279. Ontzet

1. relief, rescue [noun] [het ontzet, de ontzetten] [‘ont-zet‘]

Today is the celebration of the "relief of Leyden" – in Dutch "het ontzet van Leiden" or "Leids ontzet". The city of Leiden was liberated from the Spanish siege on October 3rd of 1574 during the Eighty Year’s War. The story goes that the cooked bits of potato that were left by the Spanish formed the origin of the recipe for "hutspot", a typical Dutch winter dish made of mashed potatoes, carrots and onions. When entering the city, the liberators ("Geuzen") brought herring ("haring") and white bread.
So if you are in Leiden today and you don’t like hutspot, you can still feast on the haring 😉

Examples:
– "Elk jaar op 3 oktober vieren de inwoners van Leiden het Leids ontzet."
("Every year on October 3rd, the inhabitants of Leiden celebrate the "Leids ontzet".)

– "Tijdens de viering van het Leids ontzet wordt er gratis haring en wittebrood uitgereikt."
("During the celebration of the "Leids ontzet" free herring and white bread is handed out.")

Related word:
– "Ontzetten": to relieve (city), to rescue.

Example:
– "Toen de politie arriveerde kon het slachtoffer eindelijk worden ontzet."
("When the police arrived the victim was finally rescued.")

2. dislocated, wrenched, out of alignment/gauge [adjective] [‘ont-zet‘]

Examples:
– "Ik ben gevallen en nu is mijn schouder ontzet."
("I fell and now my shoulder is dislocated.")

– "Door de aanrijding zijn de treinrails ontzet geraakt."
("Due to the crash the rails are out of gauge.")

3. aghast, horror-stricken, dismayed at/by [adjective] [‘ont-zet‘]

You might not encounter the word "ontzet" too often in this translation, but it is a perfectly normal word to use. A very common derivation of "ontzet" is the adverb "ontzettend", which can also be used as an adjective.

Related word:
– "Ontzettend": terribly, awfully, terrifically, tremendously, immensely, incredibly etc.

Examples:
– "Ik vind het laatste album van Nick Cave ontzettend goed, en jij?"
("I think the latest album by Nick Cave is incredibly good, what do you think?")

– "Het heeft afgelopen nacht ontzettend geregend."
("There was terrible rain last night." Literally: "It has rained terribly…")

– "Ontzettend bedankt voor je hulp!"
("Thanks awfully for your help!")