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Today it means

landscape

an expanse of natural scenery, or a painting depicting it

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Where does the word "landscape" come from? It comes from Dutch landschap, and was adopted directly into English (1500s-1600s).

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Where does the word "landscape" come from? It comes from Dutch landschap, and was adopted directly into English (1500s-1600s).

Landscape’s story begins in Dutch: landschap meant “a region, land area.” Combining "land" with "-schap" (a state or condition). It reached English by 1500s-1600s as landscape. Dutch 'landschap'; Dutch painters such as Ruisdael made landscape a genre. Today, landscape means an expanse of natural scenery, or a painting depicting it.

  1. Stage 1 · Dutch · medieval landschap "a region, land area", combining "land" with "-schap" (a state or condition).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s-1600s landscape "a view of natural scenery, or its depiction in art", Dutch 'landschap'; Dutch painters such as Ruisdael made landscape a genre.

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