"It is enough" : the formal variant?

T

ThomasK

Senior Member
(near) Kortrijk, Belgium
Belgium, Dutch
We have had our thread on the word enough, in certain combinations, but I'd like to focus on variants as in the sentence mentioned. I mean: we have genoeg in Dutch, which is the common word, but there is also something like: voldoende (based on the verb voldoen, though that has a different meaning nowadays strictly speaking: it meets the requirements); if meant to mean "to suffice" we will say "het volstaat". Not used by children and youngsters, fairly formal rather. What would be your word?

I suddenly noticed that our word contains the word "vol" (full) as does the French word complete (though not a synonym). So some (basc) etymological background would/ could be interesting. [Yet, fulfilling in English would not elicit the same reactions as sufficient.]
 
    • i just read this from @Armas replying regarding "enough" in general:

    Kyllin/kylliksi, instructive/translative case of kyllä < Proto-Finnic *küllä "abundance", related to kylläinen "satiated; saturated", kyllästää "to inbue; saturate" etc.In the concept of "abundance" I recognize something like "fullness".
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    Another observation: "satisfactory" and "satisfied" (and saturated?) seems to be kind-of related with "enough" semantically: when I have enough/ when there is enough (for me), it is satisfactory and I can feel satisfied... According to etymonline.com, satis or in fact PIE *sa- means enough - and the f-part ;-) just refers to facere, "to make", as you might have guessed.

    Of course, here we have this different aspect: something is enough (satisfactory) for someone to be satisfied then... Another aspect is judicial/... : "make amends, pay damages" - to restore to fullness???
     
    Russian:
    1. хватит (khvátit), literally "(it) will suffice". May sound too abrupt and rude.
    2. довольно (dovól'no), literally "up to one's will" (cf. also довольно 2. adv. "contentedly; happily"). Slightly bookish.
    3. достаточно (dostátochno), "enough", "sufficient". Rather formal, cannot attach infinitives.
     
    I am sorry but I had not thought of a reference to West-Germanic, but I realized recently that there might be more of those like shukat- or something the like (DUT zoeken, German suchen), дорогий (expensive: dear, duur, teuer). But I just have to discover more words in order to discover more parallels. As for prefixes or prepositions, I have never thought of parallels, and I must admit: I had not associated /do/ with "to", due to the d/t variation.
     
    ThomasK said:
    but I realized recently that there might be more of those like shukat-
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    The root shuk- is most likely a loan from OHG through Polish, not really an IE cognate.
    ThomasK said:
    дорогий (expensive: dear, duur, teuer)
    Click to expand...
    The similarity between which (< *dorg- and *diuri-) is, most likely, a coincidence.
    ThomasK said:
    due to the d/t variation
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    Well, PIE *d regularly corresponds to Germanic *t. Germanic *d generally comes from PIE *dʰ.
     
    Thanks a lot. I wondered whether I should now take an anti-wishful thinking class, but I won't, hoping that some of it might sometimes make sense. But thanks bringing (back?) more realism!
     
    In Polish:

    - dość, dosyć = do + syta - to + full

    - wystarczy, starczy - enought
    <- statek - livestock, possesion, property
    <- stać - to stand
     
    ThomasK said:
    Thanks! How about wy-?
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    "Wy-" is generally one of perfective aspect prefixes of a verb.

    Literally its something like "out" for example:
    - iść - to go
    - wyjść - to go out

    but not only. It may simply modify the meaning of the original imperfective verb:

    - grać - to play
    - wygrać - to win

    - brać - to take
    - wybrać - to choose

    But "starczyć" is a perfective verb itself and "wystarczyć" is just an ornament without difference in meaning.
     
    Drakonica said:
    "Wy-" may simply modify the meaning of the original imperfective verb:

    - grać - to play
    - wygrać - to win

    - brać - to take
    - wybrać - to choose

    But "starczyć" is a perfective verb itself and "wystarczyć" is just an ornament without difference in meaning.
    Click to expand...
    Very interesting. We have a similar prefix, ver-, which when added to a verb, can refer to a perfective aspect (as in kiezen(choose) > verkiezen (prefer), horen (hear) > verhoren (answer, in a religious sense)*). But I cannot see it work in a verb suggesting something like "sufficient". I do see one link though, but with a different prefix: vol- (lit. full), as in voldoende, lit. something like "making full" and meaning "sufficient"...
     
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