Abbreviations

Introduction 

Everyone agrees that one of the most complicating factors of reading old handwritten records is the common use of abbreviations. Because of the repeated use of the same words in records of the same type, most scribes would speed up the recording process and save paper, ink, and time by abbreviating common given names, last names, and other words using certain abbreviating conventions.

Because there are several types of abbreviations, there are also several symbols used to mark abbreviations. In the case of abbreviations by superposition, some scribes would write a line under the superscripted letters, others would include a double line, and others a colon. Some would add a dot or period in the place of the letters that have been omitted in an abbreviation by contraction; others would use a colon instead or a straight or a curved line above the abbreviated word. Some abbreviations may have no symbol indicating that they have been abbreviated. Below are brief explanations of the most common processes used to abbreviate words.

Contractions: An abbreviation by contraction is formed by writing the first and last letters of the word and eliminating the middle letters. For example, the word  begraven 'buried' could be abbreviated  to begr.  With or without a period to indicate the abbreviation. Below is a List of Abbreviations; feel free to refer to it as you do your genealogical work.

Superpositions: This may be considered a variation of the process of contraction. The first letters are written on the baseline, and the last one or two letters are written above the baseline in a smaller size. For example, the name Wilhelmus and Willem would be abbreviated Wim with the superscripted letters having a line, a double line, a colon, or no symbol underneath.

Hypocorism: In Dutch, a typical hypocorism is to truncate the whole name and add a K, P, or S to it. Miek, Mieke, Miep and Mies are some examples.

Acronyms: These could be considered a type of suspension where the first letter of a word has come to stand for the entire word. Common examples: S.M.E. stands for the Latin phrase Sancta Mater Ecclesia,  and A.D. for Anno Domini.  Frequently, such abbreviations are doubled in the case of plurals or superlatives.

Conventionalism: This is usually found in older documents. These are symbols that represent entire words or syllables. The most common is the use to abbreviate the first part of some of the months of the year, such as:  jan. feb. maart apr. mei juni juli aug. sept. oct./okt. nov. dec.

Diminutive: Used extensively and has different meanings than size alone and is not merely restricted to nouns. It is the nuances of meaning expressed by the diminutive which make it peculiarly unique Dutch but also difficult to master for non-native speakers. It is very productive, can change the function of a word, and is formed by adding one of the  suffixes  -je, -pje, -kje, -etje  to the word in question, depending on the latter's phonology.

• -je  for words ending in -b, -c, -d, -t, -f, -g, -ch, -k, -p, -v, -x, -z or -s. Examples: neef → neefje (nephew), lach → lachje (laugh) 
• -pje  for words ending in -m. Examples: boom → boompje (tree) 
• -kje  for words ending in -ing. Example: koning (king) → koninkje, 
• -tje  for words ending in -h, -j, -l, -n, -r, -w, or a vowel other than -y. Examples: zoen → zoentje (kiss), appel → appeltje (apple), ei → eitje (egg) 
• In case of a single open vowel, when adding "-tje" would change the pronunciation, this vowel is doubled Examples: auto → autootje (car), café → cafeetje (pub)  
• The word jongen (boy) has an irregular diminutive, losing its ending  -en Examples: jongen → jongetje 
• -etje  for words ending in -b, -l, -n, -ng or -r. Examples: bal → balletje (ball), kam → kammetje (comb), ding → dingetje (thing) 

Below are example lists of Dutch Acronyms and Hypocorisms

List of Dutch Acronyms

List of Dutch Hypocorism

• Diminutive Information Obtained at Wikitionary
• Abbreviations and Hypocorism List Obtained at Wikitionary
• Basic Dutch Information Extracted From the FamilySearch Wiki