In English you might talk about career paths, meaning “the way that you progress in your work, either in one job or in a series of jobs” [source].
In Dutch there is one word – baan [baːn] – that means both job and path. So you might think that a career path in Dutch would be a baanbaan, but it is in fact a carrière, carrièrepad or loopbaan [source].
A baan is a road, way or path; a track or lane; a job or professional occupation, or a sports field or court.
It comes from the Middle Dutch bane (open field, battlefield; lane, track; road, way, path), from the Old Dutch *bana, from the Proto-Germanic *bano (battlefield, clearing, open space, cleared way, path, track), from the Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (to strike, kill) [source].
The English words defend and offend actually come from the same root, via the Latin *fendō (I hit, thrust) [source].
Related words in Dutch include:
- banen = to make way, clear
- baanbrekend = revolutionary, earthshaking (“path-breaking”)
- bijbaan = side job, sideline, job on the side
- busbaan = bus lane
- droombaan = dream job, perfect job
- hondenbaan = a really bad job, dog’s work
- landingsbaan = runway, airstrip
- loopbaan = career, career path
- rijbaan = lane, carriageway
- enkelbaans = one-way (road)
- tweebaans = two-way (road)
Related words in other Germanic languages include the German Bahn (route, trail, rail(way), train, tram, lane, orbit), the Danish bane (track, trajectory), and the Swedish bana (path, race, track, railway, career, life) {source].
Carrière comes from the French carrière (career, riding arena, racecourse), from the Italian carriera (career, the fastest gait), from the Latin Latin carrāria (a wide road for vehicles, a path for carts) from the Latin carrus (wagon, cart, cartload, wagonload), from the Gaulish *karros (wagon), from the Proto-Celtic *karros (wagon) [source].
