# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/A (full text)

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* A - B - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S-Sch - Se-Su - T - U - V - W - Z
​ -a, -ach, a frequent suffix in the formation of the names of brooks and rivers (or rather the places named after them); on the whole, -ach (Urach, Steinach, Salzach, Rotach, Schwarzach) is more Upper German, -a more Middle German, and Low German (Fulda, Berra, Schwarza); from Old High German aha, ‘running water,’ Gothic ahwa, ‘river' (for details see Au), whence also the names of the rivers Aa (Westphalia), Ohe (Hesse).
Aal, masculine, ‘eel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German Old High German âl, masculine, a term common to the Teutonic dialects; compare Old Icelandic âll, Anglo-Saxon œ̂l, English eel, Dutch aal (allied perhaps to Alant i.). No original affinity to the equivalent Latin anguilla, Greek ἔγχελυς, is possible, for the sounds of the Teutonic words differ too much from it; even from *anglu-, Old High German âl or Anglo-Saxon œ̂l could not be derived. Besides, there is no hereditary stock of names of fishes possessed in common by Teutonic and Greek and Latin (see Fisch). —
Aalraupe, feminine, ‘eel-pout' (also called Aalquappe, see Quappe), an eel-like fish, originally called Raupe merely; in Middle High German rū̆ppe, Old High German rûppa; as the Middle High German rutte (the equivalent and parallel form) indicates, the base of the word is probably supplied by the Latin rubêta, from which, through the Teutonic custom of displacing the accent in borrowed words (see Abt), we get rúbeta, and then, by the assimilation of the consonants through syncope of the intermediate e, the forms mentioned; names of fishes borrowed in Old High German from Latin rarely occur. See Quappe.
Aar, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German ar, Old High German aro, masculine, ‘eagle’; a primary Teutonic word, which has also cognates outside the Teutonic group. Compare Gothic ara, Old Icelandic are, masculine, ‘eagle'; further Old Icelandic ǫrn, Old High German, Middle High German arn (to which is allied Modern High German Arnold, Old High German Aranolt, original sense ‘eagle-guardian'), Anglo-Saxon earn, ‘eagle,’ Dutch arend, ‘eagle'; primarily cognate with Old Slovenian orĭlŭ, Lithuanian erélis, ‘eagle,’ Greek ὄρνις, ‘bird,’ Cornish and Breton er. Welsh eryr, ‘eagle.’ See Adler.
Aas, neuter, from the equivalent Middle High German, Old High German and Old Low German âs, neuter, ‘carcass, carrion'; compare the equivalent Anglo-Saxon œ̂s; allied to essen.
ab, adverb, also a preposition in older Modern High German (hence the modern abhanden, literally ‘from the hands,’ as well as Swiss patronymics like Ab der Fluh, Ab der Hald), ‘off, away from,’ from Middle High German abe, ab, preposition, ‘down from, away from, off,’ adverb, ‘down,’ Old High German aba, preposition, ‘away from, down from here,’ adverb, ‘down.’ Corresponding to Gothic af (ab), preposition, ‘down from there, from' (also adverb), Middle Dutch af, ave, Old Low German af, equivalent to Anglo-Saxon of, English of; originally cognate with Greek ἀπό, Sanscrit ápa, ‘away from.’ Of course phrases like ab Hamburg, do not contain the Old German preposition, but are due to incorrect Latinity; since the 17th century commercial language has adopted Latin expressions.
Abend, masculine, ‘evening,’ from the equivalent Middle High German âbent (âbunt); Old High German âband, masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon âƀand, Dutch avond, Anglo-Saxon œ̂fen, ‘evening,’ whence English eve; also the derivative Anglo-Saxon œ̂fning, English evening (compare morning); Old Icelandic aptann; similarly Gothic andanahti, original sense ‘forenight,’ and sagqs, literally ‘setting.’ The SEurop. term corresponding to Greek ἕσπερος, Latin vesper, is non-Teutonic (compare West and Winter). A verb aben (ooben), ‘to grow dusk,’ adduced from the Swiss dialects to explain Abend, can be none other than a later derivative of Abend. Moreover, Abend (base êp-) can scarcely be connected with ab (base apo), as if Abend were the waning period of the day. According to old Teutonic notions, the evening was regarded rather as the beginning of the following day. See Sonnabend and Fastnacht.
Abenteuer, neuter, ‘adventure,’ from ​MidHG. âventiure, feminine, ‘occurrence, a marvellous, fortunate event, a poem on such a theme, sources of the court poets’; the latter is derived from French aventure (Middle Latin adventura, allied to Middle Latin and Romance advenire, ‘to happen’).
aber, adverb and conjunction, ‘but, however,’ from Middle High German aber (aver), abe (ave), adverb and conjunction, ‘again, once more, on the contrary, but’; Old High German abur, avar, adverb and conjunction with both meanings; to this Old High German avarôn. ‘to repeat,’ Modern High German (Upper German) äfern is allied. Compare Gothic afar, preposition, ‘after,’ adverb, ‘afterwards,’ Old Icelandic afar, ‘very,’ in compounds; the word does not occur in Saxon dialects, but its derivative Old Saxon aƀaro, Anglo-Saxon eafora, ‘descendant’ (compare Gothic afar, ‘afterwards’), exists. It is probably related to ab and its cognates; compare further Sanscrit ápara, ‘the later,’ aparám, adverb, ‘latterly, in future,’ aparī̆, ‘future.’
aber, äber, adjective, (Upper German), äfer (Franc), ‘free from snow, laid bare’; from the primary form *âbar, âbiri (âfiri); originally cognate with Latin apricus, ‘sunny.’
Aberglaube, masculine, ‘superstition,’ first occurs in early Modern High German (15th century); since Luther it has made its way into Modern High German; originally a Low German word (compare Adebar, Demut), as the vowel-sounds indicate. Low German aber, for over, ober, points to Old Low German *oƀar-gilóðo (Dutch overgeloof), ‘superstition,’ which is formed after the model of Latin superstitio; compare Danish overtro, Swedish öfvertro, but also in Middle Low German bîgelôve, Dutch bijgeloof.
abermal, adverb, first occurs in Modern High German for the equivalent Middle High German aber, ‘again, once more,’ formed with the suffix mal.
Aberraute, feminine, ‘southern-wood,’ a corruption of Latin-Greek abrotonum (French aurone), due to its supposed connection with Raute; see also Ebritz.
Aberwitz, masculine, ‘false wit, craziness,’ from Middle High German aberwitze, abewitze, ‘want of understanding,’ from Middle High German abe, ‘away from,’ as in Middle High German abegunst, ‘envy, jealousy.’
abgefeimt, see Feim.
Abgott, masculine, ‘idol,’ from Middle High German and Old High German abgot, neuter, ‘idol, idolatrous image’; note the retention of the older gender of Gott as late as Middle High German; compare Gothic afguþs, ‘godless’ (antithesis to gaguþs, ‘pious’); hence Abgott is properly ‘false god’; see Aberwitz.
Abgrund, masculine, ‘abyss, precipice,’ from Middle High German abgrunt, masculine, most frequently abgründe, neuter, Old High German abgrunti, neuter, ‘abyss,’ properly ‘declivity’; compare Gothic afgrundiþa, feminine, ‘abyss.’
ablang, adjective, ‘oblong, oval,’ first occurs in Modern High German, formed on the model of Latin oblongus.
Ablats, masculine, ‘sluice, remission,’ from Middle High German ablâȥ, masculine, Old High German áblâȥ, neuter, ‘indulgence, remission, pardon’; compare Gothic áflêts, masculine, ‘remission, pardon.’ allied to af-lẽtan, ‘to remit, pardon,’ Old High German ob-lâȥȥan.
abmurksen, see meucheln.
Abseite, feminine, ‘wing, aisle,’ from Middle High German apsîte, feminine, ‘the domed recess of a church,’ a corruption of Middle Latin and Old High German absida (Greek ἀψίς), ‘vault,’ due to its supposed connection with sîte, ‘side.’
abspenstig, adjective, ‘alienated, disaffected,’ first occurs in Modern High German, from Old High German spenstîg, ‘seductive,’ allied to Old High German spanst, ‘allurement’; see under Gespenst and widerspenstig.
Abt, masculine, ‘abbot,’ from the equivalent Middle High German apt, abbet, abbât, Old High German and Middle High German abbā̆t, masculine; compare Dutch abt, Anglo-Saxon abbod (with an abnormal d), and less frequently abbot, English abbot. Borrowed with a change of accent in Old High German from Middle Latin abbât- (nominative singular abbas), ‘abbot’; compare Italian abáte, French abbé, Old Irish abb, accusative abbaith. It will be seen under Kreuz that in words borrowed from Latin the stem of the oblique cases as well as the nominative often forms the base; with regard to the ecclesiastical terms borrowed in Old High German compare among others Mönch, Nonne, Papst, Priester, Probst.
Abtei, feminine, ‘abbey,’ from Middle High German aptei, abbeteie, Old High German abbateia, feminine, ‘abbey’ (for *abbeia?), formed from Middle Latin abbatia, under the influence of Old French abbaie, and based upon abbā̆t.
abtrünnig, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German abetrünncc (abetrünne), Old High German abatrunnîg, adjective, ‘recreant’; original sense, ‘he who separates himself from,’ for trennen contains the same stem. Compare also Old High German anttrunno, ‘fugitive,’ Middle High German trünne, ‘a detached troop.’
Abzucht, feminine, ‘drain, sewer,’ first occurs in Modern High German, germanised from Latin aquaeductus (whence also Swiss Akten, ‘conduits’). See Andauche.
ach, interjection, ‘ah! alas!’ from Middle High German ach, Old High German ah; to this is allied Middle High German and Modern High German Ach, ah, neuter, ‘woe,’ and its derivative, which first occurs in Modern High German, ächzen, ​original sense, ‘to utter Ach’ (formed like ihrzen, dutzen).
Achat, masculine, ‘agate,’ from Middle High German achât, achâtes, equivalent to Greek-Latin achates.
Ache, Rhenish for Nachen.
Achel, see Ähre.
acheln, Jewish, ‘to eat,’ from Heb. âkhàl, ‘to eat.’
Achse, feminine, ‘axle, axis,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ahse, Old High German ahsa, feminine; compare Dutch as, Anglo-Saxon eax, feminine, English axle (even in Middle English eaxel-tree occurs, English axle-tree), with derivative l, like Old Icelandic öxull, masculine, ‘axle'; Gothic *ahsa, or rather *ahsuls, is, by chance, not recorded. The stem ahsô-, common to the Teutonic languages, from pre-Teutonic aksâ, is widely diffused among the Aryan tongues; it is primitively related to Sanscrit ákša, masculine, Greek ἄξων, Latin axis, Old Slovenian osĭ, Lithuanian aszìs, ‘axle'; the supposition that the Teutonic cognates were borrowed is quite unfounded; compare Rad. The original sense of Aryan akso- remains obscure; with the root ag, ‘to drive,’ some have connected Latin ago, Greek ἄγω. See the following word.
Achsel, feminine, ‘shoulder,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ahsel, Old High German ahsala, feminine; compare Anglo-Saxon eaxl, Old Icelandic ǫxl, feminine, ‘shoulder'; Gothic *ahsla, feminine, is wanting. It is probable that the Teutonic word is connected with the Old Aryan Achse; Latin axilla (Olr. oxal), ‘arm-pit,’ and âla, ‘arm-pit, wing,’ are also cognate with it. In Old Teutonic, Gothic *ahsla (Aryan *akslâ) has a still wider family, since forms with Teutonic ô, Aryan â in the stem belong to it; compare Anglo-Saxon ôxn, ôcusla, ‘arm-pit,’ and Old High German wohsana, Middle High German üehse, wohse, feminine, ‘arm-pit,'Du. oksel,’ shoulder.’
acht, numeral, ‘eight,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ahte, Old High German ahto, common to the Teutonic and also to the Aryan groups. Compare Gothic ahtau, Anglo-Saxon eahta, English eight, Dutch acht, Old Saxon ahto; further, Sanscrit ašṭáu, Greek ὀκτώ, Latin octo, Old Irish ocht, Lithuanian asztu̇nì, primary Aryan oktô, or rather oktôu, ‘eight.’ Respecting acht Tage see the historical note under Nacht.
Acht, feminine, ‘outlawry, ban,’ from Middle High German âhte, œhte, feminine, ‘pursuit, proscription, outlawry, ban’; Old High German âhta (Anglo-Saxon ôht), feminine, ‘hostile pursuit.’ Gothic *âhtjan. ‘to pursue,’ is wanting. Compare Old Saxon âhtian, Anglo-Saxon êhtan (from anhtjan), ‘to pursue.’ Teutonic *añhtian, ‘to pursue,’ and *anhtô, ‘pursuit,’ seem to be based on a non-dental root, which is perhaps connected with the cognates of eng (Aryan root angh).
achten, verb, ‘to have regard to, esteem, value,’ from Middle High German ahten, Old High German ahtôn, ‘to heed, ponder, take care’; allied to Middle High German ahte, Old High German ahta, feminine, ‘heed, paying attention.’ Compare Dutch achten, Anglo-Saxon eahtian, ‘to ponder'; also with derivative l, Old Icelandic œtla (Gothic *ahtilôn), ‘to suppose, think.’ It is based upon a Teutonic root ah, ‘to suppose, think’; compare Gothic aha, ‘understanding,’ ahjan, ‘to believe,’ ahma, ‘spirit.' The Aryan root ak is widely diffused, yet no other language coincides with the signification of the Teutonic cognates.
achter, Low German for after.
Achterwasser, ‘back-water.’ See under After.
ächzen, verb, see ach.
Acker, masculine, ‘field, arable land,’ from the equivalent Middle High German acker, Old High German acchar (ahhar), masculine; a common Teutonic and Old Aryan word corresponding to Gothic akrs, masculine, Anglo-Saxon œcer, English acre (aker), Dutch akker, Old Saxon akkar. Teutonic *akra-z, masculine, from pre-Teutonic agro-s; compare Sanscrit ájra-s, masculine, ‘pasture-ground, plain, common,’ Greek ἀγρός, Latin ager (stem agro-), ‘field.’ It is certainly connected with the Indian root aj, ‘to drive' (compare Trift, allied to treiben), Latin ago, Greek ἄγω, to which in Old Icelandic aka, ‘to drive,’ was allied. “Thus âjra- signifies in the widest sense ‘field and common,’ originally as ‘pasture-land,’ the greatest part of which, when tillage supplanted the rearing of cattle, was used for crops.” The transition in meaning was, probably, completed on the migration of the Western Aryans to Europe; moreover, the root ar, ‘to plough, till,’ is West Aryan; compare Greek ἀρόω, Latin arare, Gothic arjan, Old High German erian, Old Bulgarian orati, ‘to plough.’ See Art.
Adebar, masculine (Holland, ooijevaar), a Low German name for the stork, Middle Low German odevare, Middle High German odebar, Old High German odobëro (in Old German times the term was, moreover, prevalent in Germany). No certain explanation of the word can be given; it is most frequently interpreted as ‘bringer of children, of good luck' (compare Allod). Respecting the Low German vowel-sounds see Aberglaube.
Adel, masculine, ‘nobility,’ from Middle High German adel, masculine, neuter, ‘lineage, noble lineage, noble rank, perfection,’ Old High German adal, neuter (and edili, neuter), ‘lineage, especially noble lineage’; corresponding to Old Saxon aðali, neuter, ‘body of nobles, notables, nobility,’ Dutch adel, Anglo-Saxon œðelu, neuter plural, ‘noble birth,’ Old Icelandic aƀal, ‘disposition, talent, lineage.’ In Gothic the stem ​aþ (by gradation ôþ) is wanting; to it belong Old High German uodil, neuter, ‘patrimony, home’ (Modern High German Ulrich, from Old High German Uodalrîch or Uhland, from Uodal-lant), Old Saxon ôðil, Anglo-Saxon éðel, masculine, ‘patrimony, home.’ Hence the fundamental idea of the Teutonic root aþ, by gradation ôþ (from Aryan ăt), seems to be ‘by transmission, inheritance.’ The aristocratic tinge evinced by the West Teutonic cognates is not remarkable when we consider the early period; only the patrician had a ‘family’; genealogies of nobles (in old documents) reach back to the Old Teutonic period; the names beginning with Adel are primitive, Alfons, influenced by Romance from Old High German Adalfuns, Adalheid, Adalberaht, Adolf, from Atha-ulf; also the derivative Old High German Adalung. See too Adler, edel.
Ader, feminine, ‘vein,’ from Middle High German âder, Old High German âdara, feminine, ‘vein, sinew,’ corresponding to Middle Low German ader, ‘vein, sinew,’ Dutch ader, Anglo-Saxon œ̂dre, feminine, ‘vein’ (rarely êðr), Old Swedish aþra, Modern Swedish ådra; also without the derivative r, Old Icelandic œ̂ðr (the r is simply a nominative suffix), feminine, ‘vein;’ the Gothic cognate êþ is not found. The pre-Teutonic êt- has been connected with Greek ἥτορ, ‘heart,’ ἦτρον, ‘abdomen,’ and here it must be recollected that Middle High German and Middle Low German âder in the plural may signify ‘bowels.’
Adler, masculine, ‘eagle,’ from Middle High German adel-ar (also adel-arn), masculine; prop, a compound, ‘noble bird of prey.’ It is noteworthy that Aar in Modern High German is the nobler term, while Adler serves as the name for the species without any consciousness of its origin from Adel and Aar. Old High German *adal-aro appears by chance not to be recorded. Corresponds to Dutch adelaar (besides arend).
äfern, verb, ‘to repeat,’ an Upper German word; Middle High German œferen, Old High German afarôn. See under aber.
-aff, suffix used to form names of rivers (Erlaff, Old High German Eril-affa, Aschaff, Old High German Asc-affa), and of places (especially in Franconian and Hessian, compare Honeff), allied to which -ep, p (also Westphalian), occurs as an unchanged Low German form, e.g. in Lennep. The base *apa is Keltic (equivalent to Latin aqua, ‘water,’ Gothic ahwa, ‘river’).
Affe, masculine, ‘ape, monkey,’ from the equivalent Middle High German affe, Old High German affo, masculine; also in Old High German the feminine forms affa, affin, affinna, ‘female ape.’ A word common to the Teutonic group, unrecorded by chance in Gothic alone, in which, by inference from Old Icelandic ape, Anglo-Saxon apa, English ape (whence Irish and Gaelic apa), Dutch aap, the form must have been *apa. Facts and not linguistic reasons lead to the conclusion that apan- is a primitive loanword with which Old Russian opica, Old Bohemian opice, is connected, and through commercial intercourse reached the Teutons by some unknown route. On account of the assonance it is very often referred, without sufficient reason, to Sanscrit kapi (Greek κῆπος), ‘ape’; at all events, it is certain that no word for Affe common to the Aryan, or even to the West Aryan, group does exist.
Affolter, masculine, ‘apple-tree.’ See Apfel.
After, masculine, ‘buttocks, backside,’ from Middle High German after, Old High German aftaro, masculine, ‘fundament, anus’; literally ‘the back part,’ from Middle High German after, Old High German aftar, adjective, ‘behind, following’; akin to Gothic aftana, ‘from behind,’ Anglo-Saxon after, English after (Low German and Dutch achter), Gothic aftra, ‘back, again.’ It is certainly allied to Gothic afar, ‘behind,’ and the cognates discussed under aber. — After- in compounds is literally ‘after,’ whence the idea of ‘counterfeit, baseness’; compare Middle High German aftersprâche, ‘slander, backbiting,’ afterwort, ‘calumny’; the older meaning, ‘after, behind,’ is preserved in Modern High German Aftermiete, -muse, -rede. Note too Suabian (even in the Middle High German period) aftermontag for ‘Tuesday.’
Aglei, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German agleie, Old High German ageleia, feminine, ‘columbine,’ which is derived from Latin aquilegia, whence too the equivalent French ancolie, Dutch akelei.
Ahle, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German âle, Old High German âla, feminine, ‘cobbler’s awl.’ To this is allied the equivalent Old High German derivative ălunsa, ălansa, feminine, (with the same suffix as Sense); properly alesna (Swiss alesne, alsne), whence the Romance cognates — Spanish alesna, Italian lesina, French alêne, ‘awl,’ are borrowed; compare Dutch els, ‘awl’ (from *alisna), Anglo-Saxon œ̂l (in the Orkneys alison), Old Icelandic alr, ‘awl.’ The consonance with Sanscrit ãrâ, feminine, ‘punch, awl,’ points to an Old Aryan word; there existed also a widely ramified Aryan root to designate articles of leather. See Saum and Säule.
ahmen, verb, in nachahmen, which is wanting in Middle High German and Old High German; from the equivalent Middle High German âmen, ‘to measure a cask, gauge,’ figuratively ‘to estimate,’ from Middle High German and Middle Low German âme, ‘ohm’ (cask = about 40 galls.). See Ohm.
Ahn, masculine, ‘grandfather, ancestor,’ from Middle High German ane (collateral modified form ene), Old High German ano, masculine, ‘grandfather’; akin to the ​Alemannian diminutive Ähni, ‘grandfather.’ Further Modern High German Ahne, Middle High German ane, Old High German ana, feminine, ‘grandmother.’ To these are allied Modern High German Urahn, Middle High German urane, urene, Old High German *urano, masculine, great-grandfather'; in Old High German alt-ano, altar-ano (for the force of ur- in Urahne see ur-). The class is peculiar to German, being foreign to the remaining Teutonic dialects; compare also Enkel — really a diminutive form — which belongs to it. There is no doubt that Latin ănus, ‘old woman,’ is a primitively cognate. Perhaps the Teutonic masculine name Old High German Anelo (Anglo-Saxon Onela, Old Icelandic Ále) is allied to it.
ahnden, verb, ‘to punish,’ from Middle High German anden, Old High German antôn, anadôn, ‘to punish, censure,’ allied to Old High German anto, anado, m , ‘insult, embittered feeling, anger.’ It corresponds to Old Saxon ando, ‘exasperation, anger,’ Anglo-Saxon anda, oneþa, ‘zeal, vexation, hatred,’ whence andian, ‘to be angry’; moreover, Gothic preserves in uz-anan, ‘to die,’ the root an, ‘to breathe, respire, snort,’ which appears in these words. Compare Old Icelandic ande, masculine, ‘breath, spirit,’ ǫnd, feminine, ‘breath, soul'; and also Anglo-Saxon êðian, ‘to breathe' (implying Gothic *anþjôn), Anglo-Saxon oruþ, ‘breath' (Gothic *uzanþ), orþian, ‘to breathe,’ Old Icelandic ørendi, ‘breathlessness.’ The root an, preserved in all the cognates, is Old Aryan, and means ‘to breathe’; compare Latin animus, anima, Greek ἄνεμος, connected with the Aryan root an, ‘to breathe, respire.' —
ahnden, verb, ‘to forebode’; see ahnen.
Ahne, feminine, ‘boon’ (of flax or hemp), from Middle High German âne, older agene, feminine, ‘chaff'; Old High German agana, feminine, ‘chaff;’ also Anglo-Saxon *agon, œgne, Middle English awene, English awns, Gothic ahana, Old Icelandic ǫgn, ‘chaff.’ In these cognates two really different roots seem to have been blended in various ways; the meaning ‘chaff' would be applicable to the one, just as the exact Greek corresponding ἄχνη, ‘chaff, foam’ (of the sea), likewise points to Aryan aghnâ (compare besides Greek ἄχυρον, ‘chaff’). The other is perhaps literally ‘prickle, awn,’ and belongs to the root ah (Aryan ak); see Ähre.
ahnen, verb, ‘to forebode, suspect,’ from Middle High German anen, ‘to foresee, forebode,’ foreign to the older period and to the rest of the Teutonic dialects; it has been connected with the Old Aryan root an, ‘to breathe, respire,’ so that it may be a primitively cognate of ahnden, under the influence of which it also appears in Modern High German as ahnden. It is better, however, to regard it as a derivative of the preposition an; allied, literally ‘to befall, seize, attack' (properly said of ghosts or visions).
ähnlich, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German ánelîch, Old High German ánagilîh (*ánalîh), adjective, ‘similar.’ It corresponds to Gothic ánaleikô, adverb, ‘similarly’; from the Old Teutonic (Gothic) preposition ana (see an) and the suffix lich; see gleich
Ahorn, masculine. ‘maple,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German âhorn, masculine, the â of which is inferred from the Swiss dialectic; compare Dutch ahorn. It is primitively allied to Latin ăcer, neuter, ‘maple' (Greek ἄκαστος) and Greek ἀκαταλίς ‘juniper berry.’ The German word, at all events, cannot be regarded as borrowed from Latin. For another old name see under Maßholder.
Ähre, feminine, ‘ear’ (of corn), from the plural of Middle High German eher, Old High German ehir, ahir, neuter, ‘ear’ (of corn); corresponds to Dutch aar, Anglo-Saxon eár (from *eahor), English ear. As the derivative r stands for an older s, Gothic ahs, neuter (genitive ahsis) and Old Icelandic ax (also Swedish and Danish), ‘ear' (of corn), are identical with it; so, too, Old High German ah, ‘ear’ (of corn). Compare besides Old High German ahii, Modern High German Achel, ‘prickle, spike’ (of corn), (with regard to the ch, compare Bavarian Echer, ‘ear of corn,’ Anglo-Saxon and Northumb. œhher), Anglo-Saxon egle, ‘spikes' (of corn), English ails, eils ‘beard of wheat or barley,’ Low German (in Brockes) Eide, ‘spike’ (of corn), Gothic *agiþ? Compare also Ahne. The Teutonic root ah, which consequently, specially means ‘spike, ear' (of corn), agrees with Latin acus (genitive aceris), neuter, ‘corn-prickle.’ It may be said generally that a root ah, with the primary meaning ‘pointed,’ is very widely developed in the Aryan group; compare Greek ἄκανος, ‘a kind of thistle,’ ἄκαινα, ‘goad,’ ἄκων, ‘javelin,’ ἄκρος, ‘at the point,’ Latin acus, aculeus, acies (see Ecke).
Ähren, masculine, ‘vestibule’ (dialectic), from Middle High German ęrn, masculine, ‘floor, threshing-floor,’ also ‘ground, bottom,’ Old High German ęrin, masculine (Gothic *arins), to which Old Icelandic arenn, masculine, ‘hearth,’ corresponds. Further, Old High German ëro, Old Icelandic jǫrve, ‘earth,’ as well as Latin area, ‘courtyard, threshing-floor,’ Latin arvum, ‘plain, cornfield,’ and Greek ἔραζε, ‘to the ground,’ may be cognate.
aichen, see eichen.
Ahlei, see Aglei.
Alabaster, masculine, ‘alabaster,’ from Middle High German alabaster (Gothic alabastraun), from Latin-Greek alabastrum.
Alant (1.), masculine, ‘chub’ (a fish), from the equivalent Middle High German alant, Old High German alant, alunt, masculine, corresponds to Old Saxon alund; allied to ​Old Icelandic ölunn, ‘a fish’; of obscure origin, perhaps akin to Aal.
Alant (2.), masculine, ‘elecampane’ (a plant), from the equivalent Middle High German alant, Old High German alant, masculine; of obscure origin; it has been supposed to be connected with the equivalent Spanish and Portuguese ala.
Alarm, masculine, ‘alarm’, first occurs in Modern High German, like English alarm, from the equivalent French alarme; the latter is derived from Italian allarme, properly, all’ arme, ‘to arms.’ See Lärm.
Alaun, masculine ‘alum,’ from Middle High German alũn, masculine ‘alum,’ from the equivalent Latin alûmen, whence also Lithuanian alunas, English and French alun, English alum (Anglo-Saxon œlifne, also efne).
Albe (1.), feminine,’ alb.’ from Middle High German albe, Old High German alba, feminine, ‘a white vestment used at mass,’ formed from the equivalent Ecclesiastical Latin alba (English alb).
Albe (2.), feminine, ‘bleak, whitebait,’ from the equivalent Middle High German albel, masculine, formed from the Latin albula, whence also French able.
Albeere, Albesing,, Low German ‘black currant,’ even in Middle Low German albere; al- is generally connected with Alant (2). Corresponding to Dutch aalbes, aalbezie.
Alber, feminine, ‘white poplar,’ from Middle High German alber, Old High German albâri, masculine, ‘poplar’; probably borrowed from Romance; compare Italian albaro, which is connected either with Latin albus or with Latin arbor; Old High German arbar, ‘poplar,’ occurs once.
albern, adjective, ‘silly, foolish,’ earlier Modern High German alber, from Middle High German álwœre, ‘simple, silly,’ Old High German álawâri, ‘kind, friendly, well-disposed’ (with an interesting change of meaning from Old High German to Middle High German). The Old High German adjective signifies also ‘truly, quite true’; so Gothic wêrs ‘true,’ also means ‘friendly’ by inference from un-wêrjan, ‘to be unwilling, displeased’ (compare too Old High German mitiwâriy, ‘friendly’). See wahr and all. Moreover, albern has not the present meanings in the Upper German dialects; Luther introduced it from Middle German into the written language.
Alchimie, feminine ‘alchemy,’ from late Middle High German alchemie, feminine, which is derived from the equivalent Romance cognates — Italian alchimia, French alchimie — the origin of which from Arabic al-kimîâ and the earlier Greek χυμός, ‘juice,’ is undoubted. Al- as the Arabic article is still seen in Alfali, Alforan, Alfade, Alhambra, Alkohol, Algebra. See Alkoven.
Alfanzerei, feminine, ‘foolery,’ from Middle High German ale-vanz, masculine, ‘trick, roguery, deceit’; connected with Old High German giana-venzôn, ‘to mock’ (the al- of Middle High German as in albern?), also Firlefanz and Fant.
Alkoven, masculine,’ bedchamber, alcove.’ first occurs in Modern High German from French alcôve (compare also English alcove), which with its Romance cognates is based upon Arabic al-qobbah, ‘vault, tent’; compare Alchimie, also Alhambra, Alkoran.
all, adjective, ‘all, whole,’ from Middle High German and Old High German al (inflected genitive alles), adjective, ‘entire, each, every one’; a word common to the Teutonic group; it corresponds to Gothic alls, Old Icelandic allr, Anglo-Saxon eall, English all, Dutch al, Old Saxon ol, with the same meanings. There is also an Old Teutonic form ala- in compounds and derivatives; compare Old High German and Old Saxon alung, Middle High German alenc, ‘entire, complete,’ Gothic alamans, plural, ‘everybody,’ Old High German ala-wâr, ‘quite true’ (see albern), alaniwwi, ‘quite new.’ Probably Gothic alla- as a participial form is based upon an older al-na- (compare voll, Wolle), since ala- shows that the root was al or rather ol. Whether Gothic alan, ‘to grow up’ (see alt), is a cognate, remains uncertain; in any case, the Keltic words, Old Irish uile, ule, ‘entire, each, all’ (base olio-), and Welsh oil ‘entire,’ are rightly compared with it, while Greek ὅλος, on account of Sanscrit sárvas (from Aryan solvo-s), ‘entire, each,’ must be kept apart. —
allein, adjective, ‘solitary, sole,’ from Middle High German al-ein, al-eine, like Middle English al-one, English alone. —
allmählich, allmälig, adjective, ‘gradual,’ earlier allmächlich and allgemach, from Middle High German almechlich ‘slow’; the later form allmälig is based upon Mal, ‘time,’ but the Middle High German form upon gemach. —
Allmendee, feminine (Alemannian), ‘common land,’ from Middle High German almende, feminine, ‘common’; on account of the Middle High German spelling almeinde and algemeine, the derivation from gemeine is probable (Old High German *alagimeinida). The derivation from an assumed Old High German alagimannida ‘community,’ must be rejected, as such a form could never have existed. —
Allod, neuter, ‘allodial estate, freehold,’ first occurs in Modern High German, adopted from Middle Latin allodium, which is the latinised form for the Old German and OFranc. alôdis, Old High German al-ôd, ‘entire property or possession, free property’; compare Old Saxon ód, Anglo-Saxon eád, ‘estate, possession,’ Old High German ôtag, ‘wealthy.’ To this the Teutonic proper name Odoardo, Edward, is allied.
Alm, feminine, ‘mountain pasture,’ equivalent to Alpe.
Almanach, masculine ‘almanac,’ first appears in early Modern High German, from French almanack, which ​with its Romance cognates is said to have come from Arabic through Spanish, like other words beginning with Al- (see Alchimie, Alkoven). But as the Arabic word for calendar is certainly not Almanach, but taquîm (Milanese taccuino), the derivation from Greek-Egyptian ἀλμενιχιακά, ‘calendar’ (found in the Eccl. Hist. of Eusebius), is much more likely to be correct.
Almosen, neuter, ‘alms, charity,’ from the equivalent Middle High German almuosan, Old High German alamuosan alamôsan, neuter; corresponds to Dutch aalmoes, Anglo-Saxon œlmesse, English alms, Old Icelandic ǫlmusa, feminine,’ alms.’ The derivation from Latin-Greek ἐλεημοσύνη, ‘sympathy, compassion, alms,’ is incontestable; as the Old High German collateral form elemosyna, elimosina indicates, the Latin-Greek origin was as firmly accepted in the Old High German period as the derivation of Old High German chirihha, ‘church,’ from κυριακόν. Yet the question remains how the ecclesiastical word found its way so early into the Teutonic languages, so as to become a common possession of the Middle European and Northern Teutons. The absence of a corresponding Gothic word is explained by the fact that we obtained the word from the Romance nations, as the congruent phonetic form proves: common Romance alimǫsna, in accordance with French aumône, Old French almosne, Provençal almosna, Italian limosina; allied also to Old Irish almsan, Old Slovenian almušino, Lithuanian jalmūšnas.
Alp, masculine, ‘nightmare, incubus,’ from Middle High German alp(b), masculine, ‘spectre, incubus, nightmare, oppression caused by nightmare’; properly a term applied to mythical beings, Anglo-Saxon œlf, Old Icelandic álfr, ‘elf, goblin’ (the Scandinavians distinguished between fairies of light and darkness); these appear to be identical with the Old Indian ṛbhú, (literally ‘ingenious, sculptor, artist’), the name of three clever genii (the king of the fairies was ṛbhukšán). By the Anglo-Saxons, nightmare was called œlfâdl, œlfsogoða, ‘elf-malady, elf-sickness (hiccough),’ (lumbago in the English dialects is termed awfshots, Anglo-Saxon ylfa gesceot). Compare further Elf (proper names like Alboin, Alfred, have Alb as their first component).
Alpe, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German albe, feminine, ‘mountain pasture,’ allied to Latin alpes, so too Old High German Alpun and Alpi, ‘mountain pastures.’
Alraune, feminine ‘mandrake,’ from Middle High German alrûne, Old High German alrûna, feminine, ‘mandrake, sorceress’; this, as the component -rûne indicates, is a primitively term, which has been supposed to be connected with old Teutonic mythical beings who do their work secretly (compare Gothic rûna, ‘secret’; see raunen).
als, conjunction, ‘as,’ from Middle High German als, álse, álsô, ‘likewise, thus, as, as if, because,’ hence properly identical with also; Old High German alsô, ‘likewise, like,’ is a compound of al, ‘entirely,’ and sô, ‘thus,’ like the exactly corresponding Anglo-Saxon ealswâ, whence English as, from eal, ‘entirely,’ and swâ, ‘so.’
also, adverb, related to als, like Modern English also to as, identical in every respect with the preceding.
alt, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German alt, adjective ‘old’; the corresponding Old Saxon ald, Anglo-Saxon eald, English old, have the same meaning; Gothic alþeis (instead of the expected form *alda-), ‘old.’ The West Teutonic form al-da- is an old tó- participle (Latin al-tus, ‘high’), like other Modern High German adjectives (see under falt), and belongs to Gothic alan, ‘to grow up,’ Old Icelandic ala, ‘to bring forth’ (primitively related to Latin alo. Old Irish alim, ‘I nourish’), therefore literally ‘grown up.’ Hence perhaps it was used originally and chiefly in reckoning age, &c. (compare Latin X annos natus), but afterwards it was also used at an early period in an absolute sense, ‘vetus.’ See Alter, Eltern.
Altar, masculine, ‘altar,’ from Middle High German álter, altâre, altœre, under the constant influence of Latin altâre, which forms the base. Compare altâri, álteri, found even in Old High German; the word was introduced by Christianity. Gothic uses hunsla-staþs, literally ‘temple-table’; Anglo-Saxon wîhbed for *wîhbeód sacred table’ (see weihen and Beute).
Alter, neuter, ‘age, antiquity,’ from Middle High German alter, Old High German altar, neuter, ‘age, old age’ (opposed to youth); compare the corresponding Old Saxon aldar, ‘life, time of life,’ Anglo-Saxon ealdor, ‘life,’ Old Icelandic aldr, ‘age, hoary age,’ Gothic *aldra-, in framaldrs, ‘of advanced age, in years.’ An abstract term formed from the root al, ‘to grow up, bring forth,’ mentioned under alt, and the suffix -tro- frequent in Greek and Latin. See further cognates under Welt.
Altreise, see Riester.
Altvordern, plural, from the equivalent Middle High German altvordern, Old High German alt-fordoron, masculine plural, ‘forefathers,’ literally ‘the old former ones,’ from Old High German fordoro, ‘farmer.’ With regard to the signification of alt- in this compound, compare Old High German and Middle High German alt-vater ‘grandfather,’ Old High German alt-hêrro, ‘ancestor,’ Old High German alt-mâg,’ forefather.’
Amboss, masculine ‘anvil,’ from Middle High German ​anebôȥ, Old High German anabôȥ, masculine, ‘anvil'; a specifically German word allied to Old High German bôȥân, Middle High German bôȥen, ‘to beat, strike.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon beátan, English to beat (see Beifuß, Beutel, bosseln). Whether Old High German ana-bôȥ is formed by the imitation of Latin incus (allied to cudere) is uncertain, for the smith's art was early developed among the Teutons without any Southern influence. The corresponding terms Anglo-Saxon anfilt, English anvil (also Old High German ana-falz), Dutch aanbeeld, Middle Low German anebelte, Danish ambolt, are similarly formed.
Ameise, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German ā̆meiȥe (emeze, whence Modern High German Emse), Old High German ā̆meiȥȥa, feminine, ‘ant'; note Modern High German dialectic ametze, Old High German ā̆meitza. It corresponds to Anglo-Saxon œmette, English emmet, ant. The derivation can scarcely be ascertained with certainty, as the relations of the vowels of the accented syllable are not clear; the Old High German form ămeiȥȥa evidently indicates a connection with emsig; Ameise, literally ‘the diligent (insect).’ On the other hand, Old High German â-meizza and Anglo-Saxon œ-mette point to a root mait, ‘to cut, gnaw' (see under Meißel), so that it would signify ‘gnawing insect’ (Middle High German and Old High German â- means ‘off, to pieces'). Dutch and Low German mier, ‘ant,’ is more widely diffused than Ameise, Crimean Gothic miera (Gothic *miuzjô), Anglo-Saxon mŷra, English mire, Swedish mŷra, ‘ant’; originally ‘that which lives in the moss, the moss insect,’ allied to Teutonic meuso- (see Mees). A word formed from the Latin formica is probably at the base of Swiss wurmeisle.
Amelmehl, neuter, ‘starch-flour,’ from Middle High German amel, amer, Old High German amar,’ summer-spelt'; the Modern High German signification seems to be influenced by Greek-Middle Latin amylon, ‘finest meal’ (English amel-corn).
Ammann, masculine (Alemannian; the Franconian term is Heimbürge), ‘chief magistrate, bailiff,’ from Middle High German amman, a shortened collateral form of ambetman, ‘magistrate, bailiff'; original sense, ‘servant, official,’ afterwards also ‘magistrate.’ See also Amt.
Amme, feminine, ‘(wet-)nurse, foster-mother,’ from Middle High German amme, feminine, ‘mother, in so far as the child is fed by her; (wet-)nurse,’ Old High German amma, feminine; allied to Old Icelandic amma, ‘grandmother' (Suabian and Bavarian even yet ‘mother’). Probably an instinctive sound, since, undoubtedly independent of the Teutonic group, Romance also and other languages have similar words for Amme; compare Spanish and Portuguese ama.
Ammeister, masculine, ‘chief magistrate,’ from Middle High German ammeister, from ambetmeister, like Ammann, from Ambetmann; Middle High German ammanmeister and ammeister, ‘president of the guilds (of Strasburg).’
Ammer, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German amer, Old High German amero (*amaro), masculine,’ yellow-hammer,’ with the derivative Old High German and Middle High German amerinc, ‘yellow-hammer,’ Middle Latin amarellus, which may have been formed from the German word; English yellow - hammer (Goldammer) is a corrupt form. Whether Old High German *amaro was derived from Old High German amar, ‘summer-spelt,’ is as doubtful as its relation to Amsel.
Ampel, feminine, ‘lamp,’ from Middle High German ampel (also ampulle), Old High German ampulla, feminine, ‘lamp,’ also ‘vessel.’ Borrowed in Old High German from Latin ampulla, ‘flask, vessel,’ whence also Anglo-Saxon ampelle, Old Icelandic ample, ‘vessel’ (Low German pulle, ‘bottle’).
Ampfer, masculine, ‘sorrel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ampfer, Old High German ampfaro, masculine; allied to the equivalent Anglo-Saxon ompre; an adjective used as a substantive. Compare Dutch amper, ‘sharp, bitter, unripe,’ Old Swedish amper, ‘sour, bitter,’ Old Icelandic apr (for *ampr), ‘sharp' (chiefly of cold); also Low German ampern, ‘to prove bitter to the taste.’ Sauerampfer (also corrupted to Sauer-ramf) is a tautological compound like Windhund. In case Teutonic ampra-, from *ambro-, represents the properly Aryan *amró-, Sanscrit amlá, ‘sour' (also ‘wood-sorrel'), and Latin amârus, ‘bitter,’ are primitively cognate with this word.
Amsel, feminine, ‘blackbird,’ from the equivalent Middle High German amsel, Old High German amsala, feminine. It corresponds to Anglo-Saxon ôsle (ôs- from ams-), English ousel; the equivalent Latin mĕrula (French merle), whence Dutch meerle and English merl are borrowed, may represent *mĕsula, and have been originally cognate with Amsel. Its relation to Ammer and to Gothic ams, ‘shoulder,’ is uncertain.
Amt, neuter, ‘office, council, jurisdiction,’ from Middle High German ammet, older ambet, Old High German ambaht, ambahti, neuter, ‘service, office, occupation, divine service, mass’; a word common to the Teutonic group. Compare Gothic andbahti, ‘office, service' (from andbahts, ‘servant,’ Old High German ambaht, ‘servant'), Anglo-Saxon anbiht, ambiht, neuter, ‘office, service,’ ambiht, masculine, ‘servant' (obsolete at the beginning of the Middle English period), Dutch ambt, Old Saxon ambaht-skepi, ‘service,’ ambaht-man, ‘servant.’ The relation of the common Teutonic word to the Gallic-Latin ambactus (mentioned in Caesar's Bell. Gall.), ‘vassal,’ is much disputed. The West Teutonic words may be best explained from Gothic and Old Teutonic ándbahta-, ​and the genuinely Teutonic aspect of such a word cannot indeed be denied, even if the origin of -bahts cannot now be determined (and- is a verbal particle, Modern High German ant-). The emphatic testimony of Festus, however, is against the Teutonic origin of the Gallic-Latin ambactus; ambactus apud Ennium lingua gallica servus appellatur. This coincides with the fact that the word can be fully explained from Keltic; ambactus contains the Keltic prefix amb- (Latin amb-) ‘about’; and ag is an oft-recurring verbal root (see Acker) in Keltic, meaning ‘to go’; hence ambactus, ‘messenger’ (literally ‘one sent hither and thither’), from which comes Middle Latin ambactia, ambactiata, ‘errand’ (Italian ambasciata, French ambassade, ‘embassy’). This explanation of the Latin-Romance cognates makes it possible that the Old Teutonic class was borrowed from Keltic and transformed (Gothic andbahts for ambahts); in any case, it was borrowed in prehistoric times (compare Reich).
an, preposition, adverb, ‘on, by, along,’ from Middle High German ane, Old High German ana, preposition, adverb, ‘on, in, upon’; it corresponds to Gothic ana, preposition, adverb, ‘on, upon, in,’ Anglo-Saxon, English on, preposition, adverb, Dutch aan, Old Saxon an. Primitively allied to Greek ἀνά, ‘upon, on,’ Zend ana ‘upon,’ Latin an- in anhélare, ‘to respire,’ Old Slovenian vŭ (for *on).
anberaumen, verb, ‘to fix or appoint (a time),’ with a dialectic transmutation of â into au (Old Bavarian), or the word was based by popular etymology on Raum, from Middle High German râmen (rœmen), ‘to make proposals, aim, strive’ (berâmen, ‘to fix’), Old High German râmên, Old Saxon râmôn, ‘to aim, strive,’ Dutch beramen, ‘to fix’; allied to Middle High German râm ‘goal’ (root rê, as in Rede?). Further Old French aramir, ‘to define legally’?.
Andacht, feminine, ‘devotion,’ from Middle High German andâht, Old High German ánadâht, ‘attention, devotion’; Middle High German dûht, feminine, ‘thought,’ is a verbal abstract from Middle High German and Modern High German denken.
Andauche, feminine, ‘drain,’ older Modern High German âdûche, transformed from Latin aquaeductus. See Abzucht.
ander, adjective, ‘other, different, second,’ from Middle High German ander, Old High German andar, ‘the other’; it corresponds to Gothic anþar, ‘the other,’ Old Icelandic annarr, Anglo-Saxon ôðer, English other, Dutch ander, Old Saxon âðar, ôðar. The meanings ‘the second, one of two, the other,’ are due to a comparative form (Aryan ánteros, ‘one of two,’ Latin alter). Compare the corresponding Sanscrit ántara-, ‘different from,’ Osset. ändär, ‘otherwise than, with the exception of,’ Lithuanian àntras, ‘the other.’ The root an- is proved by Sanscrit and Zend an-ya-, ‘another.’ With Old High German andar ‘other,’ is also connected Old High German antarôn, ‘to imitate.’
Anders, see einst.
Andorn, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German andorn, ‘horehound, the plant Marrubium’; the suffix -orn as in Ahorn? The root has not yet been explained.
anfachen, see Fächer.
Angel, masculine and feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German angel, masculine, feminine, ‘sting, fish-hook, hinge of a door,’ Old High German angul, masculine. ‘sting, point, fish-hook’; diminutive of Old High German ango, ‘sting, door hinge,’ Middle High German ange, ‘fish-hook, door hinge.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon ongel, English angle, Anglo-Saxon onga, ‘sting,’ Old Icelandic ǫngull ‘fish-hook,’ allied to ange, ‘sting, point’ (Alemannian angel, ‘bee sting,’ angelmuck, ‘stinging fly’). The supposition that the primitively and widely diffused cognates are borrowed from Latin angulus, ‘angle, corner,’ is untenable; Old Bulgarian ąglŭ, English angle, Anglo-Saxon angul, ‘angle, corner,’ are, however, primitively allied to it; so too England, Angelsachsen. The root idea of the Teutonic cognates is ‘pointed.’ An Aryan root onk, ‘to be pointed,’ also lies at the base of Latin uncus, Greek ὄγκος, ὄγκινος, ‘barb,’ ἄγκιστρον, ‘fish-hook,’ Sanscrit aṅka, ‘hook,’ Osset. ängur, ‘hook, hinge,’ Old Irish écad, hook.’
angenehm, adjective, ‘agreeable, pleasant,’ from Middle High German genœme, late Old High German ginâmi, adjective, ‘acceptable, agreeable’ (without the prefix an-), allied to nehmen. Compare Gothic andanêms ‘agreeable,’ allied to and-niman, ‘to accept.’
Anger, masculine, ‘paddock, grass plot,’ from Middle High German anger, Old High German angar, masculine, ‘pasture land, grass plot, arable land’; allied to Old Icelandic eng, enge, ‘meadow, pasture ground.’ The cognates can scarcely be derived from enge, ‘narrow’ (Teutonic root ang). Trustworthy correspondences are wanting.
Angesicht, neuter, ‘face, presence,’ from Middle High German angesiht, neuter, ‘aspect, view,’ Middle German also ‘face’; allied to Gesicht, sehen.
Angst, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German angest, Old High German angust, feminine, ‘anxiety, apprehension’; this abstract form is wanting in the other Old Teutonic dialects, the suffix st being also very rarely found; compare Dienst. But it must not be assumed therefore that the Old High German angust is borrowed from Latin angustiae, ‘narrowness, meanness.’ It is ​rather to be regarded as a genuine Teutonic derivative from the root ang appearing in enge, especially as the Old Slovenian in its primitively allied ązostî, ‘contraction,’ shows the same derivation. Hence Angst must be considered as primitively cognate with Latin angustiae. See bange and enge.
anbeischig, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German antheiȥec, antheiȥe. adjective, ‘bound, engaged,’ influenced by hetschen; the Middle High German adjective is derived from Middle High German and Old High German an-theiȥ, ‘vow, promise,’ which, like Gothic andahait ‘confession,’ Anglo-Saxon ondettan, ‘to confess,’ is compound of the particle ant- and the root hait, ‘to bid.’
Anis, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German anîs, also enis, neuter, ‘anise,’ borrowed perhaps even before the Middle High German period from Latin anîsum (Greek ἄνϊσον), ‘anise,’ whence also French anis, English anise.
Anke, masculine ‘butter,’ an Alemannian word, from Middle High German anke, Old High German ancho, ‘butter’; the genuine German term for the borrowed word Butter, for which, in the Old High German period, anc-smëro or chuo-smëro, literally ‘cow-fat’ (see Schmeer), might also be used. Gothic *agqa for Old High German ancho is not recorded. It is certainly allied primitively to the Indian root añj, ‘to anoint, besmear,’ and to Latin unguo, ‘to anoint’; compare Sanscrit âjya ‘butter-offering,’ Old Irish imb (from imben-), ‘butter.’
Anker (1.), masculine, ‘anchor,’ from the equivalent Middle High German anker, late Old High German anchar, masculine; corresponding to Dutch anker, Anglo-Saxon (even at a very early period) oncor, English anchor, Old Icelandic akkere, ‘anchor.’ A loan-word early naturalised among the English, and before 1000 A. D. even among the Middle European Teutons and in the North. From Latin ancora (compare Italian ancora, French ancre, feminine; allied also to Lithuanian inkaras, Old Slovenian anŭkura, ankura), in connection with which the different gender of the Teutonic words is remarkable. In Old High German there exists a genuinely native word for ‘anchor’ — senchil, masculine, sinchila, feminine.
Anker (2.), masculine, ‘a liquid measure,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch anker, which, like the equivalent English anchor, points to Middle Latin anceria, ancheria, ‘cupa minor’ (smaller cask); the origin of the cognates is obscure.
Anlehen, neuter, ‘loan,’ from Middle High German an-lêhen, Old High German analêhan, neuter, ‘loan of money on interest,’ from an- and Lehen.
anrüchig, adjective, also anrüchtig, ‘disreputable,’ Modern High German only, formed from ruchbar under the influence of riechen. See ruchtbar.
Anstalt, feminine ‘institution,’ from Middle High German anstalt, ‘founding’; -stalt is an abstract from stellen.
anstatt, see Statt.
ant-, prefix, preserved in Modern High German only in Ant-litz and Ant-wort (see also Amt, anheischig, and Handwerk). It is found in the early periods in many noun compounds, to which Modern High German ent-; is the corresponding prefix of verbal compounds. Compare Middle High German and Old High German ant-, Gothic anda-, Anglo-Saxon and-, ond- (compare English answer under Antwort); also the Gothic prep, and, ‘on, upon, in, along.’ The originally meaning of the prefix is ‘counter,’ which makes it cognate with Greek ἀντί ‘against,’ Latin ante, ‘before,’ Sanscrit ánti, ‘opposite.’
Antlitz, neuter, from the equivalent Middle High German antlitze, neuter, late Old High German antlizzi, neuter, ‘countenance’; allied to the equivalent collateral forms Middle High German antlütte, Old High German antlutti (analûti), neuter, ‘countenance.’ Two originally different words have been combined in these forms. It is probable that Old High German and Middle High German antliȥ corresponds to Anglo-Saxon and-wlita, masculine, Old Icelandic andlit, neuter (compare Gothic anda-wleizn, neuter); compare Gothic wlits, masculine ‘face,’ wlaitôn, Old Icelandic líta (for *vlíta), ‘to spy’; the root wlī̆t (pre-Teutonic wlī̆d), preserved in these words, has not yet been authenticated beyond the Teutonic group. With these cognates were combined those from Gothic ludja, ‘face,’ parallel to which an equivalent *anda-lū̆di, for Old High German antlū̆tti, neuter ‘countenance,’ must be assumed.
Antwort, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German antwurt, feminine, Old High German atwurti, feminine, ‘answer,’ beside which there is a neuter form Middle High German antwürte, Old High German antwurti, Gothic ándawaurdi; literally ‘counter-words’ (collective). Compare ant-; also, Anglo-Saxon andswaru, English answer, under schwören.
Apfel, neuter, ‘apple,’ from the equivalent Middle High German apfel, Old High German apful (also afful, plural epfili), masculine; a word common to the Teutonic group, by chance not recorded in Gothic. Compare Dutch and Low German appel, masculine, Anglo-Saxon œppel, masculine (in the plural neuter), English apple, Old Icelandic eple, neuter, ‘apple’ (Gothic *aplus, masculine?). The apple-tree in West Teutonic is *apuldr, feminine; compare Old High German affoltra, Anglo-Saxon apuldr, which are preserved in the local names Modern High German Affoltern, Affaltrach, (Apolda?), Dutch Apeldoren, English Appledore. In spite of this diffusion throughout the entire Teutonic group, and of the mention of wild apple-trees in Tacitus, the whole class must be recognised as loan-words (Obst has no connection whatever with ​them). They must, however, have been borrowed long before the beginning of our era, since the Teutonic p in apla- has, in accordance with the permutation of consonants, originated in a prehistoric b; compare Irish aball, uball, Lithuanian obůlys, Old Slovenian alŭko, ‘apple.’ As nothing testifies to the Aryan origin of these oblu- cognates (in Latin mâlum- Greek μῆλον), found only in the North of Europe, we must assume that the word was borrowed. The derivation from Latin malum Abellanum (the Campanian town Abella was famed in antiquity for its apples), is on phonetic and formal grounds doubtful, although in the abstract (compare Pfirsich) the combination is interesting. No other explanation of how it was borrowed has yet been found. It is noteworthy that for Augapfel, ‘pupil,’ apful alone (as well as ougapful) can be used in Old High German; compare Anglo-Saxon œppel, neuter (plural, also masculine), English apple of the eye (also eyeball), Dutch oogappel; but, on the other hand, Old Icelandic augasteinn.
April, masculine, ‘April,’ from the equivalent Middle High German aprille, aberëlle, masculine; from Latin Aprilis (compare French avril, Italian aprile), borrowed at the beginning of the Middle High German period in place of the genuine Old High German ôstarmânôd, ‘Easter-month.’
Ar, masculine, neuter, a square measure (about 120 sq. yards), Modern High German only, formed from the equivalent French are (Latin area).
Arbeit, feminine, ‘work, labour, employment,’ from Middle High German arbeit, arebeit, Old High German ar(a)beit, feminine, ‘labour, toil, distress.’ Corresponding to Old Saxon arƀêdi, neuter, ‘toil, hardship, suffering,’ arbêd, feminine, and Dutch arbeid, masculine, Anglo-Saxon earfoð, earfeðe, neuter, ‘toil, hardship,’ earfeðe, adjective, ‘difficult,’ Gothic arbaiþs(d), feminine, ‘oppression, distress’; Old Icelandic erfiði, neuter, ‘toil,’ erfiðr, adjective, ‘difficult, toilsome.’ Hence ‘toil’ must be accepted as the fundamental meaning of the cognates, and therefore any connection with the stem of Erbe is improbable. It has been compared with greater reason with Old Slovenian (Russian) rabota, feminine, ‘servants' work,’ and rabŭ, robŭ, ‘servant, thrall,’ as primary cognates, although this comparison is open to doubt. Latin lâbor, ‘work,’ is at all events certainly not allied to it.
Arche, feminine, ‘ark,’ from Middle High German, arche (also arke), Old High German arahha (also archa), feminine, ‘Noah's ark.’ The Modern High German form with ch (instead of k) seems to point to Upper Germany (Luther’s Bible has Noahs Kasten); Old High German buoh-arahha, ‘book-chest,’ Middle High German arche, ‘chest, money-chest.’ It corresponds to Dutch ark, ‘Noah’s ark,’ Anglo-Saxon earc, masculine, earce, feminine, ‘chest, covenant, ark, box,’ English ark, Old Icelandic ǫrk, feminine, ‘chest, coffin, Noah’s ark,’ Gothic arka, feminine, ‘box, money-box, Noah's ark.’ This widely diffused word was borrowed at an early period from the equivalent Latin (also Romance) arca, which, as the meanings of the Teutonic group coextensive with those of the Latin indicate, was not perhaps naturalised on the introduction of Christianity, to which the more recent meaning of ‘Noah's ark’ may refer. Both the word and the thing had probably at the beginning of our era found their way to the Teutons with Latin cista. See Kiste and Sack.
arg, adjective, ‘bad, severe, hard,’ from Middle High German arc(g), ‘vile, wicked, stingy, avaricious,’ Old High German arg, arag, ‘avaricious, cowardly, vile’; also Old High German arg, Middle High German arc(g) ‘evil, vileness, wickedness.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon earg, adjective, ‘cowardly, slothful’ (no longer found in English), Old Icelandic argr, ‘cowardly, effeminate’ (also ragr). Paul the Deacon cites arga as an abusive term among the Lombards. Through a Gothic *args the Teutonic word may have made its way into Spanish and Finnish; compare Spanish aragan, ‘slothful,’ Finnish arka, ‘cowardly.’ As it is not easy to deduce the meaning ‘cowardly’ from ‘avaricious,’ which appears chiefly in Old High German, we must assume that the root idea of the Teutonic arga- was ‘vile, base,’ of which ‘avaricious’ and ‘cowardly’ would be specialisations resulting from the liberal hospitality and bravery which characterised the Teutons. This word, like almost all words within the ethical sphere, is peculiar to Teutonic; compare arm, böse, gut, übel. —
ärgern, ‘to annoy, vex, fret,’ from Middle High German ergern, ‘to incite to evil, deteriorate, corrupt,’ Old High German ergirôn, argirôn, ‘to make worse,’ from the comparative of arg. From this Modern High German Ärger, masculine, is formed (compare Aussatz from aussätzig, Geiz from geizen, Handel from handeln, Opfer from opfern); in Middle High German erge, Old High German argî, feminine, ‘malice.’ —
Argwohn, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German arcwân, masculine (compare Wahn), ‘suspicion, mistrust’; compare Modern High German Arglist, feminine, from Middle High German arclist, feminine, ‘cunning, malice,’ from arg; even in Old High German arcwânen, ‘to suspect,’ occurs, Middle High German arcwœnen.
ärgern, verb, see arg.
Arlesbaum, masculine, ‘service tree,’ from Middle High German Old High German arliz-boum, masculine, ‘acernus, cornus’; scarcely allied to Erle.
Arm, masculine, ‘arm, branch,’ from the equivalent ​Middle High German arm, Old High German aram, arm, masculine; a word common to the Teutonic group; compare Old Saxon arm, Dutch arm, Anglo-Saxon earm, English arm, Old Icelandic armr, Gothic arms, masculine, ‘arm.’ Like many terms for parts of the body (see Arsch, Fuß, Herz, Knie, Nagel, &c.), Arm extends beyond the Teutonic dialects. It is. primitively related to Latin armus, ‘the topmost part of the upper arm, fore-quarter’ (Greek ἁρμός, ‘suture, joint, shoulder,’ belongs to another division), Old Bulgarian ramę, ‘shoulder, arm,’ Sanscrit îrmá-s, masculine, ‘fore-quarter, arm.’ See Ermel.
arm, adjective, ‘poor, unfortunate, miserable,’ from the equivalent Middle High German arm, Old High German aram, arm, adjective; compare Old Saxon arm, Dutch arm, Anglo-Saxon earm (obsolete in English), Old Icelandic armr, Gothic arms, adjective, ‘poor.’ A term common to Teutonic with no correspondence in the allied Aryan group; compare barmherzig, arg, Reich). —
Armut, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German armuot, feminine, armuote, neuter, ‘poverty,’ Old High German aramuotî, feminine: a derivative of the Gothic adjective *armôþs; compare Einöde, Heimat.
Armbrust, feminine, ‘crossbow,’ from the equivalent Middle High German armbrust, neuter, which must be a corruption of Middle Latin arbalista, arcubalista, literally ‘bow for projectiles’ (Latin arcus, Greek βἀλλευν). A compound of Arm and Brust is, properly speaking, impossible in German, especially as the Middle High German word is neuter. From Middle Latin arbalista comes the equivalent French arbalète; compare English arbalist, Dutch armborst, Italian balestra, from the last of which the older Modern High German Balester, ‘cross-bow for shooting bullets,’ is borrowed.
Armel, see Ermel.
Armut, see arm.
Arnold, see Aar.
Arsch, masculine, ‘arse, fundament,’ according to the analogous cases cited under birschen, from an older Ars, Middle High German and Old High German ars, masculine, ‘arse.’ It corresponds to the equivalent Middle Low German ars, ers, Dutch aars, naars (with prefixed n), Anglo-Saxon ears, English arse, Old Icelandic ars (and rass, compare argr and ragr, see arg), masculine, ‘arse.’ Teutonic arsa-z, masculine, from órso-s, is rightly held to be primitively allied to Greek δῥῥος (ρρ for rs), ‘coccyx, rump’; akin to Old Irish err, feminine, ‘tail, end, point’?. Compare the remark under Arm.
Art, feminine, ‘kind, sort, species, manner,’ from Middle High German art, masculine, feminine, ‘innate peculiarity, nature, condition, kind’; Old High German art, is not recorded with these meanings, nor is the word found elsewhere. Instead of this there occurs the homonymous Old High German art, feminine, ‘tillage, ploughing,’ with which artôn, ‘to inhabit, cultivate,’ is connected; further, Old Saxon ard, masculine, ‘dwelling-place,’ Anglo-Saxon eard, masculine, ‘dwelling, native place,’ Old Icelandic ǫrð), feminine, ‘harvest, produce.’ These cognates, which belong (see Acker) to an Old Teutonic and Aryan root, ar, ‘to plough’ (Latin arare, Greek ἀρόω, &c.), are scarcely allied to Middle High German art, masculine, feminine, ‘nature, condition’; compare, however, Wohnung from gewöhnen. It is more probable that Art is connected with Latin ars (genitive plural arti-um), ‘method, art,’ and Sanscrit ṛtá, ‘method.’ The compounds Artacker, artbar, arthaft contain Middle High German and Old High German art, ‘agriculture, tillage,’ and belong consequently to the Teutonic and Aryan root ar, ‘to plough.’
Arzenei, feminine (in the 17th century accented on the A also), ‘medicine,’ from Middle High German arzenîe (erzonîe), feminine, ‘art of healing, remedy.’ The Old High German word does not occur, but only a derivative Old High German erzinen, giarzinôn, Middle High German erzenen, ‘to heal;’ the verb, by its suffix, suggests Gothic lêkinôn, Anglo-Saxon lœ̂cnian, Old High German lâhhinôn, ‘to heal.’ From Old High German gi-arzinôn, the Middle High German substantival arzenîe, which did not appear until a later period, might then have been formed with a Romance termination. The assumption that Middle High German arzenîe referred to Archigenes of Apamea (in Syria), a famous physician, is untenable; if this assumption were correct, we should have expected Old High German *arzin, or rather *arzino, ‘physician,’ which, however, nowhere to be found. Besides, Old High German arzinôn formed into arzât, ‘physician,’ under the influence of the genuinely Teutonic and Gothic lêkinôn, Old High German lâhhinôn, ‘to heal,’ makes any reference to Archigenes quite superfluous. Moreover, Middle High German has also a form arzatîe (Middle Dutch arsedîe), ‘medicine.’ See Arzt.
Arzt, masculine, ‘physician,’ from the equivalent Middle High German arzet, arzât, Old High German arzăt, masculine, a specifically German word, unknown to English, Scandinavian and Gothic. Its early appearance in Old High German, in which Old Teutonic lâhhi was the more prevalent form, is remarkable (compare Gothic lêkeis, ‘physician,’ Anglo-Saxon lœ̂ce, English leech; also the Modern High German proper name Lachner, from Middle High German lâchenœre, ‘enchanter,’ literally ‘physician’). The Middle Dutch form arsatre, Old Low German ercetere, ‘physician’ (Middle Low German arste), proves the origin from the oft-recurring Franconian and Middle Latin archiater (άρχιατρός), ‘physician’ (especially physician-in-ordinary to the king). There are no phonetic difficulties in ​connecting Old High German arzât with arzâter, arciâter, archiâter, since the Old Low German and Middle Dutch form itself points to the Middle Latin form. Moreover, the technical terms of Greek physic found their way at an early period to the West (compare Büchse, Pflaster), but always through the medium of Latin and Romance. The unique arzâte(r) was entirely unknown to Romance (Italian medico, Old French mirc, French médecin, which of course were also unknown to Teutonic). Concerning arz-, erz-, as the representative of Greek άρχι-, see Erz-. The theory advanced on account of Modern High German Mühlarzt, ‘mill-wright,’ that Old High German arzât is from Latin artista, is on phonetic and historical grounds unwarranted. Middle Latin artista was not used for medical practitioners until late in the Middle Ages (compare Modern French artiste vétérinaire); the word too is unknown in earlier Romance. On the other hand, we meet with archiatri even as far back as the Frankish king Childebert and Charlemagne. See besides Arzenei.
As, neuter, Aß, Modern High German only, from the equivalent French as, masculine, ‘the ace (of dice or cards), a small weight’ (Latin as). In Middle High German the prevalent term for the ‘ace (of dice)’ was esse, which comes from Latin assis (a later collateral form of as). Compare Daus.
Asch, see Arsch.—
Asch, masculine, ‘pot, basin, bowl’ (to which Aschkuchen is allied), from Middle High German asch, Old High German asc, masculine, ‘dish, basin, boat’; literally ‘of ash.’ See Esche.
Asche (1.), feminine, ‘ashes, cinders,’ from Middle High German asche (esche), Old High German asca, feminine, ‘ashes’; corresponds to Dutch asch, Anglo-Saxon asce, œsce, feminine, English ashes (but also singular in bone-ash, potash, &c.); Old Icelandic aska, feminine, ‘ashes’; akin also to the abnormal Gothic azgô, feminine, ‘ashes’ (but Spanish ascua is borrowed). Trustworthy correspondences in other languages are wanting, nor is Esche allied to it. —
Aschenbrödel, see under brodeln. —
Modern High German Ascher-, ‘ash,’ in the compound Aschermittwoch (for which the Middle High German form is aschtac), occurs even in Middle High German in compounds. —
Aschlauch, masculine, ‘shallot,’ Middle High German aschlouch, a corruption of the equivalent Middle Latin ascalonium. See Schalotte.
Asche (2.), feminine, ‘grayling,’ from the equivalent Middle High German asche, Old High German asco, masculine; scarcely allied to Asche, as if the fish were named from its ash-grey colour; Italian lasco.
Assel, masculine, especially Kellerassel, ‘woodlouse,’ Modern High German only; generally derived from Latin asellus, ‘little ass,’ and might have been named from its grey colour; compare Greek ὄνος, ὀνίσκος, ‘ass, woodlouse,’ Italian asello, ‘woodlouse.’ Yet the ss the Modern High German word, as well as the dialectic variant atzel, might militate against this derivation; hence a pre-Teutonic stem at, att (allied to essen?) seems to be at the base of it. Compare also Esel.
Aft, masculine, ‘bough, branch,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German ast, masculine, ‘branch,’ corresponding to the equivalent Gothic asts. The term is unknown to the other dialects, yet its great antiquity is incontestable because of the agreement of Teutonic astaz (a permutation of the pre-Teutonic ozdos; compare Mast, and the examples cited there of the permutation of the Aryan zd, sd, to Teutonic st) with Greek ὄζος (ὄσθοε), ‘branch, twig, knot, node (of a tree)’; the latter with Armenian ost, ‘branch,’ is likewise based upon osdos. The meanings of the Greek word admit the supposition of its being allied to Middle Low German ôst (Low German aust), Dutch oest, Anglo-Saxon ôst, ‘knot, node’ (Aryan stem ôsdo-).
Aß, see Aas and As.
Atem, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German âtem (âten), Old High German âtum, masculine, ‘breath, spirit’; compare Middle High German der heilege âtem, Old High German der wîho âtum, ‘the Holy Spirit;’ Modern High German collateral form (properly dialectic) Odem. The word is not found in East Teutonic; in Gothic ahma, ‘spirit,’ is used instead (see achten). Compare Old Saxon âðom, Dutch adem, Anglo-Saxon œ̂þm (obsolete in English), ‘breath.’ The cognates point to Aryan êtmon-, Sanscrit âtmán, masculine, ‘puff, breath, spirit’; also Old Irish athach, ‘breath,’ Greek ἀτμός, ‘smoke, vapour.’ Whether Modern High German Ader and Greek ἥτορ, ‘heart,’ are derived from the root êt, ‘to exhale, breathe,’ contained in these cognates, is questionable.
Ätte, Ätti, masculine, ‘father,’ dialectic, from Middle High German atte, Old High German atto, ‘father.’ The mutation of the Modern High German is diminutive, as is shown by the final i of the Swiss ätti. Allied to Gothic atta, ‘father’ (whence Attila, Middle High German Etzel, literally ‘little, dear father’), perhaps also to Old Irish aite, ‘foster-father’ (from attios), Old Slovenian otĭcĭ, ‘father.’
Attich, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German attech (atech), Old High German attah (attuh, atah), ‘danewort,’ borrowed and extended at an early period from Latin acte (Greek ἀκτῇ, ἀκτέα), ‘elder-tree.’ Compare Lattich from Latin lactuca, also Dattel from dactylos.
Atzel, feminine, ‘magpie’; see under Esster.
ätzen, verb, ‘to corrode, etch, bait,’ from Middle High German etzen, Old High German ezzen, ‘to give to eat,’ literally ‘to make eat’; factitive of essen.
​ Au, Aue, ‘river islet, wet meadow, fertile plan,’ from Middle High German ouwe, feminine, ‘water, stream, water-land, island, peninsula, meadow-land abounding in water, grassy plain’; Old High German ouwa, from old *aujô- (the presumed Gothic form, compare Old High German-Middle Latin augia). It corresponds to Old Icelandic ey and Anglo-Saxon êg, îg, feminine, ‘island,’ to which Anglo-Saxon êglond, îglond, English island, Dutch eiland, ‘island,’ are allied; so too Latin and Teutonic Batavia, Scandinavia; Gothic *aujô- (for awjô-, awiâ-) has lost a g (compare Niere). The theoretical form agwjô-, properly an adjective used as a substantive, ‘the watery place,’ as it were (hence ‘water-land,’ i.e., ‘island’ or ‘meadow’), belongs to Gothic ahwa, feminine, ‘river,’ which with Latin aqua is based upon Aryan ákwâ. The names of places ending in a (e.g. Fulda) and ach (e.g. Urach) still preserve the Old High German aha equivalent to the Gothic ahwa. See -a and -ach.
auch, adverb and conjunction, ‘also, likewise,’ from Middle High German ouch, Old High German ouh, ‘and, also, but.’ It corresponds to Old Saxon ôk, Dutch ook; OFries. âk, Anglo-Saxon eác, English eke, Old Icelandic auk, ‘besides,’ Danish og, ‘and, also, but,’ Swedish och, Icelandic ok; Gothic auk, ‘then, but’; an adverb common to Teutonic. Some refer this auk to the Teutonic root auk (Aryan aug), ‘to increase,’ whence Old High German ouhhôn, ‘to add,’ Old Saxon òkian, Anglo-Saxon ŷcan, Old Icelandic auka, Gothic aukan, ‘to increase,’ are derived (Latin augere, aug-ustus, Sanscrit ugrás, ‘powerful,’ ôjas, ‘strength,’ are allied to them); compare Anglo-Saxon tô-eácan, ‘moreover, also.’ Others trace Teutonic auk to a compound of two Aryan particles, au and ge (Greek αὖ, γε).
Aue, feminine, ‘ewe,’ dialectic, from Middle High German ouwe, Old High German ou, feminine, ‘sheep.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon eowu, English ewe; primitively allied to Latin ovis, Greek οἵς, Lithuanian avis (Old Slovenian ovĭca), ‘sheep.’ See Schaf.
Auer, in Auerochs, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German ûr, ûr-ochse, Old High German ûr, ûrohso, masculine, ‘aurochs’; corresponds to Anglo-Saxon ûr, Old Icelandic úrr, (u- stem). The fact that even Roman writers knew the Teutonic term under the form ûrus points to *ûrus (not ûzus) as the Gothic form; compare Teutonic and Latin glêsum, ‘amber,’ similar to Anglo-Saxon glœ̂re, ‘resin.’ Hence the proposed explanation of ûr from Sanscrit usrá-s, masculine, ‘bull,’ must be put aside. Internal evidence cannot be adduced to show that the Old German word is non-Teutonic; the assertion of Macrobius that ûrus is Keltic proves nothing. —
Auerhahn, masculine, even in Middle High German the equivalent ûrhan (and orhan), masculine, ‘blackcock,’ with ûrhuon (orhuon), ‘grey hen,’ occurs. Auerhahn was evidently compared with Auerochs, the one appeared to be among the birds of the wood what the other was among animals of the chase.
auf, adverb, preposition, ‘up, upwards, on, upon,’ from Middle High German and Old High German ûf, adverb, preposition, ‘upon’; corresponds to Old Saxon ûp, Anglo-Saxon ûp-ū̆pp, and its equivalent English up; Gothic iup, adverb, ‘upwards, aloft,’ differs remarkably in its vowel. Probably primitively Teutonic *ū̆ppa, ‘up,’ is allied to oben and über.
aufmutzen, see mutzen.
Aufruhr, see Ruhr.
aufwiegeln, see wiegeln.
Auge, neuter, ‘eye,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ouge, Old High German ouga, neuter; a word common to Teutonic; compare Gothic augô, Old Icelandic auga, Anglo-Saxon eáge, English eye, Dutch oog, Old Saxon ôga, ‘eye.’ While numerous terms for parts of the body (compare Arm, Fuß, Herz, Kinn, Knie, Ohr, &c.) are common to Teutonic with the other Aryan dialects, it has not yet been proved that there is any agreement with respect to Auge between Teutonic and Latin, Greek, Indian, &c. Of course there is an undeniable similarity of sound between the Aryan base oq, ‘eye,’ and Latin oculus, Greek ὅσσε for *ὄκjε, ὀφθαλμός, ὦπα, &c., Sanscrit akši, Old Slovenian oko, Lithuanian akí-s, ‘eye.’ —
Augenlid, see Lid.
August, masculine, formed, after being based anew on Latin and Romance augustus, from the equivalent Middle High German ougest, ougeste, Old High German augusto, agusto, masculine, ‘August’ (the genuine Old German term is Erntemonat, Old High German aran-mânôt). Compare French août, Italian agosto. It was borrowed in Old High German at the same time as März and Mai.
aus, adverb and preposition, ‘out, forth, from, by reason of,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German ûȥ, adverb, preposition; corresponds to Gothic ût, adverb, ‘out (thither, hence),’ Anglo-Saxon ût, ‘out (thither, hence), out of doors, outside,’ English out, Dutch uit, preposition, adverb, ‘out,’ Old Saxon ût. Compare außen, außer. The common Teutonic ût (from ût-a?) is based upon Aryan ûd (ŭd); compare Sanscrit ud, a verbal particle, ‘out, out (thither), aloft, upwards.’
Aussatz, masculine, from the equivalent late Middle High German ûȥ-satz, masculine, ‘leprosy’; a singular, late and regressive formation from the Middle High German substantive ûȥsetze and ûȥsetzel, ‘leper,’ Middle High German ûȥsetzig, adjective, ‘leprous,’ Old High German ûȥ-sâzzo, ûȥ-sâzeo, masculine, ‘leper’; literally ‘one who lives outside, separate’; those who were afflicted with leprosy were exposed. Considering ​ the very late appearance of the substantive Aussatz, in contrast to the early Old High German ûȥsâzeo, ‘leper,’ there is no doubt that Aussatz is a recent formation, like Ärger from ärgern. The Gothic word for leprosy is þrutsfill.
Auster, feminine, ‘oyster,’ Modern High German only, from earlier Modern High German ûster, from Dutch oester, which, with the equivalent Anglo-Saxon ôstre, English oyster, French huitre, Italian ostrica, is based upon Latin ostrea, ostreum, Greek ὄστρεον, ‘oyster, mussel.’
ausweiden, see Weide and Eingeweide.
auswendig, see wenden.
außen, adverb, ‘outside, out of doors, without,’ from Middle High German ûȥen, Old High German ûȥana, ûȥân, adverb, preposition, ‘out of doors, outside, out, without’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon ûton, adverb, ‘from without,’ Gothic ûtana, adverb, preposition, ‘from without, outside, out’; from Old Teutonic ût. See aus.
außer, adverb and preposition, ‘except, unless, apart from, without,’ from Middle High German ûȥer, Old High German ûȥar, preposition, ‘out — here’; corresponds to Old Saxon ûlar.
Axt, feminine (with a dental added as in Hüfte, Habicht, and Obst, &c.), from the equivalent Middle High German ackes (late Middle High German axt), feminine, Old High German acchus (plural acchussi), feminine, ‘axe.’ It corresponds to Old Saxon accus, Dutch aaks (from akes), Anglo-Saxon œx (from *œcces), English ax, axe, Old Icelandic öx, Gothic aqizi, feminine, ‘axe.’ The Teutonic word is based upon Aryan agésî, or rather agzî (aksî); compare the primary cognate Greek ἀξίνη, ‘axe,’ with which perhaps the equivalent Latin ascia, in case it stands for ac-scia, is connected. Latin acies, ‘sharpness,’ and Greek ἀκή, ‘point,’ as well as Sanscrit açri, ‘edge’ (see Ähre, Ecke), are not allied to Axt.