Dutch (disambiguation)

The word Dutch when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language. Most, if not all, of these meanings are in reference to the European country The Netherlands, its people, or its culture.

The term Dutch, when used by itself can refer to:

• The Dutch language ('Nederlands' in the native tongue), spoken and official language in the Netherlands, in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) and in Surinam.
• The inhabitants of the Netherlands
• Dutch was also the nickname of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and the title of his biography

Dutch is often confused with Deutsch, the German word for German. English Dutch, German Deutsch, and Dutch Dietsch are actually variations of the same word. In English, Dutch used to be a generic term to refer to Netherlanders and Germans alike. This is why the German immigrants to Pennsylvania are also called the Pennsylvania Dutch. Today, the English word only refers to the Netherlands.

Because Dutch is disliked by some inhabitants of the Netherlands, the term is sometimes replaced by Netherlandic of identical meaning. The term Netherlandic when used as a noun typically refers to the Dutch language. When used as an adjective, the term refers to the people or culture of the Netherlands

The label Dutch is found in a number of terms and expressions:

• Double dutch
• Dutch courage
• Dutch process chocolate
• Dutch disease
• Dutch door
• Dutch elm disease
• Dutch oven
• Dutch treat
• Dutch uncle
• going Dutch
• Pennsylvania Dutch

Several of these are derogatory terms which have traditionally been explained as resulting from the 17th-century Anglo-Dutch Wars, but are now understood to have originated earlier.