Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2015 November 5

= November 5 =

Unverified Dutch-language claim in the article Spuyten Duyvil Creek
Can a Dutch speaker verify if, as the article Spuyten Duyvil Creek says, this is true: Spui and spuit are still today commonly used Dutch words involving outlets for water.? This claim was unsourced for two years, so I had removed it. I was reverted by @, who re-added this unsourced claim and simultaneously questioned whether I was using Google Translate (no comment on that).This particular claim has been tagged as such for two years, so if anyone could verify whether this is true, that would be great. epic genius (talk) 00:37, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Page 340 of this Dutch-English Dictionary does not have any meanings related to geography. Unless "syringe" counts as an "outlet for water", or "squirt" does.  "Spuit" and all related words seem to refer to small objects that squirt fluids, and there's no geographic usage in any of them.  I don't speak dutch at all, but that printed source provides NO meanings which would lead one to believe the statement is accurate.  Certainly, there's some aspect of "water coming out" in the "spuit", but based on that source, I can find no justification for the statement to remain in the article.  Perhaps a native dutch speaker will come along with something better.  But that's what I found.  -- Jayron 32 00:57, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your input . It appears that the Dutch words "spui"/"spuit" are quite irrelevant in this context of this article, from what the dictionary says. I'll also wait to see if a native Dutch speaker could solve this dilemma, though. epic genius (talk) 01:06, 5 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Spit, spout, spew: spout (v.) "to issue forcible, as a liquid," early 14c., related to Middle Dutch spoiten "to spout" (Dutch spuiten "to flow, spout"), North Frisian spütji "spout, squirt," Swedish sputa "to spout," from Proto-Germanic *sput-, from PIE *sp(y)eu- "to spew, spit" (see spew (v.)).μηδείς (talk) 05:45, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * A spui (short for spuisluis) is a type of lock designed to allow for the removal of water from a low lying area (polder), ie a one-way lock not designed for navigation. A spuit is a syringe. Both in common use, the sentence is absolutely correct. Jayron is most definitely wrong. Fgf10 (talk) 08:34, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your feedback. However, I would like to know if the article's context is correct as well, or if I should add a note about it (especially spuit, which refers to a "syringe"—not exactly relevant to the context of this article, which is about a creek). epic genius (talk) 15:53, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * In modern Dutch, spuit is not commonly used in the context of rivers, streams or bodies of water. Its meaning is however broader than just "syringe"; it can also refer to sprayers or any device that expels pressurized liquid. - Lindert (talk) 16:15, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks; that makes a lot more sense in the context of the article. epic genius (talk) 16:21, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Frankly, the single sentence mentioning spui at this point seems like overkill for the article. I'm aan inclusionist and I am not going to delete it, but I would have added that material at wiktionary, not at this article. μηδείς (talk) 20:45, 5 November 2015 (UTC)