woordelijk

Woordelijk is a Dutch adjective that primarily means word-for-word or verbatim. It is used to indicate that something is presented, quoted, or represented exactly as spoken or written, without paraphrase or interpretation. The term is common in formal writing, journalism, law, and scholarly works. For example, een woordelijk verslag denotes a report that reproduces the original words, while een woordelijk citaat refers to a quotation copied exactly from the source.

Etymology and usage notes

The word is formed from the noun woord (word) plus the suffix -elijk, giving a sense of relating to words. In practice, woordelijk appears in two broad contexts: as a description of textual accuracy (verbatim) and as a technical term in Dutch grammar.

Grammatical context

In Dutch linguistics, woordelijk is related to the concept of the verbal part of the predicate. The standard term in grammar is werkwoordelijk gezegde, which refers to the part of the predicate built around the finite verb and any auxiliary verbs. This is contrasted with naamwoordelijk gezegde (nominal predicate), which uses a copula and predicative elements. Although the customary term is werkwoordelijk gezegde, some sources may encounter woordelijk in discussions of verb-based predication or in older or alternative terminology.

Example usage

As an adjective: "Het onderzoeksverslag werd woordelijk weergegeven." As a grammatical note: in a sentence such as "Zij heeft kunnen blijven," the sequence " hebben kunnen blijven" forms part of the werkwoordelijk gezegde, illustrating how verbs and auxiliaries carry the verbal core of the predicate.

See also

Verbatim, citaten, grammatica (Dutch).