Moritz Schönfeld (9 February 1880 – 4 October 1958) was a Dutch linguist who specialized in

Germanic linguistics Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

. Moritz Schönfeld was the author of several reference works on

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

s and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

etymology which have been highly influential and are still in use today.

Biography

Moritz Schönfeld was born in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, Netherlands on 9 February 1880. His father taught mathematics and physics at the municipal gymnasium in Groningen. Schönfeld began his studies at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

in 1898, where he gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Dutch literature Dutch-language literature () comprises all writings of literary merit written through the ages in the Dutch language, a language which currently has around 23 million native speakers. Dutch-language literature is the product of the Netherlands, ...

in 1904. Schönfeld taught

and geography in

Meppel Meppel (; Drents: ''Möppelt'') is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It constitutes the southwestern part of the province of Drenthe. Meppel is the smallest municipality in Drenthe, with a total area of about . As of 1 July ...

from 1905 to 1908, in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

from 1908 to 1913, and at the municipal gymnasium in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

until his retirement in 1945. At Hilversum, Schönfeld was the acting deputy principal for many years. Combined with his teaching duties, Schönfeld was a prominent scholar and editor. He was elected a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1930.

Research

Schönfeld specialized in the study of Germanic

personal names A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

, and

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

s. His 1906 doctoral thesis on this subject was published in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

with the title ''Wörterbuch der altgermanischen Personen- und Völkernamen nach der Überlieferung des Klassischen Altertums bearbeitet'' (1911). It has remained the standard reference work on the subject up to the present day. From 1917 to 1930, Schönfeld was contributed to a number of articles in the ''Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', published by

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresl ...

. In 1921, Schönfeld published the first edition of his ''Historiese grammatika van het Nederlands. Schets van de klank- en vormleer''. It has since been published in more than eight revised editions, and remains the standard reference work on Dutch grammar. Towards the end of his life, Schönfeld published ''Veldnamen in Nederland'' (1949) and ''Nederlandse waternamen'' (1955), both are important reference works on Dutch etymology. Schönfeld contributed a large number of articles to the ''Nomina geographica neerlandica'', of which he served as an editor for many years.

Selected works

* ''Wörterbuch der altgermanischen Personen- und Völkernamen nach der Überlieferung des klassischen Altertums'', 1911 * ''Historische grammatica van het Nederlands'' (1921) * ''Veldnamen in Nederland'', 1949 * ''Nederlandse waternamen'', (1955)

References

Sources

* 1880 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Dutch non-fiction writers Dutch people of German descent Dutch school administrators Etymologists Linguists of Germanic languages Germanic studies scholars Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Groningen (city) Toponymists University of Groningen alumni 20th-century Dutch linguists {{Netherlands-linguist-stub

Biography

Research

Selected works

See also

References

Sources