English
kopje
Kopje comes from Dutch kopje ‘diminutive of kop’, from kop ‘head’, and ultimately from Middle Dutch cop.
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500cop
- Dutchc. 1500–presentkop‘head’
- Dutch, derivedc. 1500–presentkopje‘diminutive of kop’diminutive of kop
- Englishearliest quotation 1883same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500cop
- Dutchc. 1500–presentkop‘head’
- Dutch, derivedc. 1500–presentkopje‘diminutive of kop’diminutive of kop
- Englishearliest quotation 1883same form
Earliest quotation: 1883, Ralph Iron pseudonym; Olive Schreiner, Shadows from Child-life. The Watch.: “In one spot only was the solemn monotony of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kewp-
through Latin cūpa ‘tub, cask, vat’
through Late Latin cuppa ‘barrel, cask’
through Dutch kop ‘head’
Today it means
noun A small hill or mound, especially on the African veld.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Dutch cop / kopje