it is not accepted in current written Dutch outside of specialized or scholarly discussions. Because Dutch spelling has changed over time, forms like bewijse are primarily of interest to linguists and historians rather than to everyday speakers.

Because bewijse is not a standard modern form, readers encountering it should consider the broader context and aim to identify whether it represents an obsolete spelling, a regional variant, or a transcription of the modern woordbewijs. When writing about evidence in today’s Dutch, gebruik (use) bewijs or bewijzen to avoid ambiguity.

See also: bewijs, bewijzen, bewijsmateriaal, spelling in Dutch.