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

* 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
B.
baar, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. bar (nom. MidHG. barer, barwer, OHG. barêr), adj., ‘naked, bare, denuded, free, empty.’ It corresponds to OSax. bar, AS. bœr, E. bare, OIc. berr, ‘naked, bare'; Goth. *baza- is wanting. The r of the non-Goth. dialects is an old s (not r) as is proved by the affinity to OSlov. bosŭ, Lith. basas, ‘bare-footed,’ which, as well as the Teut. adjs., point to an Aryan bhosó-s, ‘denuded’ (with regard to the antiquity of this idea see nackt). Comp. also Armen. bok, ‘naked,’ which is based upon bhosko-; besides, E. bald (MidE. balled) points to a Goth. participle *bazlôþs (AS. *bœllod). Perhaps entbehren is also connected with the root bhes. Comp. further barsch.
Baas, m., ‘master,’ a LG. word; comp. Du. baas; orig. perhaps it was a term of endearment used in addressing superiors (comp. Amme, Muhme, Bube, Buhle). It is undoubtedly connected with Base, ‘aunt on the father's side,’ because Base, Baas — Bäsel, are also titles given by domestics to their mistress. Yet it is astonishing that the area of diffusion of Baas, m. (LG.), and Base, f. (MidG. and UpG.), is different. Perhaps ‘paternal’ was the root idea of both words.
babbeln, see pappeln.
Bach, m. (MidLG. and LG., fem.), from the equiv. MidHG. bach (plur. bęche), m. (MidG. fem.), OHG. bah, m., ‘brook.’ Comp. OSax. bęki, MidLG. beke, Du. beek; a corresponding Goth. *baki-, m., is wanting; beside which the equiv. AS. becc, and OIc. bekkr (whence E. beck), m., presuppose a Goth. *bakki-. No Aryan root bhag- with a meaning applicable here can be found; both HG. backen and Gr. πηγή), ‘source,’ are scarcely allied to it, though Sans. bhañga, ‘breach, wave’ (see Bruch) may be so.
Bachbunge, f., ‘speedwell, brooklime' (Veronica beccabunga), from MidHG. bungo, OHG. bunge, ‘bulb'; allied to OIc. bingr, ‘bolster,’ and more remotely with Sans. bahú, ‘dense,’ Gr. παχύς?.
Bache, f., ‘wild sow,’ from MidHG. bache, OHG. bahho, m., ‘ham, (flitch of) bacon' (Swiss and Bav. bachen); similarly the corresponding MidLat. baco and MidDu. bake mean ‘ham, pork,’ and ‘pig.’ Comp. Prov., OFr., and E. bacon, borrowed from Germ. The Teut. root bak contained in these cognates is further allied to the cognates of ModHG. Backe.
Bachstelze f., ‘water-wagtail,’ formed from the equiv. MidHG. waȥȥerstelze, OHG. waȥȥerstelza; the second part of the compound is connected with Stelze. This term is only HG.; comp. with it Du. kwikstaart, ​Norw. quickstiert, E. wagtail, LG. wippstert, Dan. vipstiert; also Gr. σεισοπυγίς ltal. squassacoda, codatremola, cutretta, Fr. hoche-queue; but Span. andario, which meant lit ‘brook-trotter.’
Back, n., ‘a deep wooden dish, in which food is served for a certain number of the crew’; borrowed, like many technical terms of sea-life, from LG.; LG. back, ‘dish,’ E. back (‘tub, vat’); comp. ModFr. bac, ‘brewer’s vat or tub,’ borrowed from this word or the Du. bak. It has been derived from Late Lat. bacca, ‘water vessel,’ whence also Fr. bac, ‘ferryboat,’ Du. bak, E. bac, ‘a flat-bottomed boat.’ Probably Becken is allied to it.
Backbord, n., ‘larboard,’ from LG. (comp. the preceding word); comp. Du. bakboord (AS. bœcbord), whence also the equiv. Fr. bâbord; lit. ‘the left side of the ship to the back of the helmsman, who is steering with his right hand, the left hinder-part of the ship.’ Du. and E. back is an OTeut. word, which was, however, very early obsolete in HG. (see the following word); OHG. bah, OSax. bak, AS. bœc, E. back, OIc. bak, n., ‘back,’ Goth. *bak, n. From LG. is also derived HG. Bord. See the latter.
Backe (1.), Backen, m., especially used in the compounds with Asch-, Hinter-, hence the lit. meaning, ‘buttock.’ The correct HG. form, which has the regular permutation of k to ch, is seen in MidHG. bache, OHG. bahho, ‘ham, flitch of bacon’ (yet MidHG. also ars-backe, m.), which as ‘bacon’ made its way into OFr., and thence into Eng. also. Although it has been connected by the linguistic instinct of ModHG. with the following word, they are not allied; it is more probable that Backe and the stem bak, discussed under Backbord, is most closely connected with it.
Backe (2.), m., f., also Backen, m. (the latter espec. in the compounds Backenzahn, -streich), ‘cheek’; from MidHG. backe, m., ‘jaw, jawbone, cheek.’ OHG. has the doublets baccho (whence the MidHG. and ModHG. ck) and bahho, which produce MidHG. bache. Comp. MidHG. kinnebache beside kinnebacke, which compound too, even in OHG. (as chinni-bahho), is more frequent than the simple word; comp. OSax. kinni-bako, Du. kinnebakken. It is still uncertain whether Lat. bucca, ‘cheek,’ is allied to it; its initial b might have arisen from bh, as in barba (see Bart); but the two differ in meaning; while the Lat. signifies ‘the inflated cheek,’ the G. word orig. denoted ‘jaw.’
backen, vb. (dial. UpG. bachen), ‘to bake,’ from MidHG. backen, bachen, str. vb.; doublets are found even in OHG. bacchan, bahhan, str. vbs.; OHG. cch is based upon the double consonants kk (OSax. bakkeri, ‘baker,’ Du. bakken, ‘to bake’); but ch presupposes a simple k. Comp. AS. bacan, str. vb., E. to bake, as well as E. batch, from MidE. bacche, AS. *bäcce, where cc points to the ck of the ModHG. word. Whether a Goth. *bakkan or *baqan, str. vb. must be presupposed is uncertain; the pre-Teut. form of the verbal root is Aryan bhō̆g, as is shown by its primit. kinship to Gr. φώγω, ‘I roast’; the affinity of Lat. fŏcus, ‘hearth,’ is doubtful.
Bad, n., ‘bath,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bat(d), OHG. bad, n.; comp. Du. bad, AS. bœþ, E. bath, OIc. bað, ‘bath.’ An important word in relation to the history of OTeut. civilisation; even the Roman writers testify that bathing (comp. further laben) was a daily necessity to the Teutons. As a verb, a denominative was already formed in the OTeut. dialects, MidHG. and ModHG. baden, from OHG. badôn, Du. baden, AS. baþian, E. to bathe; Goth. *baþôn is not recorded. The dental of the cognates is derivative, hence ba (Aryan bhâ) is the root syllable, (comp. bähen, in that case allied to it), to which OSlov. banja, ‘bath,’ banjati, ‘to wash, bathe,’ belongs. —
Baden, the name of a place, is prop. dat. plur. of Bad, ‘at the baths’ (so too E. Bath); probably an imitation of Lat. aquae in names of places.
Bader, m., ‘barber,’ from MidHG. badœre, ‘one who looks after the bathers in the bath-house.’ “In the later period of the Middle Ages it was a custom to get the beard shaved and the hair cut by the Bader at the end of the bath.”
baf! baff! paff! onomatopoetic term for the report of a gun; first occurs in ModHG. Allied to ModHG. bäffen, ‘to bark,’ from MidHG. baffen, beffen; comp. MidE. baffen, E. to beff; of recent onomat. origin.
bätzen, ‘to yelp,’ derivative of bäffen.
bägern, ‘to torment, plague,’ prob. allied to OHG. bâgan, MidHG. bâgen, str. vb., ‘to contend, quarrel.’ Akin to Ir. bágim, ‘I contend,’ bág, ‘combat’; hence the Aryan root is bhêgh, bhôgh.
​ Bagger, m., ‘dredging-machine’; like many words with gg (comp. Flagge), it is not prop. HG. (since gg in HG. must have been changed to ck), but from LG. bagger, identical with Du. bagger, ‘mud at the bottom of water.’
bähen, vb., ‘to warm by poultices, foment, toast (bread),’ from the equiv. MidHG. bœn, bœjen, OHG. bâjan, bâan. The Teut. root is bê, from pre-Teut. bhê, to which ba- of the OTeut. words for Bad is related by gradation. The orig. sense of the primit. stem bhê, by gradation bha, was probably ‘to make warm by washing, bathing.’
Bahn, f., ‘path, track, career,’ from MidHG. bane, ban, f., m., ‘road, way’; allied to MidDu. bane, Du. baan. No word identical with this is found in any of the older periods of the Teut. group. The cognates of bohnen are probably allied to it.
Bahre, f., ‘barrow, bier,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bâre, OHG. bâra, f.; Goth. *bêra or *bêrô, f.; AS. bœ̂r, bœ̂re, E. bier; E. barrow (MidE. barewe), belongs to a different gradation since it presupposes Goth. *barwa; comp. OIc. barar, plur. ‘bier,’ Goth. *barôs. The pre-Teut. phonetic form is bhérâ-. From the OHG. word is derived the equiv. Ital. bara (barella), Fr. bière. The root is the primit. Aryan bher, ‘to carry,’ which is widely diffused, and appears in ModHG. Bürde, gebären, Geburt, as well as in Zuber; it occurs in Ind. as bhar, in Gr. as φερ, in Lat. as fer. From this root the OTeut. languages, in agreement with all the other Aryan tongues, formed a str. vb., Goth. baìran, OHG. bëran, MidHG. bërn (the latter means only ‘to bear fruit, produce, give birth to’), AS. bëran, E. to bear. Comp. espec. gebären.
Bai (1.), f., ‘bay of a window,’ from MidHG. beie, ‘window,’ which with the following word is of Rom. origin; comp. E. bay, Fr. baie, ‘bay (of a window).’
Bai (2.), f., ‘bay,’ derived through LG. from E. bay (MidE. baie), which was borrowed from Rom.; Fr. baie, Ital. baja, Span. and Iber. (in Isidore), baja, ‘haven’; prop. identical with the preceding word.
Bake, f., ‘a mark at the entrance of a harbour as a warning against shallows, buoy’; from Fris. like other technical terms relating to the sea, Fris. bâken (comp. Back), whence LG. bâke, Du. baak. It is based upon Goth. *baukn, n., which by a regular change became beácen, ‘beacon,’ in AS.; comp. E. beacon and beckon. OHG. bouhhan, MidHG. bouchen, OLG. bôcan, ‘beacon, model,’ are corresponding terms. Thus the OTeut. word meant generally ‘sign.’ Bake has been restricted to a definite caution signal.
Balbier, m., for Barbier.
Balche, f., see Bolch.
Balcon, see Balken.
bald, adv., ‘soon, nearly, quickly,’ based upon an OTeut. adj. which signified ‘quick, bold, brave’; Goth. balþs, ‘bold,’ preserved only in derivs., AS. beald (with the change of þ after l to d, comp. Wald, falten), E. bold, OIc. ballr, ‘bold, impudent, audacious’; also OIc. baldr, AS. bealdor, ‘prince,’ whence the name of the god Balder. In HG. the meaning tended towards ‘bold, quick’; OHG. and OLG. bald, MidHG. balt (gen. baldes). ‘bold, zealous, quick’; comp. Ital. baldo, ‘bold.’ The development of meaning of the OHG. adv. baldo, MidHG. balde, is thus ‘boldly, — quickly, — immediately.’ The abstract Bälde, which is connected with it, meant lit. ‘boldness,’ like Goth. balþei and OHG. baldî; MidHG. belde, ‘audacity’; the meaning of the ModHG. subst. is based immediately on the adv. To this word are allied proper names like Balduin, as well as Fr. Baudouin (applied to the ass).
Baldachin, m., ‘canopy,’ not from MidHG. baldekîn, ‘raw silk from Bagdad,’ but from Ital. baldacchino, which is identical with the MidHG. word, but has been specialised in meaning to the canopy made from such stuff.
Baldrian, m., ‘valerian,’ from MidHG. baldrian, from Lat. valeriana; comp. the E. term.
Balester, m., see Armbrust.
Balg, m., ‘skin, case, bellows, brat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. balc (plur. bęlge), OHG. balg, plur. balgi, bęlgi, m.; Goth. balgs, plur. balgeis, ‘leather bottle,’ lit. ‘the flayed skin of an animal for keeping liquids.’ On the root balgi- is based AS. belg, bylg, E. belly (Balg, with the specialised meaning, ‘swollen body’), and E. bellows, plur. The primary idea of the root is ‘swelling out’; from the same root the OTeut. dialects form a str. vb. bëlgan (see Belster), meaning ‘to swell’; OIc. bólgenn, ‘swollen’; OHG. bĕlgan, MidHG. bëlgen, ‘to swell, be angry.’ The pre-Teut. form of the stem according to the laws of the permutation of consonants is bhelgh, and to this corresponds Ind. barh (with the initial aspirate ​displaced), ‘to be great, strong'; also OIr. bolgaim, ‘I swell,’ Ir. bolg, Gall.-Lat. bulga, ‘bag.’ It is also possible that HG. Balg is cognate with Lat. follis (from *folvis, *folgvis). Comp. further Bulge.
balgen, vb., lit. ‘to talk angrily, quarrel,’ then ‘to cudgel’; derived from the verbal root belg, ‘to swell out,’ discussed under Balg; comp. OHG. bëlgan, MidHG. bëlgen, meaning ‘to be angry.’
Balken. m., ‘beam, baulk, loft,’ from the equiv. MidHG. balke, OHG. balcho, m.; comp. AS. balca, E. baulk, Du. balk, ‘baulk'; in Scand. beside the corresponding bálkr, ‘fence, boundary-line,’ there occurs with a different gradation bijálk-, ‘baulk' (Goth. *bilka), in AS. likewise bolca, ‘gangway’ (Goth. *bulka). From Teut. balkon, Fr. balcon and Ital. balco are derived. The Aryan form of the root is bhalg, hence Gr. (φάλαγξ, φάλαγγ-ος, ‘oval piece of wood, trunk of a tree,’ has been compared with it, but the nasal of the second syllable renders the comparison dubious.
Ball, (1.) m., ‘challenge (of hounds),’ belongs to the stem of bellen.
Ball (2.), m.. ‘ball,’ from the equiv. MHG. bal (gen. balles) or balle, ballen, m. OHG. ballo, m., balla, f.; AS. *bealla is wanting; E. ball (MidE. balle) is borrowed from the Rom. word Fr. balle, which was obtained from German. OIc. bǫllr, ‘ball,’ presupposes Goth. *ballus. The root bal- appears also with a further gradation in Bolle (in Bolster too?); comp. further Bellen.
Ball (3.), m., ‘dancing entertainment,’ from Fr. bal, ‘ball’; OFr. baller, ‘to dance,’ and its Rom. cognates have been derived from Gr. βαλλίξω, ‘I dance.’
Ballast, m., ‘ballast,’ like other maritime expressions, from LG.; comp. Du. ballast, E. ballast. In MidHG. simply last, ‘ballast,’ whence the equiv. Fr. lest is derived. The first component of the compound is obscure; it is scarcely of Irish origin (Kelt. bal, ‘sand’), nor is it likely to be identical with OIc. bâra, ‘sea.’ On account of Dan. baglest, ‘ballast.’ the least improbable derivation is from bak, ‘back,’ discussed under Backe (1.). Ballast might perhaps be ‘load behind or in the rear.’
Ballei, f., ‘jurisdiction,’ from MidLat. ballia, formed from Fr. bailli, bailif, ‘steward’ (MidLat. ballîvus, E. bailiff), which is formed from Lat. bajulus, with the suffix -îvus.
Ballen, m., ‘bale, pack,’ identical with Ball, which, as MidHG. alle and OHG. ballo show, was formerly a weak masc.; in connection with the difference of form arose a difference of meaning; orig. sense ‘round bundle of paper,’ then ‘a certain quantity of rolled or packed paper.’ E. bale and Du. baal are borrowed from Fr. balle (also ballon), which was again obtained from Germ.
ballen, vb. ‘to clench (the fist),’ from MidHG. ballen, ‘to form into a ball.’
ballhornisieren, vb., verballhornen, ‘to make worse by altering’; derived from Ballhorn, a publisher in Lübeck (1531-1599), who in his ‘enlarged and improved' editions of an ABC book was always making fresh mistakes in his ‘emendations.’
Balsam, m., ‘balm, balsam,’ from the equiv. MidHG. balsame, balsem, m , OHG. balsamo, m.; Goth. balsan, with a very remarkable deviation; comp. Arab. balasân. The Germ. word is derived from Gr.-Lat. balsamum (βάλσαμον), whence also Fr. baume (E. balm), Ital. balsamo.
Balz, m., ‘pairing time (of birds),’ from MidHG. balze (besides ralz), m.; of obscure origin.
bammeln, also bambeln, vb., ‘to dangle,’ first recorded in ModHG., hence it may be an onomatopoetic word collateral with bimmeln, bemmeln, ‘to tinkle.’
Band (1.), m., ‘volume,’ orig. identical with the following word.
Band (2.), n., ‘band, ribbon,’ from binden; MidHG. bant, plur. bender (and bant), n., OHG. bant, plur. bentir (and bant). Comp. OSax. band, Du. band, m., OIc. band; Goth. by another derivation bandi (whence AS. bend, E. bend, as well as a later band derived from Fr. bande). See the preceding and the following word.
Bande, f., ‘cushion,’ in Billardbande, from Fr. bande; similarly derived in the sense of ‘crew.’ The Rom. word — Fr. bande (Ital. banda), ‘band, strip, gang, troop,’ is derived from OHG. bant, Goth. bandi.
bändigen, vb., ‘to restrain, tame,’ from bändig, ordinarily only in the compound unbändig; MidHG. bendec, ‘tightly bound, fettered,’ hence bändigen, ‘to put in fetters.’
bange, adj. and adv., ‘anxious(ly), uneasy, uneasily,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. bange, adv., ‘anxiously,’ and subst. ‘anxiety, care.’ The root is ange, which further appears in Angst; as enge is the corresponding adj., bange can only be based on the MidHG. adv. ange, OHG. ango, the adv. afterwards becoming an adj. The b ​has arisen from the unaccented prefix be (bî), as g in glauben, grade, from ge. See barmherzig, bleiben.
Bangert, m., ‘orchard,’ for bân-, bâmgart, MidHG. boumgarte; comp. Baum and Garten.
Bank, f., ‘bank, bench, reef,’ from the equiv. MidHG. banc, plur. bęnke, OHG. banch, plur. bęnchi, m., f.; comp. AS. bęnc, f., E. bench, OIc. bekkr. Besides the stem banki- (from pre-Teut. bhangi-), Teut. possessed others which are recorded in words borrowed by Romance; comp. Ital. banco, banca, panca, Fr. banc, banque, &c. See the following words.
Bankert, earlier Bankart, Bankhart, m., ‘bastard, bantling,’ from MidHG. banchart, m., ‘illegitimate child,’ lit. ‘a child begotten upon the bench’; a compound of Bank. The second part is -hart, appearing in proper names as Gebhart, Reinhart, and is formed by assimilation to Bastard (older Bastart, also written Basthart).
Bankett, n., ‘banquet,’ borrowed before the middle of the 16th cent. from Fr. banquet, which (with Fr. banc, Ital. banco, ‘table’) was perhaps derived from the German stem of Bank.
Bann, m., ‘ban, outlawry, decree,’ from MidHG. and OHG. ban (nn), m., ‘order under threat of punishment, prohibition; jurisdiction and its sphere.’ It corresponds to AS. bann, E. ban, and belongs to an obsolete str. vb. bannan, of which the primary meaning was ‘to order or forbid under threat of punishment.’ The root is supposed to be ba, pre-Teut. bha-; nn was perhaps a suffix (comp. rinnen), and properly belonged only to the pres. of the str. vb., but was afterwards joined to the verbal stem. To this pre-Teut. bha- belongs, in accordance with the permutation of consonants, Gr. φα in φά-σκω, φη-μί and Lat. fa in fari; the Teut. meaning must then have been very definitely specialised. From the Teut. word the Rom. cognate Fr. ban, ‘public proclamation’ (OFr. arban, ‘arrière ban’), is derived.
Banner, m., ‘banner, militia,’ from MidHG. baner, more usual banier, baniere, f., from Fr. bannière, which has been derived from the stem of Goth. bandwa, bandwô, ‘sign.’ Comp. MidLat. bandum in Paul the Deacon, ‘vexillum quod bandum appellant. See Panier.
Banse, f., ‘space in a barn near the threshing-floor,’ from MidG. and LG.; the word is wanting in MidHG. and OHG. From *bans- arose AS. bôs. E. dial. boose (boosy, ‘cattle-trough’), and OIc. bâss, ‘cow-house.’ The Goth. has bansts, f., ‘barn,’ in which the stem has been increased by the deriv. -ti-.
-bar, adj. suffix which is derived from a complete adj., properly bäre, MidHG. bœre, OHG. bâri; it means lit. ‘bearing,’ comp. fruchtbar, lastbar, also dankbar; later on, when it became a suffix, it assumed the present meaning. The older adj. is a verbal form of the str. vb. bëran (see under Bahre), Teut. root ber (Aryan bher), ‘to bear, carry.’ In AS. too -bœ̂re appears, e.g. in wœstmbœ̂re, ‘fertile,’ leóhtbœ̂re, ‘Lucifer.’
Bär (1.), m., ‘(paving) beetle,’ from MidHG. bęrn, ‘to strike, beat,’ whence also MidHG. bęr, f., ‘blow, stroke.’ OHG. bęrjan, Goth. *barjan, agrees by the permutation of consonants with Lat. ferio, ‘I strike,’ as well as OBulg. borją, ‘I fight’ (OIc. berjask, ‘to fight’); it is based on the root bher, ‘to strike.’
Bär (2.), m., ‘bear.’ The Lat. name of the animal (ursus) descends from the pre-Aryan period, just as Gr. ἄρκτος and Ind. ṛkša-s (ursus for *urcsus). It is remarkable that the Teutons have abandoned this old Aryan term for ‘bear’ (ṛksós, Teut. orhsa-s), since they have retained other names of animals. In MidHG. we have bër, OHG. bëro, AS. bëra, E. bear, björn, ‘bear’ (Goth. *baíra). The Teut. beron- is a subst. form based upon an Aryan adj. bhero-, equiv. to Lith. bėras, ‘brown’ (Lat. furvus?), from the root of which, bher and ModHG. Biber, braun, may also be derived; in using the adj. as a subst. the Aryan ṛksos is understood. Note that Braun is the name of the bear in the OG. animal fables.
Bär (3.), m., ‘brood-boar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. bêr, m., which, with OSax. bêr-swîn, AS. bâr, E. boar, points to Goth. *baira-.
Barbe, f., ‘barbel,’ from MidHG. barbe, f., OHG. barbo, m., which is based upon the equiv. Lat. barbus. The fish derived its name from barba, ‘beard,’ on account of its beard-like appendages; from the Lat. word comes Fr. barbeau (from MidLat. barbellus), whence E. barbel, as well as barb; comp. also Ital. barbio, ‘barbel.’
Barbier, m., ‘barber,’ early ModHG. only, borrowed from Fr. barbier (MidLat. barbarius, ‘barber’).
​ Barch, m., ‘castrated hog,’ from MidHG. barc (barges), OHG. barug and barh; comp. AS. bearh, bearg, E. barrow, Du. barg, berg, OIc. bǫrgr; Goth. *bargws (*burgus). No evidence of a pre-Teut. stem bhargh, bhark, for ‘hog, can be adduced from other languages. Lat. verres and Sans. varâha-s, ‘boar,’ cannot be allied to it, any more than Lat. porcus, which belongs to Ferkel. It is more probable that Russ. borov (primit. Slav. *borovŭ) is a cognate.
Barchent, m., ‘fustian,’ from MidHG. barchant, barchât, barchet, m., formed from MidLat. bercânus, ‘cloth from camels' hair’; derived, like Berkan, from Arab. barrakân, ‘coarse stuff.’
Barett, n., ‘skull-cap, hood,’ adopted in the 15th cent. from Fr. barrette, MidLat. birrétta, a deriv. from Lat. birrus, birrum, ‘cloak, pallium.’
Barke, f., ‘barque, boat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. barke, f.; corresponds to Scand. barke, ‘barque’; not of Germ. origin. The cognates are based upon an equiv. Rom. class with the primit. forms barca-barica (found even in the 7th cent. in Isidore); comp. Fr. barque (besides OFr. barge, from MidLat. barica; whence E. barge, LG. Barse), Ital. barca; OIr. barc is of similar origin. The ultimate source of the cognates (Spain?) is uncertain.
Bärlapp, m., ‘club-moss’; orig. sense ‘bear's paw’; comp. the Lat.-Gr. term lycopodium formed from it; allied to OHG. lappo, lit. ‘palm of the hand.’
Bärme, f., ‘yeast,’ borrowed from the equiv. LG. barme, m., which corresponds to AS. beorma and E. barm. Lat. fermentum (if it does not belong to formus, Gr. θερμός, ‘warm’) is perhaps akin to it. Teut. b, Lat. f, are Aryan bh.
barmherzig, adj., ‘compassionate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. barmherzic; related to ModHG. and MidHG. erbarmen, OHG. barmên. This stem has been connected with a Teut. word barm, ‘bosom’ (E. barm, from AS. bearm, Goth. barms, OHG. and OLG. barm, MidHG. barm, m.); hence erbarmen means lit. ‘to cherish in one‘s bosom, press to one‘s heart.’ Perhaps the equiv. Goth. arman, ‘to move to pity,’ and armaiô, ‘compassion,’ stand in a similar relation to Arm, the lit. meaning of the verb being ‘to take in one‘s arms, cherish.’ Others, however, are of opinion that erbarmen contains a b derived from bi (like bange, derived from bi-ange), so that it would be more akin to Goth. arman. But in that case either a secondary meaning, ‘misericors,’ in addition to ‘miser,’ must be assumed for Teut. arm, for which there is no support; or we must regard it as an imitation of a Lat.-Christ. term, Goth. arman, from arms, like Lat. misereri, from miser; indeed OHG. armherzi, ‘misericors,’ and irbarmherzida (Goth. armahaírtiþa), ‘misericordia,’ render it certain that Christianity coined the words to express a Lat.-Christ. idea; comp. Demut, Gnade, &c.
Barn, m., ‘crib, hayrack above the crib,’ from the equiv. MidHG. barn, m., OHG. barno, m.; AS. bern, E. barn, is equiv. to Germ. Scheuer. The Germ. and Eng. words are not, perhaps, identical, but only of a cognate stem; the stem of the Eng. word is bar-, which appears in Goth. *baris, ‘barley,’ AS. bere, E. barley, and is cognate with Lat. far, farris, ‘spelt,’ OBulg. bŭrŭ, ‘a species of millet’; AS. bern is explained from bere-ern, ‘barley-house.’
Baron, m., ‘Baron,’ not from the equiv. MidHG. barûn, but from the Fr. and MidL Rhen. form baron, which is found in the 16th cent.; MidLat. baro, baronis, is by some based on Kelt. bar, ‘man,’ and by others on AS. beorn or on OHG. baro, ‘man, vassal.’
Barre, f., Barren, m., ‘bar, ingot,’ from MidHG. barre, f., ‘bolt, railing,’ which comes from Fr. barre.
Barsch, m., ‘perch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bars, m.; there is also a deriv. form MidHG. and OHG. bersich; comp. the corresponding Du. baars, AS. bœrs, bears, E. dial. barse (bass); allied to the compounds Sw. abborre, Dan. aborre (rr from rs), with the same meaning. The cognates cannot have been borrowed from the equiv. Lat. perca; they are more akin to the Teut. root bars (bors) in Borste, Bürste, signifying ‘to be bristly.’
barsch, adj., ‘rough, rude,’ a modern word, appearing also in Du. (barsch) and Sw. (barsk), but foreign to the UpG. dialects. It is not found in OTeut. In Swiss dialects the term is baröösch (with the accent on the second syllable), in which perhaps the base of barsch is preserved; Ital. brusco (Fr. brusque) may be connected with it. In Swiss occurs also barš in the phrase barš gâ, ‘to go alone’; it also means ‘without a hat, a coat.’ Both significations point to its deriv. from bar. Yet barsch may have originated in the Teut. root bars, ‘to be ​bristly, rough,’ mentioned under the preceding word, especially as Du. barsch means lit. ‘rough.’
Bart, m., ‘beard, comb, barb,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bart, OHG. bart, m.; comp. Du. baard, AS. and E. beard. For this Teut. word, the existence of which is proved by the ethnical term Langobarden to be extremely remote, skegg was used in Scand. The pre-Teut. form of Goth. *barda, f., was, in accordance with the permutation of consonants, bhardhâ — which is also presumed by OSlov. brada (with the usual loss of aspiration and metathesis of the r), and Lat. barba (with b for dh when next to r, comp. rot, Wort; the initial b is from bh, as in Backe; in other cases initial bh is Lat. f). Comp. also Lith. barzdà, ‘beard’ (for *bardà).
Barte (1.), f., ‘broad axe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. barte, OHG. barta, f.; in Bav.-Suab. the word, which is properly North G., does not occur; allied to ODu. and OSax. barda, OIc. barða (OFr. barde, ‘hatchet,’ is borrowed from Teut.). From this word OSlov. brady, f., ‘axe,’ is borrowed. The words are derivatives of the stem bhardh- appearing in Bart; the axe is, as it were, ‘the bearded thing,’ OIc. skeggja, ‘broad axe,’ being related in a similar way to ‘beard’; likewise MidE. barbe (from Lat.-Rom. barba) signifies, among other things, ‘edge of the axe.’ Comp. Hellebarde.
Barte (2.), f., ‘baleen,’ a deriv. of Bart, first occurring in ModHG., and akin to Barte; comp. E. barbs, from Lat. barba; Du. baarden, plur.
Base, f. (dialect. designating any of the remoter degrees of relation on the female side, e.g., in the Basle dial. ‘aunt, niece, cousin’), ‘cousin, aunt,’ from MidHG. base, OHG. basa, ‘father's sister’; the AS. and Fris. dialects have a word allied to Vater; AS. faþu, OFris. fethe. The Teut. type faþôn is certainly only a term of endearment for faþar-, fadar-suëstar, ‘father’s sister.’ Probably OHG. basa is also a pet or childish name for the proper badar-, fadar-swësô. The same might be said of the variant MidG. and LG. Wase, and with the necessary qualifications of the masc. Baas.
Bast, m., ‘inner bark of trees, husk,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bast (also buost with gradation), OHG. *bast, m., n. It corresponds to AS. bœst, E., Du. and OIc. bast, Goth. *bastus. Hence the deriv. OHG. and MidHG. besten, ‘to strap,’ as well as the Rom. cognate basto, ‘pack-saddie’ (see under Bastard), with which Swiss bašt, ‘saddle,’ agrees. There is no justification for deriving the words from binden, for the absence of the nasal, the occurrence of st (for which we should have expected ss from dh + t), and the gradation in MidHG. buost render such a derivation impossible. The resemblance in sound between this word and binden proves nothing as to the etymology; this popular and superficial derivation was suggested by the use of bast. The Teut. word, which is more probably connected with the root bes appearing in Besen, found its way into Rom.; comp. Ital. basta, ‘basting, stitching.’
Bastard, m., ‘bastard,’ from Fr. bâtard, bastard (Ital. bastardo), borrowed in the Middle Ages (MidHG. bastart). MidE. bast, ‘illegal marriage,’ and OFr. fils de bast, ‘illegitimate son,’ indicate the primary meaning of the Rom. word, which came to England with William I., and at a later period made its way to Scandinavia. The OFr. bastard (Fr. bâtard) has a Teut. termination; see Bankert. The first part of the word, which in MidE. and OFr. signifies ‘illegal marriage,’ is generally derived from MidLat. and Rom. bastum, ‘pack-saddle’; comp. Ital. and Span. basto, Fr. bât, ‘pack-saddle.’ Bastard would then mean ‘the son of a pack saddle’ (comp. Bast) the saddles serving the Spanish muleteers as beds; comp. Bankert. Scand. bastarðr, whence some would derive the modern Europ. word, did not reach the North before 1200 A.D. nearly.
Bastei, f., ‘bastion,’ from earlier ModHG. bastîe; comp. OFr. bastie (allied. to OItal. bastire; Fr. bâtir); it is akin to Bastion, f., borrowed from Fr. bastion, Ital. bastione.
Baß (1.), m., ‘bass,’ derived like many other musical terms from Ital. (basso).
baß (2.), compar. adv., ‘better,’ from the equiv. MidHG. baȥ, OHG. baȥ; comp. OSax. bat-bet, AS. bet from batiz (Goth. *batis); it is an old adv. from the adj. discussed under besser. The almost invariable use at present of the adv. besser, instead of the older baß, is due to the fact that the formation of the adv. was no longer understood, and that the adj. at the same time has in every case assumed an adv. function.
Bathengel, m., ‘germander,’ a corruption of Lat. betonicula, dimin. of Lat. betonica, whence MidHG. batônje.
​ Batzen, m., ‘a coin’ (about a penny), from MidHG. batze, m., ‘small coin of the town of Bern with the Bernese coat of arms, a bear’ (MidHG. betz, ModHG. Bätz, Petz); comp. Kreuzer, Rappen. Hence Ital. bezzo, ‘money.’
Bau, m., ‘construction, structure,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. bû, m. See bauen, Bude.
Bauch, m., ‘belly, bulge,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bûch, OHG. bûh (hh), m.; the corresponding AS. bûc (E. dial. buck, ‘the inner part of a carriage’) has the same meaning; OIc. búkr, ‘body, waist.’ It is uncertain whether Bauch belongs to the Sans. root bhuj (comp. Lat. fungor), ‘to take food,’ or to Sans. bhuj, ‘to bend’ (Bauch, lit. ‘the flexible part’), Perhaps it is connected with Gr φύσκα (for φυγσκα?), ‘stomach, blister’?. It is certainly not akin to AS. bodig, E. body, OHG. botah, ‘body,’ nor is it allied to Gr. φαγεῖν, ‘to eat’ (Sans. bhaj, ‘to enjoy, partake of’).
bauchen, vb., ‘to steep in hot lye’ (LG. büken, MidLG. bûken), from the equiv. MidHG. bûchen, OHG. *bûhhên; E. to buck (dial. to bouk), for which even a MidE. term bouken occurs a few times, points to AS. *bûcian; to these Swed. byka, Ic. bauka, and Norw. boykja, are allied. The word is, moreover, diffused through most of the Teut. languages, and correctly represents MidHG. bûchen; only in the Bav. dialect is the word unrecorded. Hence the existence of a Teut. verbal root bûk (to which AS. bûc, ‘pail,’ is allied?) is undoubted, and the Rom. cognate, Fr. buer (Ital. bucare), ‘to wash,’ is more probably borrowed from the Teut. than vice versâ. The Kelt. origin of bauchen (Bret. boukat, ‘to soften’) is impossible.
Baude, see Bude.
bauen, vb., ‘to build, construct, cultivate,’ from MidHG. bûwen, OHG. and OLG. bûan (weak vb. with traces of a strong inflexion), ‘to dwell, inhabit, till, plant’; with regard to the meaning ‘to dwell,’ comp. Bau, Bauer, and Bude. To the OHG. bûan corresponds Goth. bauan, ‘to dwell, inhabit.’ The root, in accordance with the law of the permutation of consonants, is pre-Teut. bhû, which, on comparison with Sans. bhû, Gr. φύω, Lat. fui (futurus), &c., must mean ‘to be, become, arise, beget.’ With the same root are connected the following nouns, which are of importance in determining its primary sense: OInd. bhûmis, ‘earth,’ bhûtis, ‘existence,’ φῦμα, ‘produce’ (comp. also Baum), φύσις, ‘nature,’ φῦλον, φυλή, ‘tribe, race.’
Bauer (1.), n. and m., ‘birdcage,’ a word foreign to the UpG. dialects, from MidHG. bûr, used only in the sense of ‘sojourn, birdcage;’ but OHG. bûr has the further meaning of ‘house, chamber.’ AS. bûr, ‘dwelling’ (to which E. neighbour from AS. neahgebur is related; similarly the more general meaning of Bauer appears in HG. Nachbar), E. bower, with which E. dial. bire (‘cowhouse’), AS. bŷre, is connected. The pre-Teut. form would be bhûró, with ro as a deriv. suffix. See the three following words.
Bauer (2.), m., in Erbauer, Ackerbauer, ‘tiller,’ from MidHG. bûwœre, OHG. bûâri (Goth. *bauareis is wanting), the term for the agent, from bauen.
Bauer (3.), m., ‘rustic, peasant,’ historically and etymologically different from Bauer (2.), for the MidHG. form is gebûr, OHG. gibûro, m., which belongs to the OTeut. bûr, ‘dwelling,’ discussed under Bauer (1.), and means lit. ‘co-dweller, joint-occupier,’ then ‘neighbour, fellow-citizen’ (comp. Geselle, ‘one who shares the same room’), and at a later period ‘fellow-villager, peasant, boor.’ See also Nachbar.
Baum, m., ‘tree,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. boum, m.; corresponds to OSax. bôm, Du. boom, AS. beám, m., tree,’ whence E. beam (beam in sunbeam is quite another word; G. Baum is E. tree); E. boom is and Du. bôm, ‘tree.’ The corresponding Goth. bagms and OIc. baðmr have the game phonetic form. The cognates, with Gr. φῦμα, ‘produce,’ are usually derived from the Teut. root bû, Aryan bhû, ‘to become, arise,’ discussed under bauen.
baumeln, vb., simply ModHG. ‘to hover as on a tree’?. See, however, bummeln.
bäumen, vb., ‘to rear,’ ModHG. only, lit. ‘to lift oneself up like a tree.’
Bausch, m., ‘pad, bolster,’ from MidHG. bûsch, m., ‘cudgel, blow causing blisters, swelling.’ If ‘cudgel’ is the primary sense, the word may be connected with MidHG. bôȥen, OHG. bôȥȥan, from bautan (see Amboß, Beutel, Beifuß); bût- would be another stage in gradation, and before the suffix sch from sk the dental would inevitably disappear; comp. Lat. fustis, ‘cudgel,’ from *bhûd-stis.
bausen, vb., ‘to carouse, swell,’ from Baus, bûs, ‘inflation, swelling due ​to repletion’; the like stem also in E. to bouse, MidLG. bûsen, ‘to carouse’?.
Bauten, plur., ‘buildings,’ ModHG. only, from bauen.
baxen, vb., ‘to box, cuff,’ from LG. bâxen, which is again allied to OHG. bâgan, MidHG. bâgen. See bägern and Bengel.
Bazar, m., ‘bazaar,’ ModHG. only; borrowed from Fr. bazar (ultimate source Pers. bâzâr, ‘market-place’).
be-, prefix from MidHG. be, properly a verbal prefix from OHG. and Goth. bi, which has no definite meaning; identical with the prep. bei, from OHG. and MidHG. bî (Goth. bi), AS. bî, E. by. For be there appears a shorter syncopated form in bange, Erbarmen? barsch? bleiben, Block. See specially bei.
beben, vb., ‘to tremble, shake,’ from MidHG. biben, OHG. bibên, ‘to shiver, tremble’; Gr. φέβομας, on account of the non-permutation of β to p and because of the ε of the root syllable, cannot be originally cognate with beben. The OTeut. word has i; comp. OSax. biƀôn, OIc. bifa, AS. beofian (from biƀôn), OHG. bibêt, ‘he trembles,’ corresponds exactly to Sans. bíbhêti, ‘he is afraid,’ in which bi- (for bhi) is the reduplicated syllable, and bhê for bhai is the augmented root syllable. The OInd. verb bhî, ‘to be afraid,’ forms its pres. by reduplication — bíbhêmi, bíbhéši, bíbhêti; to these Goth. *bibaim, *bibais, *bibaiþ, would correspond; this present was then, on account of its apparent deriv. ai, classed among the weak verbs in ai (Goth. habaiþ, OHG. habêt). The root bhî (Sans. bhî, ‘fear,’ bhîmá, ‘fearful’) is found in OSlov. boją sę, ‘I am afraid,’ běsŭ, ‘demon,’ Lith. byóti-s, ‘to be afraid,’ báime, ‘fear,’ bajùs, ‘terrible,’ baisà, ‘fright’ (and perhaps ModHG. beilen). Bi- is one of the few examples of reduplication in the pres. tense preserved in the Teut. group (comp. zittern), just as the perfect ModHG. thät, from OHG. tëta, is the sole instance of reduplication preserved in the perf. tense.
Becher, m., ‘beaker, goblet,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bëcher, OHG. bëhhar, bëhhâri, m.; comp. OLG. bikeri, Du. beker, OIc. bikarr, whence MidE. biker, E. beaker. These cognates are derived from LowLat. bicarium, allied to Lat. bacar (‘vas vinarium,’ according to Festus), and still appearing in Ital. bicchiere. The Lat. word was naturalised in Germany perhaps as far back as the 7th cent., probably at the same period as Kelch, since its c was changed into hh, ch.
Beck, m., ‘baker,’ only dial. (Alem., Suab., Bav.), from MidHG. bęcke, OHG. bęccho, akin to backen; the Goth. form may have been *baqja; ModHG. Becker is a recent form with the termination -er denoting the agent (AS. bœcere, E. baker). In ModHG. Beck, Boeckh, as well as Bäcker, have been preserved as family names.
Becken, n., ‘bowl, basin,’ from MidHG. bęcken, bęcke, OHG. bęcchîn, bęcchî, n.; the latter comes (comp. Schüssel) from LowLat. and Rom. baccînum (comp. Ital. bacino, Fr. bassin), ‘basin’; its cc being double, did not undergo permutation, but remained as cc, ck. Bacccînum has been derived from the LateLat. bacca, ‘vas aquarium,’ discussed under Back; comp. Pickelhaube.
Bede, f., ‘gratuity;’ borrowed from the LG. bede. It corresponds to MidHG. bëte, ‘command,’ which still exists in ModHG. with the meaning ‘request, prayer.’
Beere, f., ‘berry,’ from the plur. of the equiv. MidHG. bęr, OHG. bęri, n.; comp. Goth. *basi (only in weinabasi, n. grape; OSax. wînbęri). The OHG. r in bęri presupposes a Goth. bazi; to the s of the Goth. word Du. bes corresponds; in AS. bęrie, E. berry, the s has been changed into r. See, however, Besing. Foreign cognates are wanting; yet the Sans. root bhas, ‘to chew,’ is perhaps akin (Goth. basi, orig. ‘the edible substance’?); no connection with OHG. bëran, ‘to carry’ (see gebären), or Lat. bacca, ‘berry,’ is possible.
Beet, n., ‘bed (of a garden)’; earlier ModHG. Bett still common to UpG.; really identical with Bett, for the MidHG. has bęt, bętte, OHG. bętti, meaning also ‘(garden) bed.’ According to its form Beet (comp. Biene) has arisen from the neut. sing. badi, Bett from the cases in dj (gen. badjis, dat. badja, neut. acc. plur. badja, &c.). Comp. Goth. neut. sing. badi, neut, plur. badja. E. bed is also used in the same sense as Beet (so even in AS. riscbed), E. bed of rushes, hotbed.
Beete, f., ‘beetroot.’ This word, like the names of many other edible vegetables, has come from Lat.; bêta was borrowed even before the 8th cent. and naturalised in Germ., for it appears as bieȥa (the ie from ê, comp. Priester, Brief, Ziegel, Rieme, Spiegel, OHG. Pietar, from Lat. Petrum, &c.), with the permutation of t to ȥ; whence MidHG. bieȥe. The ModHG. Beete may have ​been based anew on Lat. bêta, or have been taken from the LG. bete, thus displacing the older bieȥe, which is still found in Bav. From Lat. and Rom. bêta (Ital. bieta, F. bette), AS. bête (whence E. beet) is also derived. In another group of words borrowed from Lat., Lat. ê became î (comp. Feier, from fêriae); hence the dial. beisse (ei from MidHG. î) also appears occasionally for beete, bieȥe.
befehlen, vb., ‘to order, command, commend,’ MidHG. bevëlhen, bevëlen, ‘to hand over, entrust, deliver, command’; OHG. bifëlhan, bifëlahan, ‘to hand over’ (also ‘to hide, bury, entrust, recommend’). The chief meaning of the Goth. str. vb. filhan in compounds with the particles ga-, us-, is also ‘to bury’; anafilhan approximates the ModHG., ‘to command, enjoin’; it means ‘to give, hand over, commend, recommend.’ AS. befeólan (for befeolhan), ‘to entrust, make over, devote oneself.’ Hence the primary meaning of the primit. Teut. str. vb. bifelhan is ‘to entrust, hand over, hide.’ The Teut. root felh- is based upon pre-Teut. pelk; it is a mistake, therefore, to connect the word on account of its earlier meaning, ‘to bury,’ with Lat. sepelire.
Beffchen, n., ‘a clergyman’s bands,’ diminut. of beffe (LG.), ‘amess, cap worn by officials in Rom. Cath. churches,’ the origin of which is obscure. In MidHG. both words are wanting; the latter is found even in MidLG.
begehren, vb., ‘to desire, crave, request, from the equiv. MidHG. begërn, chiefly in the simple form gërn, OHG. gërôn; the r probably belongs to the stem, because gern as a no-partic. points in that direction; comp. gern, Gier.
beginnen, vb. ‘to begin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. beginnen, OHG. beginnan; it corresponds to Goth duginnan, AS. â-, be-, on-ginnan, E. to begin, OLG. biginnan, with a similar meaning. This verbal stem, which appears at an early period only in a compound form, is based upon a pre-Teut. to-, bhi-kenwô, with permutation of k to Teut. g. For the Aryan root ken comp. OBulg. po-čĭną (infin. po-čęti), ‘to begin,’ konĭ, ‘beginning.’
behagen, vb. (to which behaglich is allied), ‘to be comfortable,’ from the equiv. MidHG. behagen; OSax. bilagôn, AS. onhagian, ‘to suit, please,’ OIc. haga, ‘to arrange.’ OG. has only a str. participle, OHG. bihagan, MidHG. behagen, ‘fresh, joyous, comfortable’ (hence ModHG. das Behagen, Unbehagen); the old str. vb. no longer exists in Teut. Probably the Ind. root çak is primitively related to it — çaknômi, ‘am strong, able, helpful, beneficial,’ çakrá-s, ‘strong’; comp. further Hag, Hecke, and hegen, which with the same phonetic form approximate the earlier meaning ‘to help, protect.’
behaupten, vb., ‘to maintain, assert,’ not from MidHG. behaupten, which means ‘to behead.’ This word, which first occurs in ModHG., is rather derived with a change of meaning from MidHG. behaben, ‘to hold fast, keep, maintain.’
behende, adj., ‘nimble, agile, active,’ from MidHG. behęnde, adv., ‘suitably, conveniently, skilfully, quickly’; in OHG. we should have expected bi hęnti (dat.), for which zi hęnti, ‘at once,’ occurs. The prep. is compounded with the dat. of the subst. hant, OHG. hęnti; comp. the similar origin of abhanden under ab.
Behörde, f., ‘the authorities,’ first recorded in ModHG. from hören, MidHG. zuo behœren, ‘to belong to, be one's due.’
Behuf, m., ‘behalf, advantage,’ from MidHG. behuof, m., ‘business, purpose, means to an end’; root haf (in heben), as also in E. behoof, AS. behôf.
bei, prep. and adv., ‘by, near, about’; the accented form of the unaccented prefix be; the Goth used in both cases bĭ; the Englishman makes a distinction like the German; AS. bî, E. by, but be as a prefix. OHG. bî and bi- (comp. also Beichte, Beispiel). In Goth. bĭ means ‘around, near’; hence its kinship with Gr. ἀμφί, Lat. ambi- is probable; the loss of the first syllable am- also occurs in the OTeut. word for beide; the base is probably ambhi-; comp. also um.
Beichte, f., ‘confession,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bîht, contracted from MidHG. and OHG. bíjiht, bígiht; a regular verbal noun from MidHG. bejëhen, OHG. bi-jëhan, ‘to confess, acknowledge.’ The simple form jëhan, usually signifying ‘to say, speak out,’ also means occasionally ‘to avow, confess’; hence OFr. gehir. This verb jëhan may possibly be connected with ja, which see.
beide, num., ‘both,’ from the equiv. MidHG. beide, béde, m., f., (beidiu, n.); OHG. beide, béde (beido, f., beidiu, n.); OHG. and MidHG. have also a remarkable variant with ê (OHG. and MidHG. bêde), although ei in other instances in HG. is not ​changed into ê before dentals, In investigating the word beide we must start from the fact that the stem of the num. had really no dental; AS. bêgen, bâ, Goth. bai (OIc. gen. beggja), ‘both.’ Allied in the other Aryan languages to Sans. ubháu, Gr. ἄμφω, Lat. ambo, OSlov. oba, Lith. abù, with a syllable prefixed. The G. forms with a dental are undoubtedly secondary; they obtained their dental by the blending, at a comparatively late period, of the primary ba- with the forms of the article, so that OHG. bêde arose from bê and de, beidiu from bei and diu, MidE. bôthe (E. both) from AS. bâ and þâ (OIc. báþer from bai and þaiz). In Goth. ba is combined with the article ba Þó skipa, ‘both the ships’; similarly in Gr. ἄμφω. By assuming such a combination in West Teut. the following ModHG. dial. forms in all genders are explained • Bav. bed, bod, beid, Suab. bêd, bued, boad, Wetterau bed, bud, bad.
Beifuß, m., ‘a species of wormwood used in seasoning food’; the MidHG. and OHG. word was written bĩbôȥ, hence the semi-LowG aspect of the ModHG. word. OHG. bîbôȥ is cognate with anabôȥ (see Amboß), and connected with an OTeut. verb bautan, ‘to pound’; bîbôȥ, ‘spice pounded and mixed with food.’ The LG. form of the OHG. word is bîvôt, and hence arose the ModHG. Beifuß, by the awkward attempt of popular etymology to connect bîvôt with a well-known word.
Beige, Beuge, f., ‘a pile arranged in layers’ (an UpG. word), from MidHG. bîge, OHG. bîgo, ‘shock (of corn)’; hence Ital. bica, ‘pile of sheaves’; comp. E. bing (heap of alum), Scand. bingr, ‘bolster’; comp. Bachbunge. Beuge has eu by being based on biegen.
Beil (Bav. Beichl), n., ‘hatchet,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bîl, bîhel, OHG. bîhal, bîal, n. (comp. the similar stages in the derivation of Feile from fîhala); comp. MidLG. bîl, ‘axe.’ On account of OIc. bílda, ‘axe,’ OHG. bîhal must probably be trace to bîþl, bîtl (for hl from þl comp. Gemahl). Hence there may be a connection with the cognates from bhĭ̄d discussed under beißen; as to the meaning, comp. especially Lat. findo, ‘I split’ (OIr. biáil, ‘axe,’ is primit. akin). On the other hand, it is, of course, not impossible that OHG. bîhal may be connected with Bicke.
beilen, vb., ‘to bring deer to a stand by baying,’ formed from MidHG. and OHG. bîl, ‘the moment when the deer stands at bay; encircling by the baying hounds’; MidHG. bîlen, ‘to bring to a stand by baying,’ intr. ‘to bark’. No kinship with bellen can be proved; it is more probably connected with the root bî in beben (for a derivative in l from the latter word comp. Lett. baile, ‘fear,’ bailùs, ‘timid,’ Sans. bltrú, ‘timid’, Sans. bhîrú, ‘timid’). In that case MidHG. and OHG. bî-l would be lit. ‘time of fear.’
Bein, n., ‘bone, leg,’ from MidHG. bein, OHG. bein, n.; comp. OLG. bén, AS. bân, E. bone; ModHG. reserves the earlier meaning ‘bone’ still existing in UpG. in the words Beinhaus, Elfenbein, Fischbein, Falzbein, Gebein; the later signification, ‘lower part of the thigh,’ is recorded even in OHG., MidHG., and OIc. The OIc. beinn, adj., ‘straight,’ favours the supposition that originally at least the straight thigh-bones were termed Beine (bones). Goth. *bain, n., is by chance not recorded. A primit. Teut. word with the primary meaning ‘bone,’ which cannot, however, be traced farther back (Lat. os, Gr. ὀστέον, Sans. asthi, asthan, to which an Aryan osth-, ‘bone,’ would correspond, are not represented, on the other hand, in the Teut. group). Comp. further Eisbein.
Beispiel, n., ‘example,’ from late MidHG. bîspil, mostly bîspel, n., ‘fable, allegory, proverb,’ OHG. *bîspëll (for bî comp. bei and Beichte). Comp. AS. bîspell, ‘example, parable'; formed from OHG. and MidHG. spël (ll), ‘tale, fable, rumour,’ Goth. spill, ‘legend, fable,’ AS. spell, E. spell (gospel from godspell), ‘tale, fable'; spell (to which Fr. épeler, ‘to spell,’ is akin) is the term for literary composition in prose, and hence is as important for the history of primit. Teut. civilisation as Lied, singen, &c.
beißen, vb., ‘to bite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bîȥen, OHG. bîȥȥan; cognate with Goth. beitan, AS. bîtan, E. to bite. A primit. Teut. verb with the sense of ‘to bite,’ which has, however, as is shown by the cognate tongues, been specialised from the more general meaning ‘to make smaller, to split with a sharp instrument.’ Comp. Lat. findo, Sans. root bhid, ‘to split, break to pieces’; in OTeut. poetry beißen is also used of the sword — a remnant of the earlier meaning. Beil, too, if primit. akin to it, must be connected with Lat. findere, ‘to split.’ Comp. bitter, which signifies orig. ‘piercing.’ From the same root Biß, MidHG. and OHG. biȥ, m., is derived, to which ​AS. bite, E. bit, corresponds; Bißchen is a diminutive of it. ModHG. Bissen, from MidHG. biȥȥe, OHG. biȥȥo; OLG. biti, E. bite.
Beißker, m., ‘loach,’ adopted from Slav. (Bohem. piskoŕ, Russ. piskárĭ), and based by popular etymology on beißen (the fish is also called Steinbeißer, ‘river-loach,’ Schlammbeißer, ‘pond-loach’).
beizen, vb., ‘to cauterise, pickle, etch,’ from MidHG. beiȥen (beitzen), weak vb., ‘to macerate, make soft, hawk at birds’; OHG. beiȥen (beizzen), orig. sense ‘to cause to bite,’ is the factitive of OHG. bîȥȥan, see beißen. The corresponding E. to bait (a hook, a horse on a journey, and hence to put up, halt at a place, also to allure) is derived from the Scand. beita, which is identical with OHG. beizzan.
beklommen, see Klamm.
Belche (1.), f., ‘a kind of salmon’; of obscure origin. See Bolche.
Belche (2.), f., ‘coot,’ from MidHG. bęlche, OHG. bęlihha; Lat. fulica seems allied to it, although OHG. hh implies a Lat. g; the Germ. guttural suffix is the same as in Goth. ā̆haks, ‘pigeon.’ See also Habicht, Kranich.
belemmern, vb., ‘to cheat,’ a LG. word, from MidLG. and Du. belemmeren, ‘to hinder, molest,’ and allied to lahm?.
belfern, vb., ‘to snarl, nag,’ ModHG. only; an intensive form of the following word.
bellen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. bëllen, OHG. bëllan, ‘to bark, bellow’; AS. bëllan, E. to bell (of a stag at the rutting period); the E. word indicates accordingly that the primary meaning was more general than simply ‘barking, bellowing.’ If an e root be assumed, OBulg. blěja, ‘bleat,’ and Lat. fleo, ‘I weep’ (b, f from bh and bhlê for bhel), may be compared. Others have explained the West Teut. root bell from belz, bels, bhels, which would result in its being cognate with Sans. bhaš, ‘to bark,’ bhâš, ‘to talk.’ Comp. Lith. bàlsas, ‘voice, tone’; see, too, the following word and Bulle.
Bellhammel, m., ‘bell-wether,’ ModHG. only; a LG. word (UpG. herma, equiv. to Herdmann, ‘herdsman’), corresponding exactly to Du. bel-hamel, E. bell-wether. Fr. clocheman, clocman (of Germ. origin), also Fr. mouton à la sonnette, make the connection of Bellhammel with Du. bel, MidDu. and AS. belle, E. bell, indubitable. In Fr. animal fables the bell-wether has the proper name Belin (akin to Fr. belier, ‘ram’), from the Du. bel, ‘little bell,’ whence also Fr. bélière, ‘ring of a bell-clapper.’
Belt, m., ‘straits,’ akin to OIc. belte, AS. and E. belt, baldrick (OHG. balz), ‘girdle, shoulder-belt’?. Belt is thus a ‘zone of land’?. The cognate Lat. balteus is, according to Varro, a Tuscan word.
belzen, vb., ‘to graft,’ also pelzen; MidHG. belzen, OHG. belzôn with the same meaning; cognate with Provenç. empeltar, ‘to graft,’ which, with Fr. pelletier, ‘furrier’ (see Pelz), belongs to Lat. pellis.
Bemme, f., ‘slice of bread,’ first occurs in ModHG.; a LG. and MidG. word, a deriv. of the dial. bammen, ‘to eat,’ which may have been *bazmôn in Goth., and is perhaps primit. allied to the Sans. root bhas, ‘to chew.’
Bendel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. bendel, OHG. bentil; comp. MidE. bendel, OIc. bendell; akin to binden.
Bengel, m., ‘cudgel,’ then in a figurative sense ‘rude person, blackguard,’ from MidHG. bengel, m., ‘cudgel.’ Comp. E. bangle (club), from the verb to bang, OIc. banga, ‘to strike, beat,’ LG. bangen. The Teut. stem bang-, ‘to strike,’ seems to have been nasalised from the root bâg, mentioned under baren.
Benne, f., ‘wicker cart,’ MidHG. only; an old Alem. and perhaps orig. Kelt. word which Festus records as old Gallic benna. Comp. Fr. benne, ‘dosser,’ AS. binn, E. bin.
benschen, Jewish, ‘to pronounce the benediction, say grace,’ from Lat. benedicere.
bequem, adj., ‘convenient, comfortable,’ from MidHG. bequœ̂me, OHG. biquâmi, ‘suitable, fit.’ Akin to AS. gecwême, MidE. îcwême, cwême, ‘agreeable, suitable’; qêmi-, the base, is a verbal adj. from Goth. qiman, OHG. chuman, ‘to come,’ for which the meaning ‘to be fitting, to suit,’ already existing in Goth. gaqimiþ, ‘it is fitting,’ is presupposed; comp. AS. becuman, E. become. See kommen and Lat. convenire, ‘to fit in with, be becoming, suit,’ which is primit. allied.
berappen, vb., ‘to pay,’ ModHG. only. The comparison usually made with rupfen must be abandoned; it means ‘to give Rappen’ (a coin of small value having the impress of a raven). Comp. Rappen and blechen (to give Blech, i.e. money).
beraumen, see anberaumen.
bereit, adj., ‘ready, prepared,’ from ​MidHG. bereit, bereite, OHG. bireiti, ‘ready and willing, obliging; armed, ready’; comp. AS. gerœ̂de, rœ̂de, E. ready; Goth. garaids, ‘appointed,’ does not correspond exactly. The word may belong to the root discussed under reiten (comp. OHG. reita, ‘carriage’), with the orig. sense of ‘to equip with armour’; like fertig, it would thus mean properly ‘ready for a journey’; comp. OIr. ríadaim, ‘I am going on a journey,’ ríad, ‘practicable (of a route), passable.’ On account of the similarity in meaning comp. fertig.
Berg, m., ‘mountain,’ inherited from the OTeut. vocabulary; OHG. bërg, MidHG. bërc(g), m. Comp. AS. beorh(g), especially ‘barrow’ (called byrgels also), E. only in the deriv. ‘to bury’ (AS. byrgan), from *burgian; the Goth. form *bairga- is deduced from the deriv. bairgahei, ‘mountain range.’ The rules for the permutation of consonants demand a pre-Teut. bhérgho-; with this is connected Sans. bṛhant, ‘high’ (b from bh, because the aspiration at the beginning of the root was, on account of the following aspirate, necessarily lost); h is gh; Zend barezanh, ‘height,’ berezant, ‘high’; OIr. brigh, ‘mountain’ (ri, Sans. ṛ, might be compared with the ur of Burg), Armen. berj, ‘height,’ barjr, ‘high,’ W. and Armor. bre, ‘mountain, hill,’ W. bry, ‘high.’ Also the Kelt. proper names Brigiani and Brigantes, like the Teut. Burgunden, Burgundiones (lit. ‘monticulae’), and the name of the town Brigantia (Bregenz). Hence to the root bhergh belong the primary meanings ‘high, rising ground’ (OSlov. brěgŭ, ‘bank (of a river),’ is borrowed from G.); perhaps Burg is derived from this root, if it does not come from bergen. The attempt to connect Berg with Goth. fairguni and Hercynia, identical with the latter, must be abandoned. With zu Berge, ‘up, on end,’ comp. MidHG. ze tal, ‘down.’
bergen, vb., ‘to hide, recover (from shipwreck)’, from MidHG. bërgen, ‘to hide, secure,’ OHG. bërgan; comp. Goth. bairgan, gabairgan, ‘to keep, preserve,’ AS. beorgan, MidE. bergen, ‘to preserve, protect.’ There are other E. words with a different though allied meaning; AS. byrgan, E. to bury; AS. byrgels (OLG. burgisli), E. burials, burial. For a similar division of a primary meaning see under befehlen. The root berg, burg, pre-Teut. bhergh, bhṛgh, with the primary meaning ‘to lay somewhere for safe keeping,’ is found outside the Teut. group only in OSlov. brêgą, ‘I take care (of), wait upon.’
Bericht, m., ‘intelligence, report,’ from MidHG. beriht, ‘report, instruction, reconciliation.’ Akin to recht.
Berkan, ‘a kind of cloth, fustian,’ from MidHG. barragân, barkân, from MidLat. barracânus (Fr. bouracan, Ital. baracane), E. barracan; comp. Barchent.
Berline, f., ‘coach,’ first occurs in ModHG., from the equiv. Fr. berline, f. (comp. Landauer), properly ‘a Berlin carriage.’
Bernstein, m., ‘amber’; bern is a LG. form for brenn, therefore properly Brennstein (combustible stone)?. The Teut.-Lat. word is glêsum, preserved in AS. glœ̂re, ‘amber, resin.’
Berserker, m., first occurs in ModHG., borrowed from the Scand. berserkr, lit. ‘bear-skin garment,’ then ‘a savage warrior who gets furious during the fight’; from OIc. ber-, ‘bear,’ serkr, ‘garment.’
bersten, ‘to burst, crack,’ from MidHG. brësten, OHG. brëstan, ‘to break, tear, burst,’ impersonal ‘to be wanting, lacking’; er for re is properly LG. and MidG.; comp. Du. bersten, AS. berstan, E. to burst. Comp. farther the Aryan root bhrest (cognate with the root of brechen), in OIr. brissim, ‘I break’ (ss from st).
-bert, Bert-, in proper names, from MidHG. bërht, OHG. bëraht, ‘shining’; comp. Goth. bairhts, AS. beorht, E. bright.
Bertram, m., ‘Spanish camomile or pellitory,’ based by popular etymology on the proper name Bertram (lit. ‘shining raven,’ see Rabe), and derived from bitron, for Lat.-Gr. pyrethron (πύρεθρον).
berüchtigt, ‘infamous, notorious,’ a partic. adj. from a weak vb. used even by Luther — berüchtigen, ‘to defame,’ for. which berüchten was the common form in the 16th and 17th cents. Comp. Gerücht, as well as anrüchig and ruchbar; all these words are cognate with rufen, and are derived, as is shown by the ch for f before t, from LG.
Beryll, m., ‘beryl,’ from MidHG. berille, barile, brille, m., formed from Lat.-Gr. berýllus; also brille, ‘spectacles’; see Brille, Perle. The Gr.-Lat. term is derived from Prak. vêlûriga, Sans. vaiḍûrya.
Besánmast, m., ‘mizzen-mast,’ Besánsegel, n., ‘mizzen-sail’, from Du. bezaan, ‘mast nearest the stern of a ship,’ which is connected with E. mizzen, Fr. mizaine, Ital. ​mezzana (the Rom. word, a deriv. of Lat. medius, is properly ‘middle-mast’).
beschälen, vb., ‘to cover (a mare),’ first occurs in ModHG.; a denominative from MidHG. schël, schële, m., ‘brood stallion.’ See Schellhengst.
bescheiden, vb., ‘to distribute, assign, summon,’ from MidHG. bescheiden, OHG. bisceidan, ‘to divide, decide, relate, report.’ The ModHG. and MidHG. partic. bescheiden, meant orig. ‘definite,’ then ‘clear, distinct, intelligible, prudent.’ See scheiden.
beschnäufeln, beschnüffeln, beschnuppern, vb., ‘to sniff at’; akin to the E. vbs. to snivel, snuff, snuffle, and schnaufen.
beschummeln, vb., ‘to deceive,’ from schummeln, ‘to worry.’
beschuppen, vb., ‘to scale, deceive,’ from LG.; the cognate words of the same group show that pf, not pp, is the strictly HG. form. It seems to belong to the stem of OIc. skopa, ‘to deride’; MidDu. scop, ‘derision.’ To the same stem belongs an OTeut. term for ‘poet,’ AS. scop, OHG. scopf, which, on account of its meaning, is important for the right conception of poetic composition among our ancestors.
Beschwerde, f., ‘difficulty, grievance, malady,’ from MidHG. beswœrde, f., ‘oppression, grief,’ allied to schwer.
beschwichtigen, vb., ‘to appease, compose.’ The Germans connect this word instinctively with schweigen; it forced its way, however, in the last half of the preceding cent. from LG. into the written language, and its cht is the earlier HG. ft; it corresponds to MidHG. swiften, ‘to pacify,’ OHG. swiftôn, ‘to be quiet.’ The stem is the same as in Goth. sweiban, ‘to cease, leave off’; with this the cognates of schweigen accord fairly well both in sound and meaning; the Teut. root swī̆b, swī̆g, is based upon the Aryan swī̆q (swī̆g in Gr. σϊγάω; see under schweigen).
Besen, m., ‘besom, broom,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bësen, bësem, bësme, OHG. bësamo; it corresponds to AS. besma, E. besom, Goth. *bisma, which have the same meaning; a pre-Teut. word of obscure origin; perhaps Beere and Bast are allied. Since the Eng. dialects point to an AS. bîsma, ‘besom,’ it is possible that the word is connected with Bieswind, and the Teut. root bī̆s, ‘to move in a restless, excited way.’
Besing, LG. word, a diminutive form, like the MidLG. equiv. beseke, n., ‘small berry’; akin to Du. bes, Goth. basi. See under Beere.
besser, compar. adj., ‘better’; see the corresponding adv. baß; superl. best; from MidHG. beȥȥer, best (beȥȥist), OHG. beȥȥiro, beȥȥist; corresponds to AS. betera, betst, E. better, best; Goth. batiza, batists. Even in primit. Teut. gut formed its degrees of comparison in this way, which might be represented in Ind. by *bhadyas-, *bhadišṭha-. The etymology of ModHG. gut is difficult to get at; in the case of besser we are assisted by the cognate root in Buße, the primit. meaning of which is ‘utility’; the ethical notion arose from that of interest. At all events, thus the matter stands from the merely Teut. point of view. It has been connected more remotely with OInd. bhadrá-s, to which the primary meaning ‘shining’ is assigned; but in this sense the Ind. word cannot be cognate; it belongs to the root bhand, and would consequently become *buntrs in Goth. The chief significations of bhadrá-s, however, are ‘capable, salutary, prosperous,’ which are in closer approximation to the idea of interest. Of these meanings besser and best might form the degrees of comparison.
bestallt, partic. of bestellen, for which bestellt is now used.
bestatten, vb., ‘to convey, bury,’ from statt, Stätte.
besulbern, vb., ‘to cover with dirt,’ from MidHG. sülwen, sulwen, ‘to soil,’ also süln, OHG. sū̆llen, AS. sȳ̆lian, Goth. sauljan.
betäuben, vb., ‘to deafen, bewilder, confuse,’ lit. ‘to make deaf.’ See taub.
beten, vb., ‘to entreat, pray,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bëten, OHG. bëtôn; comp. Goth. bida, OHG. bëta, ‘request, prayer.’ Formed from the Teut. root bī̆d (Aryan bhidh), discussed under bitten.
Bett, n., ‘bed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bet, bette, OHG. beti, betti, n.; com, AS. bedd, E. bed, Goth. badi. For ModHG. Bett the form Beth is found in the 18th cent. (e.g., in Gessner), just as for Beet this word Bett is used popularly (and in MidHG.); comp. Beet. The signification Beet (‘garden-bed’) makes the connection with the Lat. root in fodio, ‘to bury,’ possible (comp. W. bedd, ‘grave’; also OSlov. bodą, ‘I prick’); Goth. badi (Lat. *fŏdium), might therefore have arisen from Aryan bhodhiom. The primary meaning was probably ‘an excavated spot’; the ​signification already common to the Teut. group, ‘bed, lectus’ (akin to OSw. bœdhil, ‘nest’), may be elucidated by reference to the cave-dwellings of the Teutons (see Dung). In early times the bed was evidently dug like a niche in the sides of the subterranean dwellings. The meaning ‘bolster,’ common to OIc. beðr and Finn. patja (borrowed from Goth.), does not, it is true, harmonise with this explanation.
Bettel, m., ‘beggary, trash,’ akin to MidHG. bëtel, ‘begging.’
betteln, vb., ‘to beg, live by begging,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bëtelen, OHG. bëtalôn, a frequentative of bitten; to this Bettler, from bëtelœre, OHG. bëtalâri, is allied.
betuchen, betucht, adj. and adv., ‘quiet(ly), reserved(ly)’; of Hebr. origin (bâtûach, ‘confident, sure’).
Betzel, Petzel, m., ‘small cap,’ from MidHG. (MidG.) bezel, f., ‘hood.’
beuche, see bauche.
beugen, vb., ‘to bow, humble,’ from the equiv. MidHG. böugen, OHG. bougen, boucken; it corresponds to AS. bêgan, bîgan, ‘to bow,’ E. to bay, ‘to dam (water)’; factitive of biegen; hence lit. ‘to cause to bend.’
Beule, f., ‘boil, swelling,’ from the equiv. MidHG. biule, OHG. bûlla, *bûllea, f., ‘blister’; comp. AS. bŷle, E. bile (also boil), Du. buil, ‘boil’; Goth. *bûljô, ‘swelling,’ is connected with Goth. ufbauljan, ‘to inflate,’ and stands probably for *bûgwliô, properly Buckel (hump); akin to biegen.
Beunde, f., from the equiv. MidHG. biunde, OHG. biunt, ‘a vacant and enclosed plot reserved for a special wing or outhouse, enclosure’; no connection with Lat. fundus is possible. MidLG. biwende, ‘an enclosed space,’ shows that an OHG. *bi-want, ‘that which winds round, a hedge,’ is implied. Respecting bi, ‘round about,’ see Bifang.
Beute (1.), f., ‘kneading trough, beehive,’ from MidHG. biute, f., OHG. biutta, f., with the same meaning; it presupposes Goth. *biudja. Bütte is the most nearly allied, unless the latter is of Rom. origin. The derivation from OHG. biot, Goth. biuþs, AS. beód, ‘table,’ seems uncertain; of course AS. beód also means ‘dish.’
Beute (2.), f., ‘booty,’ from the equiv. MidHG. biute; on account of Du. buit, OIc. bŷte, ‘booty, exchange,’ hence ‘to exchange, divide,’ the t indicates that the word was borrowed. E. booty is derived from the OIc. bŷte, but it has also been confused with boot, ‘gain, advantage’ (see Buße). The t would have become fs, tz in HG. As t would represent the dental in Goth., bieten, Goth. biudan cannot, according to the laws of the permutation of consonants, be allied to Beute; we must assume that the root of the latter is Goth. bût, pre-Teut. bhū̆d. Fr. butin, ‘booty,’ is borrowed from these cognates. Comp. OIr. buaid, ‘victory.’
Beutel (1.), m., ‘a ripping chisel, a piece of wood for beating flax,’ first occurs in ModHG.; the t points to a LG. origin; in HG. we should have expected fs, in MidHG. ȥ (MidHG. bôȥel, bœȥel). Comp. LG. bœ̂tel, AS. bŷtel, E. beetle (for beating flax); from a root baut, ‘to strike, beat’ (AS. beátan, E. beat, OIc. bauta, OHG. bôȥȥan), which still appears in Amboß.
Beutel (2.), m., ‘purse,’ from MidHG. biutel, m., n., ‘purse, pocket,’ OHG. bûtil; comp. Du. buidel (buil), ‘purse’; Goth. *bûdils. The word cannot, however, be traced farther back than OHG.; its kinship to bieten, root bud, from bhudh, would throw no light on the meaning.
Beutheie, f., ‘cooper's mallet for driving on the hoops.’ Beut- like Beutel, ‘beetle,’ belongs properly to LG.; -heie, hammer, from MidHG. heie, OHG. heia, ‘hammer’; hence Beutheie, ‘driving hammer.’
bevor, conj., ‘before, from MidHG. bevor, OHG. bifora; comp. the corresponding E. before, from AS. beforan.
bewegen (1.), vb., ‘to move,’ from MidHG. bewëgen, OHG. biwëgan. See wegen.
bewegen (2.), vb., ‘to stir, excite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bewęgen, OHG. biwęcken, biwęgen, factitive of the preceding. See wegen.
Beweis, m., first occurs in ModHG., from MidHG. bewîsen, ‘to instruct, show, prove’; comp. weisen.
bezichten, bezichtigen, vb.; the former, with a change in meaning due to züchtigen, is also written bezüchten, ‘to accuse of, charge with’; derivatives of a MidHG. subst. biziht (beziht), f., ‘accusation’; comp. zeihen.
Bezirk, m., ‘circuit, district, sphere,’ from MidHG. zirc, ‘circle, circumference, district’; from Lat. circus, ‘circle.’ The word, as z for Lat. c shows, was borrowed very early during the OHG. period.
Bibel, f., ‘bible,’ from MidHG. bibel, of which there is a variant, biblie (E. bible. ​Du. bijbel, Fr. bible); formed from Gr.-Lat. biblia. Comp. Fibel.
Biber, m., ‘beaver,’ from the equiv. MidHG. biber, OHG. bibar, m.; it corresponds to AS. beofor, E. beaver, Du. bever, OIc. bjórr, Goth. *bibrus, A term common to the Aryan family, originally eignilying a ‘brown’ aquatic animal; Lat. fiber (OGall. Bibracte), OSlov. bebrŭ, Lith. běbrus (most frequently dábras), ‘beaver.’ OInd. babhrús as an adj. means ‘brown,’ as a subst. masc. ‘great ichneumon’; bhe-bhrú-s is a reduplicated form of the root bher in Bär and braun. The primitive tribe from which the Indo-Teutons are descended had ere its dispersion several fully developed names of animals; comp. Hund, Kuh, Maus, Wolf, &c. The Teut. word had at an early period supplanted the Lat. fiber in Rom., Late Lat. biber, Ital. bevero, Span. bibaro, Fr. bièvre, from Teut. bebru-, bibru-.
Bibernelle, Pimpinelle, Pimpernelle, f., ‘pimpernel,’ corruptions of the MidLat. botanical term pipinella, pimpinella. Even in MidHG. various corruptions are produced by popular etymology; Fr. pimprenelle.
Bicke, f., Bickel, m., ‘pickaxe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bicke, bickel, m.; comp. MidHG. bicken, OHG. (ana)bicchan, wk. vb., ‘to prick, thrust’; allied to AS. becca, E. bick-iron. It is probably connected further with a Kelt.-Rom. class (Ital. becco, Fr. bec, Du. bek, ‘beak,’ Fr. bêche, ‘spade,’ Ital. beccare, ‘to hack,’ &c.); it is possible that AS. becca, ‘pickaxe,’ is allied to Ir. and Gael. bacc, ‘hook.’ Beil seems to come from another stem.
bidmen, wk. vb., an UpG. word equiv. in meaning to beben, ‘to tremble, shake,’ and allied to it; MidHG. bidemen, ‘to tremble,’ OHG. *bidimôn, must represent *bibimôn, bibinôn; respecting the relation of the consonants comp. OHG. pfëdamo and its variant pëbano under Pfebe. The OHG. bibinôn is an intensive form of OHG. bibên. See beben.
Bieber, ‘fever’. Only in compounds with -flee, -fraut, --wurz, Comp. MidHG. biever, n., ‘fever.’ Its relation to Lat. febris is ambiguous; it is probably a corruption of vieber. See Fieber.
bieder, adj., ‘staunch, honest,’ from MidHG. bíderbi, OHG. biderbi, ‘serviceable, useful,’ then ‘brave, gallant’ (comp. besser for a similar of idea); lit. ‘suitable to one's need or purpose,’ for the adj. is a compound of the stem of dürfen, ‘to he in need of,’ and the prefix bi, which has retained its earlier accent without being replaced, as it usually is, by bî. The Goth. form was perhaps *bíþarbs; further, the adj. is identical with derb.
biegen, vb., ‘to bend, curve,’ from the equiv. MidHG. biegen, OHG. biogan, Goth. biugan, ‘to bend.’ In Eng. the word belongs to a different class, AS. bûgan, E. to bow; Du. biugen; comp. beugen, the factitive of this verb. Root bū̆g, from pre-Teut. bhū̆k, the k of which is changed in the regular manner into h in Bühel, OHG. buhil. In OInd. we should have expected *bhuc instead of the recorded bhuj (j for g), which agrees with the Teut. word only in the sense of ‘to bend’; Lat. fugio, Gr. φεύγω have the more remote signification ‘to flee,’ which AS. bûgan also shows. Further cognates are Bogen and biegsam (AS. bûhsom, bûxom, whence E. buxom).
Biene, f., ‘bee,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bine, bin, f., OHG. bini, n.; bĭ is the proper root syllable, as is shown by OHG. bîa, Du. bij, AS. beó, E. bee, OSw. bî (OIc. býfluga); the n of the weak declension is retained in the deriv. OHG. bī̆ni; the form binni (from binja-), which we should have expected, is not recorded. Besides these there are OHG. and MidHG. forms with î, OHG. bîna, f., MidHG. bîn, f. (Austr. dial. Bein); they are related perhaps to MidHG. bĭn like Goth. sŭnus to Sans. sûnus, Goth. qĭwa to Sans. jîva-, &c.; comp. Sohn, Queck, laut, Schaufel. Lith. bitìs, Ir. bech, ‘bee,’ seem allied, though they have a different suffix. The word is based on a root bhī̆, ‘to be afraid,’ discussed under beben; hence Biene is perhaps ‘the trembler’?. Respecting Bienenbrot comp. Brot. Bienenkorb was an early remodelled form for OHG. binichar. Biensaug, n., a botanical term, lit. ‘a plant that the bee is fond of sucking.’
Bier, n., ‘beer,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bier, OHG. and OLG. bior, n., comp. Du. bier, AS. beór, E. beer, OIc. bjórr; Fr. bière is borrowed MidHG. bier. There can be no connection with Lat. bibo, Sans. píbâmi; nor can Gr. πίων, OInd. pîvas, ‘a rich drink,’ be cognate. It is rightly thought to be akin to an OTeut. term for ‘barley,’ OLG. and AS. beó (OIc. bygg), from Teut. *bewwo-, based on a pre-hist. *bhéwo-, while the cognates of Bier point to a deriv. *bhewro-. Thus Bier is equal to ‘barley-juice’?.
​ Biese, Bise, f., ‘north-east wind,’ earlier, Beiswind (with the regular ei), from the equiv. bī̆se, OHG. bī̆sa, whence Fr. bise. A Teut. root bī̆s, bī̆z, ‘to rush in excitedly,’ also appears in MidHG. and ModHG. (dial.), bisen, ‘to run about like cattle tormented by horse-flies’ (with this is connected ModHG. dial. beiern, with a change of s into r, in Hess. and Henneberg., with the same meaning); comp. further OSw. bĭsa, ‘to run,’ Dan. bisse, ‘to run excitedly.’ Perhaps the root bi, ‘to tremble,’ is nearly akin.
Biest, m., in Biestmilch, from the equiv. MidHG. biest, OHG. biost, m.; comp. AS. beóst, and its deriv. AS. bŷsting, E. beastings, biestings. ModHG. dialects have also remarkable parallel forms with br, like OIc. á-brystur, ‘beastings,’ e.g. Swiss briešt (brieš), which may be connected with Brust, OHG. brust, AS. breóst. Beyond the Teut. group (whence OFr. bet, ModFr. béton is borrowed) the stem has not yet been traced; it is most frequently compared with the equiv. Gr. πῦός, Sans. pîyûša. Yet a Teut. root bius seems to underlie biese, beise, ‘to milk,’ in the Wetterau dial.
bieten, vb., ‘to offer, make a bid,’ from MidHG. bieten, OHG. biotan, ‘to offer, present, command’ (similar meanings are united in the MidHG. word for befehlen); AS. beódan, ‘to announce, offer’; E. bid combines the meanings of Germ. bieten and bitten. Goth. anabiudan, ‘to command, arrange,’ faúrbiudan, ‘to forbid’ (OHG. farbiotan, MidHG. verbieten, AS. forbeódan, E. forbid). Goth. biudan, as well as the whole of this class, points to a pre-Teut. root bhudh; Gr. πυθ (according to the well-known rule for φυθ) in πυνθάνομαι, πυθέσθαι ‘to ask, demand, learn by asking, hear,’ approaches one of the meanings of the Teut. vb.; the latter has an active signification ‘to publish, communicate,’ while the Gr. middle vb. means ‘to know by report, obtain information.’ With the sensuous meaning of HG. bieten is connected the OInd. root budh (for bhudh), ‘to make a present to one’; yet it most frequently means ‘to be watchful, astir,’ then ‘to observe, notice’; and with this is associated OBulg. bŭděti, Lith. buděti, ‘to awake’; Lith. budrùs, ‘watchful’; also Lith. baústi, ‘to chastise,’ and OIr. buide, ‘thanks.’ It is a prim. Aryan verbal stem with a great variety of meanings, the chief of which are ‘to present (make a present to one) — to enjoin (to command, communicate) — to be active, awake.’ To the same stem belongs an OTeut. word for ‘table, dish’ (both conceived as the dispensers of food?), which has been mentioned under Beute (Goth. biuþs, AS. beód), also bote, from MidHG. bote, OHG. boto (AS. boda, whence E. to bode), lit. ‘herald.’
Bifang, m., ‘enclosure, ridge,’ from MidHG. bívanc, m., ‘circuit, ridge between furrows,’ OHG. bífang, ‘circuit,’ from bifãhan, ‘comprise, encircle.’ With respect to the accented verbal prefix in the subst. compound, comp. bei, where ‘around’ is also quoted as one of the OTeut. meanings of bi. Bifang (in opposition to Beispiel, bîspel) retains, like bieder, the old short verbal prefix; comp. bieder, Bild, Beunde.
bigott, adj., ‘bigoted,’ first occurs in ModHG., borrowed from Fr. bigot, but based in spelling on Gott.
Bilch, f., ‘dormouse,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bilch, OHG. bilich (whence OBulg. plŭchŭ, ‘dormouse,’ is borrowed?); bil- is primit. cognate with W. bele, ‘marten.’
Bild, n., ‘image, portrait, representation,’ from MidHG. bilde, OHG. bilidi, n., ‘image, figure, parable, prototype'; similarly OSax. bilithi; there is no corresponding word in E. or Goth. (*biliþi). The derivation from a stem bil-, with which Beil has been absurdly connected, is untenable; bi- is probably the prep. be- (comp. bieder, Bifang, Binse); *liþi is allied to liþu-, ‘limb’ (see Glied); the compound signifies lit. ‘a copy of a limb, counterfeit limb’?. It is impossible to connect it with E. build, which belongs rather to AS. bold, ‘a building,’ and bauen.
Bill f., from the equiv. E. bill, which, with Fr. billet, belongs to MidLat. billa, bulla.
Bille, f., ‘hatchet,’ from MidHG. bil (gen. billes), ‘pickaxe,’ OHG. bill; AS. bill, ‘sword,’ E. bill (‘sword, chopper,’ also ‘axe’); not cognate with Beil.
billig, adj., adv., ‘reasonable (-ably), cheap (-ly),’ for an earlier billich, used even in the last century, from MidHG. billîch, OHG. (recorded since Williram) billîch (adv. MidHG. billîche, OHG. billîhho). ‘conformable, becoming’; cognate with AS. bilewit, MidE. bilewit, ‘simple, innocent.’ It has been said, without sufficient reason, that this class was borrowed from Kelt. Comp. other cognates under Weichbild, Unbill.
​ Bilsenkraut, n., ‘henbane,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bilse, OHG. bilisa, f.; also a dial. form bilme, equal to Dan. bulme, AS. beolene (Span. beleño). The stems bilisa, beluna, common to the Teut. group, correspond to Lat. felix, filix, ‘fern,’ but more closely to Russ. belená, Pol. bielun, ‘henbane.’ Comp. further MidDu. beelde, ‘henbane.’
bin, see sein, vb.
Bims, n., Bimsstein, ‘pumice-stone,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bümez, OHG. bumiz; hence we should expected ModHG. Bümeß. The relation between Kreuz and Lat. cruc-em is similar to that between Bümeß and the type, Lat. pumic-em (nom. pumex). The i of the ModHG. form is MidG., as in Kitt, Pilz. From Lat. pumex (Ital. pomice) are also derived Du. puimsteen, and AS. pûmicstân. With regard to s for z, see Binse.
binden, vb., ‘to tie, bind,’ from MidHG. binden, OHG. bintan, corresponds to OSax. and AS. bindan, E. to bind, Goth. bindan; the meaning does not change, hence it was the same in primit. Teut. as in ModHG. and Eng. The pre-Teut. form of the root must have been bhendh; comp. the corresponding Sans. root bandh, ‘to chain, fasten’; Lat. (with f for bh initially) offendimentum, ‘bond, cable’; Gr. πεῖσμα for *πένθσμα, ‘bond,’ also ‘father-in-law,’ as well as Sans. bándhu, ‘a relative.’ In Teut. numerous forms are derived by gradation from the same root (e.g. Band, E. bond, bend). Ital. benda, ‘bandage,’ bendare, ‘to bind up,’ are borrowed.
Bingelkraut, n., earlier Büngelkraut, ‘mercury’; Büngel, a name of a plant, from MidHG. bunge, OHG. bungo, ‘bulb.’ See Bachbunge.
binnen, prep., ‘within,’ from MidHG. (MidLG. and MidDu.) binnen; comp. the corresponding AS. binnan, ‘within,’ from biinnan, with suppression of the i of bi, as in bange, barmherzig. See innen.
Binse (Swiss Binz), f., ‘rush,’ from the plur. of the equiv. MidHG. binȥ, bineȥ, m., OHG. binuȥ, m.; comp. OSax. binut, AS. beonet, E. bent, bentgrass, as well names of places, Bentley, Bentheim, with a LG. vowel. The most probable derivation is that given in the OHG. period, by Notker, from bi- and naȥ (see naß); hence lit. ‘that which grows in wet places.’ LFranc. and LG. have a stem biusa corresponding to Du. bies, MidLG. bese, which are not cognate with Binse.
Birke (Swiss Bilche, Birche), f., ‘birch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. birke (UpG. birche), OHG. bircha, birihha; comp. AS. birce, E. birch; also Du. berk, AS. beorc, OIc. bjǫrk, Goth. *bairka, f., or *bairkjô, f. This term, common to the Teut. group, is one of the few names of trees of primit. Aryan origin (comp. Buche); the pre-Teut. form is bhergâ (bhergyâ) and corresponds to Sans. bhûrja, m., ‘a kind of birch’ (neu. also ‘birch bark’), OSlov. brĕza, f., Lith. bérżas.
Birne, f., ‘pear’; the n belongs properly to the inflexion; MidHG. bir (and still dialectic), plur. birn; OHG. bira, ‘pear.’ Derived from the Lat. pĭrum, or rather plur. pĭra. On account of the initial b of the German word, the date at which it was borrowed can hardly be placed earlier than the 9th cent. The Goth applied to the ‘mulberry-tree’ the apparently cognate term baírabagms. E. pear, AS. peru, Du. peer, are based upon the Rom. word (Ital. and Span. pera), derived from Lat. pirum. Respecting the change of gender see Pflaume.
birschen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. birsen, ‘to chase with hounds, to shoot deer’; s after r became sch, as in Arsch, barsch, Dorsche, herrschen, Hirsch, Kirsche, Kürschner, wirsch; from OFr. berser (MidLat. bersare), ‘to pierce with an arrow.’
bis, conj., adv., ‘until, as far as,’ from MidHG. biȥ (for which unze, unz most frequently occur); in OHG. it was perhaps biaȥ, i.e. bis is a compound of bĭ (see bei, Goth. bĭ) and aȥ (OHG. aȥ, ‘to,’ Goth. at, Lat. ad); biaȥ became biȥ, ‘until’ Earlier ModHG. has a variant bitze, bitz, which likewise arose from an older bi and ze, ‘to.’ Similarly ModHG. unz is composed of unt (Goth. und) and ze. —
bislang, from the equiv. MidHG. bissolange, ‘so long, hitherto,’ for biȥ sô lange, ‘until so long.’
Bisam, m., ‘musk,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bisem, OHG. bisam, bisamo, from MidLat. bisamum, which is of oriental origin (Hebr. besem, Syr. besmo).
Bischof, m., ‘bishop,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bischof (v), OHG. biscof (to which Bistum is related); Du. bisschop, AS. bisceop, E. bishop, with the same meaning. In Goth. with a closer adherence to the primit. form (ἐπίσκοπος) aípiskaúpus. This widely diffused word was probably adopted, like the Arianism of the Goths (comp. Kirche), from the Greeks without passing through ​Romance. The Lat.-Rom. origin is indeed supported by the initial b as well as the loss of the original e at the beginning; comp. Ital. vescovo, OFr. vesque (also evesque, ModFr. évêque, and OIr. epscop). Comp. further OSlov. jepĭskopŭ.
Bissen, m., ‘bit, morsel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. biȥȥe, OHG. biȥȥo; comp. AS. bita, E. bit, and beißen.
Bistum, n., ‘bishopric.’ Even in MidHG. bischtuom and bistuom, OHG. biscetuom, from biscoftuom. By a similar change Bismarck was formed from bischoves marc; on the borders of such a mark the property of the tribe was situated.
Biß, Bißchen, ‘bit, trifle,’ from beißen.
bitten, vb., ‘to beg, entreat, invite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. bitten (from bitjan, bidjan); it is a str. vb. of the class e—a—â—e. Comp. Goth. bidjan, baþ, bêdum, bidans; AS. biddan; in E. to bid, both bieten and bitten appear; E. to beg, from AS. bedecian (Goth. *bidaqôn? comp. Teut. and Goth. *bidaqa, ‘beggar’). The str. vb. belonged originally to the i class (Goth. bidja, *baiþ, *bidum, bidans might therefore be conjectured); a trace of this gradation is shown further by the factitive Goth. baidjan, AS. bœ̂dan, OHG. beiten, with the meaning ‘to order, demand, compel.’ The root bheidh, bhidh, accords with Gr. πιθ (for φιθ, according to the well-known rule), πείθω, ‘to induce by entreaties, get by asking, persuade, convince’; to this belongs also Lat. fîdo (equiv. to the Gr. Mid. Voice πείθομαι), ‘to rely on a person.’ With this meaning an OTeut. bîdan, ‘to await, wait with full confidence’ (Goth. beidan, OHG. bîtan, AS. bîdan, E. to bide), has been connected. The Germ. noun Bitte is OHG. bita, most frequently bëta, Goth. bida. See beten, Gebet.
bitter, adj., ‘bitter,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bitter, OHG. bittar. This t, since it comes before r, represents the t common to the Teut. cognates; before r the permutation of t to ȥ, tz does not take place (comp. Eiter, lauter, zittern); OLG. bittar, AS. bittor, biter, E. and Du. bitter; hence we should have expected Goth. *bĭtrs, for which a form with a remarkable ái, baitrs, ‘bitter,’ occurs. The word is undoubtedly cognate with beißen (root bit, inf. bîtan); the adj. properly signifies ‘pricking, sharp,’ being now, like beißen, restricted to the taste. For other cognates comp. beißen.
blach, adj., ‘flat,’ from MidHG. blach; it is, like Swiss blacke, ‘a large board,’ related to flach.
Blackfisch, m., ‘cuttlefish,’ from LG. blackfisk. Blak is the LG. term for ink (blakhorn, ‘inkstand’); comp. AS. blœc, ‘ink,’ E. black (a colour and shoemaker's black), OHG. blach.
Blahe, f., ‘coarse linen,’ from MidHG. balhe, blâ, f.; a dialect. widely diffused word, with the parallel forms blähe, plane, blache, plauwe; the primit. form is Goth. *blahwa?.
blähen, vb., ‘to inflate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blœjen, OHG. blâjan, wk. vb. (the OHG. word also means ‘to blow’); comp. AS. blâwan, E. to blow. The Teut. root blâ (blê) agrees partly with Lat. flare (Aryan root bhlâ); blasen, Blatt, and Blatter are also closely related to it. Blasen especially seems to have arisen from the shorter root, also preserved in Blatter, by adding s to the stem of the present.
Blaker, m., ‘chandelier’ (in Voss), from the equiv. LG. and Du. blaker; comp. AS. blœcern; from the MidLG. and Du. blaken, ‘to burn, glow.’ For further Teut. and Aryan cognates see under Blitz.
blank, adj., ‘bright, drawn (of a sword),’ from the MidHG. blanc, OHG. blanch, ‘gleaming, white, resplendently beautiful.’ Comp. E. blank (‘white’), (AS. blanca, blonca, OIc. blakkr, ‘white or grey horse’); related to OIc. blakra, ‘to gleam’; formed by gradation from the root blek in Blitz (comp. also blecken). The adj. made its way into Rom. (Ital. bianco, Fr. blanc), whence Blankett with a Rom. suffix; comp. also blasen. The less frequent blink — a recent formation from the verb — is found as a parallel form to blank in ModHG.
Blankscheit, n., ‘busk’ (whalebone in a corset), corrupted in ModHG. from Fr. planchette.
Blase, f., ‘blister, bubble, flaw,’ from MidHG. blâse, OHG. blâsa; the last two specially mean ‘urinary bladder.’ Comp. Blatter and blasen.
blasen, vb., ‘to blow, sound, smelt,’ from MidHG. blâsen, OHG. blâsan, ‘to breathe, snort’; comp. tho equiv. Goth. blêsan; in E. only the deriv. AS. blœst, E. blast, has been preserved. The s of blasen, which does not occur in the root bhlê of the cognate languages, is considered by some to be simply a present suffix which was not joined to the stem until a later period; in that case blähen and Blatter may be ​cognate. The OTeut. words with initial bl separate into two groups; the one, containing blähen, Blatter, blasen, blühen, Blüte, seems to be based on the primary meaning of ‘swelling,’ the other, comprising blank, blaß, blinken, blecken, blißen, blau, Blech, Blut, on the notion of ‘shining.’
blaß, adj., ‘pale, faint (in colour),’ from MidHG. blas, ‘bald,’ figuratively ‘weak, trifling’; the earlier signification is ‘shining’ (comp. Glaze, from glänzen); allied to OHG. blas, ‘whitish.’ Hence by mutation Blässe, f., ‘a white spot on the forehead,’ OIc. bles (earlier Dan. blis), MidLG. blare (but blasenhengst, ‘horse with a blaze’), Du. blaar, ‘cow with a blaze.’ With the meaning ‘shining,’ AS. blase, E. blaze, MidHG. blas, n., ‘a torch,’ are connected.
Blatt, n., ‘leaf, blade, newspaper,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. blat n.’; comp. the corresponding Du. blad, AS. blœd, ‘leaf,’ E. blade; Goth. *blaþ. The dental of these cognates seems to be a suffix; bla- from pre-Teut. bhlo-, as well as Lat. fol-ium, Gr., φύλλον, ‘leaf,’ may have been formed from a root bhol, bhlô. It is uncertain whether Goth. *blada- is really a partic. with an Ayran suffix tó-, with the meaning ‘having ceased to bloom’ or ‘fully grown.’ See blühen.
Blatter, f., ‘pock, pustule,’ from MidHG. blâtere, f., ‘bladder, pock,’ OHG. blâttara, f., ‘bladder’; comp. Du. blaar, AS. blœ̂dre, E. bladder. The Goth. form would be *blêdrô (or bladrô? see Natter), with drô- as a suffix, corresponding to Gr. τρα (see Ader, Natter); for blê as a root syllable see blasen, blähen.
blau, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. blâ (Gen. blâwes), OHG. blâo, ‘blue’; comp. Du. blaauw, AS. blâw, and with a suffix blœ̂wen; E. blue (from MidE. blew) is borrowed from Fr. bleu, which, with its Rom. cognates (Ital. biavo, from *blawo), is of Germ. origin. The primit. cognate Lat. flâvus, ‘flaxen, yellow,’ has, like so many names of colours, changed its meaning compared with the Germ. word.
Bläuel, m., ‘beetle, rolling-pin,’ derived from the following word.
bläuen, vb., ‘to beat, drub’; instinctively allied by Germans to blau (blau schlagen, ‘to beat black and blue’). It is based, however, on a str. vb., MidHG. bliuwen, OHG. bliuwan, ‘to beat’; comp. the equiv. AS. *bleówan, whence E. blow; Goth. bliggwan, ‘to beat’ (with an excrescent gg), for bliwan. The root seems to be blu, from bhlu-; it can hardly be related primitively to blau, nor is it possible to derive *bliwan from a root bhliw for bhligw from bhligh (comp. Schnee, Niere), and to compare it with Lat. flîgere.
Blech, n., ‘thin metal plate, tin plate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blëch, OHG. blëh, n.; it corresponds to OIc. blik, n., ‘gold, thin plate of gold.’ In Eng. the word is not to be met with; it is formed by gradation from the root blik, which appears in bleichen, and means ‘shining.’ —
Blechen, ‘to pay money,’ comp. berappen.
blecken, vb. ‘to show one's teeth, grin,’ from MidHG. blęcken, ‘to become visible, show,’ OHG. blęcchen (Goth. *blakjan). Factitive of a Goth. *blikan, which, according to the law of the permutation of consonants, is cognate with Gr. φλέγω, ‘to burn, shine’ (comp. φλογ- in φλόξ, ‘flame’), Lat. flagro, ‘to burn,’ and the Sans. root bhrâj), ‘to shine.’ OHG. blęcchen also means ‘to lighten, gleam, shine forth,’ For further details see Blitz.
Blei, n. ‘lead,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blî (Gen. blîwes), OHG. blîo (for *blîw), ‘lead’; it corresponds to OIc. blý; Goth. *bleiwa- is wanting. The word cannot be traced farther back; it is not found in Eng., the term used being lead (Du. loot; comp. Let).
bleiben, vb., ‘to remain, continue,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blîben, OHG. bilîban; comp. the corresponding AS. belîfan, Goth. bileiban, ‘to remain’ (the factitive of which is bilaibjan, ‘to cause to remain, leave over’; AS. lœ̂fan, E. to leave). It is allied neither to Lat. linquo nor to Gr. λείπω, to which leihen is more akin; bilîbo, ‘I remain,’ must be based on pre-Teut. lîpô (Sans. root lip, ‘to adhere’); Gr. λιπαρὸς, ‘greasy, shining,’ λίπος, n., ‘fat,’ λιπαρέω, ‘I persist,’ comes nearest to the meaning of the Teut. vb.; comp. OSlov. lipnąli, Lith. lipti, ‘to adhere, remain.’ With the former meaning, ‘to adhere,’ ModHG. Leber is connected, and with the latter, ‘to persist, abide,’ the ModHG. Leib and Leben. See the separate words.
bleich, adj., ‘pale, wan,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bleich, OHG. bleih; comp. AS. blâc, blœ̂ce, E. bleak, Du. bleek, OIc. bleikr, ‘pale,’ from the root blik appearing in bleichen. Derivatives: ModHG. Bleiche, f., ‘bleaching, bleaching-yard, wan appearance’; bleichen, ‘to bleach, turn pale.’
​ bleichen, vb., ‘to lose colour,’ erbleichen, ‘to grow pale,’ from MidHG. blîchen, ‘to shine, blush,’ OHG. blîhhan; comp. AS. blîcan, MidE. blîken, ‘to turn pale’; OIc. blíkja, ‘to appear, shine, lighten.’ The i root of Slav. bliskati, ‘to sparkle’ (for *bligskati), blěskŭ, ‘splendour,’ Lith. blaivýtis, ‘to clear up,’ is more closely connected with the word than the e root in φλέγω, ‘to burn, flame.’ The pre-Teut. form of the root was perhaps bhlig, meaning ‘lustre’ (comp. also Blech, bleich; further OHG. blick, see Blitz). —
Bleicher(t), m., ‘pale-red wine, claret,’ a recent deriv. from bleich.
Bleihe, f., ‘whitebait, bleak,’ Du. term for a ‘species of white fish; comp. Du. blei, MidLG. and MidDu. bleie, AS. blœ̂ge, E. *blay; from blajjôn for *blaigjôn (comp. OHG. reia, AS. rœ̂ge, from raigjon; see under Reh). As ModHG. Ricke is a parallel form of OHG. reia, so MidHG. and ModHG. (Swiss) blicke is a variant of LG. bleie. The primary meaning and further cognates are uncertain; OHG. bleihha, MidHG. bleiche, would point to a connection with bleich (comp. OIc. blígja, ‘to glance at’).
blenden, vb., ‘to blind,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blęnden, OHG. blęnten; comp. AS. blęndan, whereas E. has to blind based upon blind; factitive of blind. It is remarkable in connection with this word that an old form, *blandjan, as it would be written in Goth., is derived by gradation from an adj. (blinds, Goth.); a str. vb. blindan, ‘to be blind,’ has never existed. Blende, ‘blind, screen,’ first found in ModHG., is a deriv. of blenden.
Blendling, m., ‘mongrel,’ from MidHG. blanden, OHG. blantan, ‘to mix’; Goth. blandan. This OTeut. str. vb., meaning ‘to mix,’ is based, according to the laws of the permutation of consonants, on a pre-Teut. root bhlandh, not found in any other word.
bletzen, ‘to patch,’ see under Placken.
Blick, m., ‘glance, look, gleam,’ from MidHG. blick, ‘splendour, lightning, glance’; corresponds to OHG. blic (blicches), n., ‘lightning’ (also blicfiur, ‘electricity’). The orig. sense of the MidHG. word was probably heller Strahl (a bright flash), Strahl being used figuratively of the eye as of lightning; the physical meaning of the stem has been preserved in Blitz. The root is shown under blecken, and especially under Blitz, to be the pre-Teut. bhleg.
blind, adj. ‘blind’ from MidHG. blint(d), ‘blind, dark, murky, hidden, null,’ OHG. blint; comp. the corresponding Goth. blinds, AS. blind, E. blind. An ancient but very remarkable factitive form from this adj., with no parallel str. vb., is blenden (Goth. *blandjan). It is still undecided whether d is an old partic. suffix, like Gr. -τος, Lat. -tus, Sans. -tas; considering the meaning of the word, it might easily be connected with the Sans. root bhram, ‘to move unsteadily’ (partic. bhrântá-s). Yet its kinship with Lith. blandýti, ‘to cast down the eyes,’ blindo, blísti, ‘to grow dark,’ is more probable (comp. OIc. blunda, ‘to close, blink the eyes,’ E. to blunder). — Another word for ‘blind’ in the Aryan group is Lat. caecus, OIr. cáech; Goth. haihs, corresponding to these, means ‘one-eyed.’ It seems, moreover, that in the Aryan languages there were no terms for ‘blind, deaf, lame, dumb,’ and other infirmities, common to all of them; there is only an agreement between two or three languages at most.
Blindschleiche, see under Schleichen.
blinken, vb., ‘to gleam, twinkle, blink,’ first occurs in ModHG.; related to blank, blink, adj.; comp. Du. blinken, MidE. blinken, E. to blink. The root may be identical with that of bleichen (blîkan), the i-root becoming nasalised; blinken would then be regarded as a verb of the e class. and blank a secondary form.
blinzeln, vb., ‘to blink, wink.’ It may be connected with blind; yet comp. also OIc. blunda, ‘to blink,’ and Lith. blandyti, ‘to cast down the eyes.’
Blitz, m., from the equiv. MidHG. blitze, blicze, blicz, m., ‘lightning’ (Swiss even now blitzg for bliktz); a derivative of MidHG. bliczen, ‘to lighten,’ OHG. blëcchazzen (formed like the equiv. Goth. lauhatjun). Allied to the earlier OHG. and MidHG. blic, ‘lightning.’ The Teut. root blëk corresponds to Aryan bhleg, bhlog, in Gr. φλέγω, ‘to burn, blaze,’ φλόξ, ‘flame,’ Sans. bhrâj, ‘to radiate, sparkle’ (whence Sans. bharga(s), ‘splendour,’ and bhṛgu, ‘the special gods of light’), as well as Lat. fulgur, fulmen (for *fulgmen), ‘lightning.’ To the Aryan root bhleg the following also belong: Du. bliksem, OSax. bliksmo, bliksni, ‘lightning,’ Du. blaken, ‘to flame,’ AS. blœcern, blacern, ‘candlestick’ (see Blaker), and perhaps blank (comp. further blecken and Blick).
Block, m., ‘block, log, prison,’ from MidHG. bloch, ‘log, plant, a sort of trap.’ ​In the latter signification (to which MidHG. blocken, ‘to put in prison,’ is related) it represents OHG. bilóh (with syncopated i; see other similar examples under bei), ‘lock-up,’ which belongs to an OTeut. str. vb. lûkan, ‘to lock’ (comp. further E. lock; see Loch). The meaning ‘log, plank’ (MidHG. bloch), is probably based on a different word, which is most likely related to Balken; even in OHG., bloh occurs. The cognates passed into Rom. (Fr. bloc, bloquer), whence again ModHG. blockieren, E. to block.
blöde, adj., ‘weak, dim-sighted, imbecile,’ from MidHG. blœde, ‘infirm, weak, tender, timid,’ OHG. blôdi, OSax. blôði, ‘timid.’ Comp. AS. bleáþ, ‘weak,’ OIc. blauþr; Goth. *blauþus, ‘weak, powerless,’ may be inferred from its deriv. wk. vb. blauþjan, ‘to render powerless, invalid, to abolish.’ According to the permutation of consonants, the pre-Teut. form of the adj. may have been bhláutu-s, with the primary meaning ‘powerless, weak.’ Yet the stem cannot be traced farther back. From this word Fr. éblouir, ‘to dazzle,’ is borrowed.
blöken, vb., ‘to bleat,’ ModHG. simply, of LG. origin. Comp. LG. blöken, bleken, MidDu. bloiken.
blond, adj., ‘blonde, fair,’ from MidHG. blunt(d), ‘fair,’ which first appears when the Fr. influence began (about 1200 A.D.), and is undoubtedly of Fr. origin. Fr. blond, Ital. biondo, MidLat. blundus, give the impression that these words were borrowed from Teut., especially since other Teut. names of colours have been adopted by Rom. (comp. blau, blank, braun). The earlier periods of OTeut. have, however, no adj. blunda- The connection of MidLat. and Rom. blundo with blind (OIc. blunda) may be possible (comp. Lith. prý-blinde, ‘twilight’), especially as the meaning of the names of colours is variable.
bloß, adj., ‘bare, destitute, mere,’ from MidHG. blôȥ. ‘exposed, naked’; it corresponds to MidLG. and MidDu. bloot, ‘bare,’ AS. bleát, ‘poor, wretched’ (OIc. blautr, ‘soft, fresh, tender,’ as well as OHG. blôȥ, ‘proud,’ have a divergent meaning). On account of the UpG. and LG. blutt (dial.), Swed. blott, ‘unfledged, uncovered, unclad,’ the origin of Teut. blauto- ‘mere,’ is dubious. Perhaps blöde is a cognate.
blühen, vb., ‘to bloom, flower,’ from the equiv. MidHG. blüen, blüejen, OHG. bluojan; a wk. vb., which, however, judging by AS. blôwan (E. to blow), ‘to bloom,’ was formerly strong; Goth. *blôjan. the Teut. stem blô- has a wide ramification in particular dialects; the primary sense is ‘to bloom.’ It is further apparent in many words for Blatt (‘leaf’) and Blume (‘flower’); see the following word, where the non-Teut. cognates are discussed.
Blume, f., ‘blossom, flower,’ from MidHG. bluome, m., f., OHG. bluoma, f. (bluomo, m.); comp. OSax. blômo, Goth. blôma, AS. blôma, E. bloom. -man-is a deriv. suffix; the root blô (see blühen) shows that Blume is lit. ‘the blooming plant.’ The following are also Teut. cognates of Blume: — Du. bloesem (besides bloem), AS. blôstm, blôstma, E. blossom; perhaps their s belongs, however, to the root; this is indicated by MidDu. blôsen, ‘to bloom,’ which points to the close connection between E. blossom and Lat. florere for *flôsê-re, flôs (flôr-is for *flôsis). A root bhlô without this s appears in OIr. bláth, ‘blossom,’ E. dial. blooth, ‘flower.’ See further the following word, also Blüte and Blatt.
Blust, m. (Suab. and Swiss, bluešt, n.), from the equiv. MidHG. bluost, f., ‘blossom'; Goth. *blôs-ts is connected perhaps with the Aryan root bhlôs, ‘to bloom,’ preserved in AS. blôs-tma, Lat. flôrere (for *flôsere). See Blume and Blüte.
Blut, n., ‘blood, race,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bluot, OHG. bluot, n.; it corresponds regularly to Du. bloed, AS. blôd, E. blood. An OTeut. word meaning ‘blood,’ which is common to all the dialects; comp. Goth. blôþa- (for *blôda-). Pre-Teut. bhlâto- does not appear in any cognate language with the same meaning. The Aryan languages have no common word for blood. With respect to the Teut. word, it is still undecided whether it belongs to a root blô, ‘to bloom.’ Comp. also E. to bleed (for *blodjan). For Blutegel see Igel. Blut- in compounds like blutjung, blutarm, has nothing to do with Blut, but is dial. with the meaning ‘bare, naked’; UpG. and LG. blutt.
blutrünstig, see rünstig.
blutt, see blöde.
Blüte, f., ‘blossom, bloom, prime,’ from the plur. of the equiv. MidHG. bluot, plur. blüete, OHG. bluot, plur. bluoti, f.; Goth. *blôþs, AS. blêd. See blühen, Blume, Blust, Blut, and Blatt.
Bocher, Jew., ‘youth, student,’ from Hebr. bachûr, ‘youth.’
Bock, m., ‘buck, he-goat, ram,’ from ​the equiv. MidHG. bock (gen. bockes), OHG. boc, m.; corresponds to Du. bok, AS. bucca, E. buck, OIc. bukkr and bokkr (Goth. *bukks, *bukka, m.) Like so many names of animals (comp. e.g. Aue, Geiß), Bock too may have descended from primit. Aryan times; comp; OIr. bocc, from primit. Kelt. bucco-. Although it is not quite impossible that the whole Teut. class was borrowed from Kelt., yet it seems more probable, on account of Armen. buc, ‘lamb,’ and Zend bûza, ‘he-goat’ (Aryan primitive form bhûga), that it was only primit. akin to Kelt. Fr. bouc may be derived from Teut. or Kelt. Another OTeut. word (related to Lat. caper, Gr. κάπρος) is preserved in ModHG. Habergeiß. — Bock, ‘mistake,’ ModHG. only, seems to be a pun due to ModHG. Verstoß, ‘blunder.’ The origin of the phrase einen Bock schießen (‘to commit a blunder’) is not clear; note, however, that eine Lerche schießen is ‘to tall head over heels.’ — Bock (whence Fr. boc), for Bockbier, which first occurs in ModHG., is an abbrev. of Einbock (now Eimbocker Bier); comp. the origin of Thaler.
Bocksbeutel, m., ‘old prejudice,’ first occurs in ModHG., and connected instinctively by Germans with Bock; it is, however, of LG. origin, bocks- representing bôks (‘of the book’). The women of Hamburg used to carry their hymn-books at their side in a satchel, which they were always fond of wearing. When applied to a sort of bottle, Bocksbeutel has a different origin, and means properly ‘the scrotum of the buck.’
Boden, m., ‘bottom, ground, soil, loft,’ from the equiv. MidHG. boden, bodem, gen. bodemes (the dial. ModHG. bodem is stil used, comp. the proper name Bodmer), OHG. bodam, m., which still exists in the cognate dialects and languages. OHG. bodam points, however, not to Goth. *buþma-, but, with a remarkable irregularity, to *budna-, the corresponding AS. botm, E. bottom, exhibiting a further irregularity in the dental. Goth. *budna- seems probable, since the non-Teut. languages of the Aryan stock point to bhudhmen, bhudhnó- as the stem; Gr. πυθμήν, ὁ (for *φυθμήν, see bieten), ‘bottom’; Lat. fundus (for *fudnus), Sans. budhná- (for *bhudhná-, by the same rule as in Gr.). It is a primit. Aryan word, with the meaning ‘bottom, ground,’ but is not connected, however, with a str. vb. in any Aryan language. — Bodensee obtained its name during the Carolovingian period (formerly Lacus Brigantînus, ‘Lake Constance’) from the imperial palace at Bodema (now Bodmann), which may be the plur. of the subst. Boden.
Bodmerei, f., ‘money advanced on the security of the ship's keel or bottom’ (i.e. the ship itself), from Du. bodmerîe, E. bottomry (whence Fr. bomerie).
Bofist, m., ‘puck-ball,’ ModHG. only, properly ‘knave's fizzling’ (see under Fist); comp. AS. wulfes fist, the name of the plant (E. bullfist), of which Gr.-Lat. lycoperdon is a late imitation.
Bogen, m., ‘bow, arc, vault, sheet (of paper),’ from MidHG. boge, OHG. bogo, m., ‘bow’; comp. AS. boga, E. bow; Goth. *buga. Properly a deriv. of biegen, hence orig. ‘curve, bend,’ connected with the equiv. cognates of Bucht; comp. further the primit. Teut. compounds Ellenbogen, Regenbogen.
Bohle, f., ‘plank, board,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bole; comp. OIc. bolr (whence E. bole), ‘trunk (of a tree)’; perhaps connected with MidHG. boln, ‘to roll,’ Gr. φάλαγξ, ‘trunk.’ See Bollwerk.
Bohne, f., ‘bean,’ from MidHG. bône, OHG. bôna, f.; the corresponding AS. beán, E. bean, Du. boon, OIc. baun, have the same meaning. The early existence of this word is attested by the name of the Fris. islands, Baunonia. It has not yet been possible to find a connecting link between the primit. Teut. term and the equiv. Lat. faba, OSlov. bobŭ (Gr. φακός, ‘lentil’).
bohnen, vb., ‘to wax (a floor), polish,’ first occurs in ModHG. from the equiv. LG. bônen; comp. Du. boenen, ‘to scour,’ AS. bônian, ‘to polish’ (E. dial. to boon, ‘to mend roads’). Allied to these is the MidHG. büenen (orig. HG.), ‘to polish’ (Goth. *bônjan). The Teut. root bôn, from pre-Teut. bhân, ‘to shine, glitter,’ is probably connected with the Gr. root φαν (φαίνω), Sans. bhânu, ‘sheen, light, ray,’ OIr. bán, ‘white.’
Bohnenlied, ‘bean-song’ (in the phase etwas geht über das Bohnenlied, applied to something incomparably good); the word may be traced as far back as the 15th cent., but the song itself has not been discovered. It may have been an obscure poem, since the bean among various nations is adopted as the symbol of lewdness (comp. the mediæval bean-feast, Gr. πυανέψια).
Böhnhase, m., ‘bungler, clumsy ​workman,’ first found in ModHG.; generally asserted to be a popular corruption of Gr. βάναυσος, which means ‘artisan;’ but it is inexplicable how the Gr. word found its way into popular speech. It is more probably of real German origin, although the primary meaning cannot be got at; we must begin with the fact that the word is native to LG., and is chiefly used in Tailors' Guilds. We must probably regard hase as a LG. form for Hose (see Aberglaube, Adebar). Böhn is generally considered to be a LG. word for Bühne, ‘garret’; hence Böhnhase is perhaps ‘one who makes breeches in the garret, petty tailor’ (opposed to one whose workroom is on the first floor).
bohren, vb., ‘to bore, pierce,’ from the equiv. MidHG. born, OHG. borôn; comp. the corresponding Du. boren, AS. borian, E. to bore (and bore, ‘hole made by boring’); Goth. *baúrôn. The prim. Teut. bŏrôn, ‘to bore,’ is primit. cognate with Lat. forare, ‘to bore,’ Gr. φαράω, ‘I plough’; Sans. bhurij, ‘scissors,’ belongs to the same root, and in Ir. there is a verbal root berr, from bherj, meaning ‘to shear.’ The primary meaning of this root bhar, which differs from that appearing in Geburt and Lat. fero, Gr. φέρω was probably ‘to fashion with a sharp instrument.’ Comp. ModHG. dial. Bohrer, ‘woodlouse,’ E. bore.
Boi, m., ‘baize,’ ModHG. only, from LG. baje, Du. baai, which is borrowed from Rom. (Fr. boie); perhaps E. baize is properly a plur.
Boisalz, m., ‘bay-salt', ModHG. only, of LG. origin, for Baisalt; comp. Bai and E. bay-salt.
Boje, f., ‘buoy,’ from the LG. boje, Du. boei, E. buoy, which are borrowed from Rom.; comp. Fr. bouée, ‘buoy,’ OFr. buie, ‘chain, fetter', whence MidHG. boie, ‘fetter'. The ultimate source of the word is Lat. boja, ‘fetter’; the buoy was originally a floating piece of wood with a rope fastened to it.
Bolchen, m., ‘cod,’ like Belche (1.), from the equiv. MidHG. balche; of obscure origin.
-bold, in compounds like Raufbold, Witzbold, &c., from MidHG. bolt, gen. boldes; it is the unaccented form of the MidHG. adj. balt, ‘bold,’ which is discussed under bald.
bölken, vb., ‘to roar, bleat,’ ModHG. only, and perhaps cognate with bellen, which had formerly a wider signification than in ModHG.; comp. Du. bulken, ‘to bellow, bleat.’
boll, adj., ‘stiff (of leather), brittle, hard’; ModHG. only; origin obscure.
Bolle (1.), f., ‘onion,’ properly identical with the following word; both are subdivisions of a probable primary meaning, ‘bulbaceous.’ It is hardly probable that Gr. βολβός, Lat. bulbus (whence E. bulb), ‘bulb, onion,’ had any influence on the meaning. See also Zwiebel.
Bolle (2.), ‘bulb,’ from MidHG. bolle, OHG. bolla, f., ‘bud, bowl’; comp. the corresponding AS. bolla, ‘vessel, bowl,’ E. bowl (ModHG. Bowle, is borrowed from Eng.). Interesting forms are OHG. hirnibolla, ‘skull,’ and the equiv. AS. heáfodbolla. It is evident that there was orig. some such idea as ‘boss-shaped’ in the OTeut. word; comp. farther MidHG. boln, OHG. bolôn, ‘to roll, throw, hurl.’
Böller, m., ‘small mortar (for throwing shells),’ ModHG. only, a deriv. of the MidHG. boln, ‘to throw,’ mentioned under the preceding word; comp. late MidHG. boler, ‘catapult.’
Bollwerk, n., ‘bulwark, bastion,’ from late MidHG. bolwerk, ‘catapult, bulwark,’ in the former sense cognate with the preceding word; in the latter probably connected with Bohle; Du. bolwerk, E. bulwark. The Teut. word in the sense of ‘bulwark,’ which belongs to it since the 15th cent., found its way into Slav. and Rom. (Russ. bolverk, Fr. boulevard).
Bolz, Bolzen, m., ‘short arrow-bolt,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bolz, OHG. bolz, m.; comp. the equiv. OIc. bolte, AS. bolt, E. bolt; allied to Du. bout, ‘cramp-pin.’ The word has the same meaning in all dialects, and in all the various periods of the Teut. languages. We may assume a pre-Teut. bhḷdó-s, with the meaning ‘bolt, dart’; yet no such word outside the Teut. group can be adduced. Bolzen cannot be immediately akin to MidHG. boln, ‘to throw, hurl,’ since the Teut. t could not be explained as a deriv. from pre-Teut. d. But it is at least possible, on account of the great antiquity of the cognates, that they were borrowed from Lat. catapulta and remodelled.
Bombasin, m., ‘bombasine,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. bombasin, whence also E. bombasine; the original word is Lat.-Gr. bombyx, ‘silkworm, silk.’
Bombast, m., borrowed in the 18th cent. from E. bombast, which is not cognate ​with πομπή, ‘pomp, parade,’ Fr. pompe; its orig. sense is ‘cotton,’ then ‘padding,’ and finally ‘inflated language.’ Its ultimate source is Lat. bombyx; comp. the preceding word.
Boot, n. ‘boat,’ ModHG. only (not found in Luther), borrowed from LG. boot; comp. the equiv. Du. boot, AS. bât, E. boat, OIc. beitr. This word, which is still unknown to the UpG. dialects, is at all events native to England, whence it made its way during the AS. period into OIc. (bátr), and in MidE. times to the Continent (Du. boot). The origin of AS. bât, OIc. beitr, has not been discovered; like many other nautical terms, this word too is first recorded in Eng. Moreover, the assumption that the word was borrowed in primit. Teut. times must be discarded.
Bord, m., ‘board,’ borrowed, like many other nautical expressions (see the preceding word), from LG. Bord, as a naval term, is found very early in AS., where it is explained by tabula; in HG. the word would end in t, as MidHG. and OHG. bort (gen. bortes), ‘ship's side,’ testify; besides Rand or Ramft is the more frequent term in UpG. for what is called bord in LG. E. board combines two quite different words; the one, AS. bord, signifies lit. ‘board, plank’ (Goth. fôtubaúrd, ‘foot- board,’ to which Du. dambord, ‘draughtboard,’ is allied), and is primit. cognate with HG. Brett; the other means only ‘edge.’ See Bort and Brett.
Börde, f. (the Börde of Soest), ‘fertile plain, plain bordering on a river’; from LG. börde, MidLG. gebörde, ‘department,’ prop. ‘propriety,’ corresponding in form to OHG. giburida.
Bordell, n., ‘brothel,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. bordel (whence also E. bordel and brothel), a Rom. deriv. from Ger. Bort, ‘board,’ and meaning orig. ‘a hut.’
bordieren, vb., ‘to border (a dress),’ from Fr. border, which comes from Ger. Borte.
Boretsch, Borretsch, m., ‘borage,’ from the equiv. Fr. bourrache (comp. Ital. borragine), whence also the E. term.
borgen, vb., ‘to borrow, lend,’ from MidHG. borgen, OHG. borgên, orig. ‘to watch over, spare a person,’ then ‘to remit him his debt, to borrow’; also ‘to be surety for something’; similarly AS. borgian, ‘to protect’ and ‘to borrow,’ E. to borrow. Since the meaning ‘to watch over’ underlies both borgen, ‘to borrow,’ and bürgen, ‘to be responsible,’ the word may be compared with OBulg. brěgą, ‘I take care of.’ The root may have been Teut. borg-, pre-Teut. bhergh-; perhaps bergen is to be connected with the same root.
Borke, f., ‘bark,’ a LG. loan-word, which is not found in UpG. The proper HG. is Rinde. Comp. LG. barke, Eng. and Dan. bark, OIc. bǫrkr, ‘bark’; Goth. *barkus is not recorded. Its connection with bergen (in the sense of ‘concealing’) may be possible as far as its form is concerned; but on account of Sans. bhûrja, m. ‘birch,’ n. ‘birch-bark,’ its relation to Birke is more probable.
Born, m., ‘fountain,’ LG. form for OHG. Brunnen.
Börse, f., from MidHG. burse, ‘purse, small bag,’ also ‘a number of persons living together,’ OHG. burissa, ‘pocket.’ Comp. Du. beurs; of Rom. origin (Fr. bourse, Ital. borsa); the Rom. class is derived finally from Gr. βύρσα, ‘hide.’ This word supplanted an OTeut. term which shows a similar development of meaning — OIc. pungr, ‘leather bottle, scrotum, purse,’ Goth. puggs, OHG. scazpfung, ‘purse.’
Borst, m., ‘burst, chink,’ from bersten.
Borste, f., ‘bristle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. borste, f., bürst, borst, m., n., OHG. burst, m., n.; comp. AS. byrst, and with a suffix l, brystl, E. bristle; Goth. *baúrstus or *baúrsts, f., is not recorded. Bors- is the Teut. form of the root; comp. further E. bur, from AS. *burr (for *burzu-, properly ‘bristly’). Pre-Teut. bhers- shows itself in OInd. bhṛš-ṭi-, ‘point, prong, corner’; also in Lat. fastigium, ‘extreme edge’?. Comp. Bürste.
Bort, n., ‘board,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bort; comp. Goth. fôtubaúrd, ‘footstool,’ OSax. and Du. bord, AS. bord, ‘board, shield, table,’ E. board (see Bord). The OTeut. word bord meant the same as Brett, to which it is related by gradation; the apparent metathesis of re to or is OTeut., as in forschen in relation to fragen; Brett, Bort may be represented in Ind. as brádhas, bṛdhas. See Brett.
Borte, f., ‘ribbon or trimming of gold thread and silk,’ the earlier meaning is simply ‘border’; MidHG. borte, ‘border, frame, ribbon, lace’ (comp. further the cognate, Bord), OHG. borto, ‘seam, trimming’ (whence Ital. bordo, ‘border, frame,’ Fr. bord).
​ böse, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. bœse, OHG. bôsi, ‘bad, useless, slanderous.’ A word peculiar to Germ., not found in the other dialects; the primary meaning, judging from OHG. bôsa, ‘buffoonery,’ bôsân, ‘to vilify,’ was probably ‘speaking malevolently.’ If -si- were regarded us a suffix, Gr. φαῦλος (perhaps for φαῦσ-λος), with the evolution of meaning ‘trifling, bad, wicked,’ would be connected with böse.
Bösewicht, m., ‘villain, scamp,’ from MidHG. bœsewiht, OHG. bôsiwiht. See Wicht.
Bosheit, ‘malice,’ from MidHG. and OHG. bôsheit, without mutation, because i, the cause of the mutation, was soon syncopated. Empören is not cognate.
bosseln (1) vb., ‘to play at skittles'; allied to MidHG. bôzen (without the deriv. l), ‘to strike’ and ‘to play at skittles.’ See Amboß and Beutel.
bosseln (2.), vb., ‘to work in relief,’ [rom Fr. bosseler, whence also E. to emboss.
Bote, m., ‘messenger,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bote, OHG. boto; comp. OLG. and ODu. bodo, AS. boda, ‘messenger.’ To this Botschaft, from MidHG. boteschaft, botschaft, OHG. botoscaft, botascaf (OSax. bodscepi, AS. bodscipe), is related. See Schaft. Bote (Goth. *buda) is the name of the agent, from the root bud, Aryan bhudh, appearing in bieten.
Böttcher, m., ‘cooper,’ name of the agent, from the following word.
Bottich, m, ‘tub, vat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. botech, boteche, m, OHG. botahha, f.; it is probably related to the cognates of Bütte; comp. further AS. bodig, E. body, OHG. budeming, perhaps also ModHG. Boden?. Considering the deriv. of ModHG. Bischof from episcopus, we may assume that Bottich is allied to Lat.-Gr. apotheca; comp. Ital. bottega (Fr. boutique).
Bowle, f., from the equiv. E. bowl. See Bolle (2.).
boxen, vb., ModHG. only, from the equiv. E. to box.
brach, adj. (espec. in compounds such as Brachfeld, &c.), ‘uncultivated, fallow,’ merely ModHG. In MidHG. there is only the compound brâchkmânôt, ‘June,’ which contains a subst. brâche, f., OHG. brâhha (MidLG. brâke), ‘aratio prima,’ as its first component; Brache is ‘turning up the soil after harvest’; from brechen.
Brack, n., ‘refuse, trash,’ from MidLG. brak, ‘infirmity, defect, properly 'breach’; comp. E. brack (‘breach, flaw’), See brechen.
Bracke, m., ‘setter, beagle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and MidLG. bracke, OHG. braccho; scarcely akin to AS. rœcc, E. rach (‘setter’), and OIc. rakke; in this case the initial b of the Ger. word would be equal to bi (see be-, bei), which is improbable. E. brach (‘setter, beagle’), from MidE. brache, is derived from OFr. brache, which, with its Rom. cognates (comp. Ital. bracco, Fr. braque, brachet), is of Ger. origin. If we must assume Goth. *brakka-, the word, on account of the meaning ‘hound,’ might be connected with Lat. fragrare, ‘to smell strongly.’
Brackwasser, n., ‘brackish water,’ first occurs in ModHG., from LG. brakwater, comp. Du. brakwater; to this E. brack (‘salt’), Du. brack, ‘salty,’ are allied; E. brackish water.
Brägen, m., ‘brain’ (LG.), from MidLG. bregen, equiv. to Du. brein, E. brain, AS. brœgen; no other related words are known.
Bram, see Brombeere, verbrämen.
Bramsegel, n., ‘gallant-sail’; Bramstange, f., ‘gallant-mast,’ ModHG. only; of Du. origin; comp. Du. bramzeil, with the same meaning.
Brand, m., ‘fire, conflagration, mortification, blight,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brant(d), OHG. brant, m.; comp. AS. brand, E. brand, OIc. brandr, ‘brand, resinous wood’; from brennen. The root is bren (from the Germ., the Rom. cognates Ital. brando, ‘sword,’ Fr. brandon, ‘torch,’ are derived). Brandmarken, ‘to burn in a mark,’ first occurs in ModHG.
branden, vb. ‘to surge,’ ModHG. only, from LG. and Du. branden, which is connected with Brand, and means lit. ‘to blaze, to move like flames’; from this Brandung is formed.
Brander, m., ModHG. only, from the equiv. Du. brander, ‘a ship filled with combustibles for setting the vessels of the enemy on fire, fireship.’
Brahne, f., ‘outskirts of a wood.’ See verbrämen.
Brasse, f., ‘rope at the end of the sailyards, brace,’ first occurs in ModHG., from Du. bras, Fr. bras (from brachium), property ‘arm,’ then ‘a brace (on a yard).’ Brassen, ‘to brace, swing the yards of a ship,’ is Du. brassen, from Fr. brasser; comp. also E. brace (‘a yard rope’), of the same origin.
​ Brassen, m., ‘bream,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brahsen, brasem, OHG. brahsa, brahsima, brahsina, m., f.; the UpG. dialects still preserve the form Brachsme (the forms Brasse, f., Brassen, m., are MidLG. and MidGer.). Comp. the equiv. Du. brasem, E. brasse. From OGer. is derived Fr. brême (from brahsme?), whence E. bream is borrowed. The class belongs perhaps to an OTeut. str. vb. brëhwan, ‘to shine.’
Braten, m., ‘roast-meat,’ from MidHG. brâte, OHG. brâto, m.; in the earlier periods of the language the word has the general meaning ‘tender parts of the body, flesh,’ but in MidHG. the modern meaning is also apparent. To this AS. brœ̂de, ‘roast-meat,’ is allied. Comp. the following word.
braten, vb., ‘to roast, broil, fry,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brâten, OHG. brâtan; comp. Du. braden, AS. brœ̂dan, ‘to roast’; a Goth. str. vb. *brêdan is to be assumed. The root may have been a pre-Teut. bhrêdh or bhrêt; in support of the latter we may perhaps adduce OHG. brâdam, quoted under Brodem. Brüten (Goth. *brôdjan) might also be assigned to the same root. The pre-Teut. bhrêdh is also indicated by Gr. πρήθω (if it stands for φρήθω?), ‘to consume, set on fire’ (chiefly in combination with πυρί). See also Wildpret.
brauchen, vb., ‘to use, need, want, require,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brûchen, OHG. brûhhan; comp. the corresponding AS. brûcan, ‘to enjoy,’ also ‘to digest, tolerate,’ E. to brook; Goth. *brûkjan, ‘to use, enjoy.’ Not found orig. in Scand. The pre-Teut. form of the root bhrū̆g accords with Lat. fruor, which originated in *fruvor for *frugvor; the Lat. partic. fructus, which phonetically is identical with gebraucht and Goth. brûhts, shows the final guttural of the root, and so does Lat. fruges, &c. The following are Teut. noun forms from the root brûk (bhrûg): ModHG. Brauch, m. (comp. OHG. brûh), Goth. brûks, AS. brŷce, OHG. brûchi, ‘serviceable, useful.’
Braue, f., ‘eyebrow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brâ, brâwe, OHG. brâwa, f.; a pre-Teut. and more remotely old Aryan word, which was perhaps *brêwa in Goth. The OGall. and Kelt. brîva, identical with this word, signifies ‘bridge,’ and is especially important as proving the connection between these cognates and those of Brücke. OHG. brâwa (Aryan bhrêwâ) is related by gradation to Aryan bhrû, which is proved by AS. brû, E. brow, OSlov. brŭvĭ, Sans. bhrû, Gr. ὀ-φρύς. Comp. further OIc. brá, OLG. brâha (for brâwa), AS. brœ̂w, m., and also perhaps Lat. frons, ‘forehead.’ A widely diffused Aryan root. The ModHG. Braune has added to the stem the suffix n, which belonged to the declension of the weak form Braue (comp. Biene); similarly OIc. brún, corresponding to AS. brû, was formed from brû and the n of the weak declension (in AS. the gen. plur. is brûna}. Braue, like the names of many limbs and parts of the body (see Fuß, Niere, Herz, Leber, Nase), originated in the primit. Aryan period. The orig. meaning, however, of the primit. Aryan bhrû-s (‘eye)-brow,’ is as difficult to discover as that of Herz. See also Brücke
brauen, vb. ‘to brew,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brûwen, briuwen, OHG. briuwan; comp. the corresponding OIc. brugga, Du. brouwen, AS. breówan, E. to brew. To the OTeut. root bru (from Aryan bhru- bhrĕw), ‘to brew,’ which may be inferred from these verbs, belongs Phryg.-Thrac. βρῦτον, ‘beer, cider,’ which perhaps stands for Gr. *φρῦτον, also Lat. defrū̆tum, ‘must boiled down,’ OIr. bruthe, ‘broth,’ bruth, ‘live coals, heat,’ bruith, ‘cooking.’ It is shown, moreover, under Brod that the meaning of the root bhru- was at one time more general; comp. further brodeln. On account of the gutturals, Gr. φρύγω, Lat. frîgo, cannot be cognates. Comp. also brodeln, Brod.
braun, adj., ‘brown,’ from MidHG. brûn, ‘brown, dark-coloured, shining, sparkling,’ OHG. brûn; comp. the corresponding Du. bruin, AS. brûn, E. brown, OIc. brúnn. This Teut. term passed into Rom. (comp. the cognates of Ital. bruno, Fr. brun; see Blond); hence also Lith. brunas, ‘brown.’ The proper stem of Aryan bhr-ûna-, appears in Lith. beras, ‘brown’ (comp. Bär), and reduplicated in OInd. babhrú-s, ‘reddish brown, bay’ (this form of the adj. being apparently a common Aryan term for a brownish mammal living in water; comp. Biber); hence it may be right to assign Gr. φρύνη, φρῦνος, ‘toad,’ to this root. Respecting Braun as a name for the bear, see Bär. —
Bräune, f., from MidHG. briune, ‘brownness,’ related to braun (as a malady, ‘brownish inflammation of the windpipe’).
Braus, m., from the equiv. MidHG. brûs, ‘noise, tumult’; perhaps cognate with ​AS. brýsan, E. to bruise. —
brausen, vb., ‘to roar, bluster,’ from the equiv. MidHG.; comp. Du. bruisen, ‘to bluster,’ from bruis, ‘foam, froth’; to this Brause, f., ‘watering-pot,’ also belongs.
Brausche, f., ‘bump, bruise,’ from MidHG. brûsche, ‘a swelling with blood underneath’; to this E. brisket and OIc. brjósk, ‘gristle,’ are allied. The stem common to all these must have meant ‘roundish elevation.’
Braut, f., ‘bride, betrothed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brût, OHG. brût, f. Goth. brûþs (stem brûdi-) means ‘daughter-in-law’; from this comes brûþ-faþs, ‘lord of the bride’ (faþs corresponds to Gr. πόσις, which stands, as πότνια indicates, for πότις, corresponding to OInd. patis, ‘lord’), i.e. ‘bridegroom.’ The MidHG., brût signifies ‘the young, newly married woman’; the borrowed ModFr. bru, earlier bruy, is, on account of its meaning, connected most closely with Goth. brûþs. ‘daughter-in-law’; comp. νύμφη, ‘betrothed, bride, daughter-in-law.’ In Eng. we may compare AS. brŷd, ‘betrothed,’ E. bride, which are primit. allied to the Germ.; comp. also E. bridal, from AS. brŷd-ealo, hence orig. ‘bride-ale.’ E. bridegroom is based upon E. groom, and represents AS. brŷdguma, the second component of which is Goth. guma, ‘man,’ corresponding to Lat. homo (primary form ghomon). The ModHG. Bräutigam is identical in etymology with the AS. word; comp. OHG. brûtigomo, MidHG. briutegome, in which the first part is properly gen. sing. (comp. Nachtigall). The Teut. root form brûdi- has not yet been explained etymologically; it is a word peculiar to Teut., like Weib and Frau. Goth. qino, ‘woman,’ MidHG. kone, are based on an ancient form; comp. Gr. γυνή, Sans. gnâ, ‘woman.’
brav, adj., ‘excellent, manly, brave,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. brave, the origin of which is not established (from Lat. barbarus?).
brechen, vb., ‘to break,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brëchen, OHG. brëhhan; comp. the corresponding Goth. brikan, OLG. and AS. brecan, E. to break, Du. breken, ‘to break.’ From a root brek common to Teut., which is derived from pre-Teut. bhreg; comp. Lat. frangere, the nasal of which is wanting in frêg-i. The ModHG. Brachfeld, Bruch, Brocken, are formed by gradation from the same root.
Bregen, see Brägen.
Brei, m., ‘broth, pottage,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brî, brîe, m., OHG. brîo, m., allied to Du. brij, AS. brîw, ‘pottage’; Goth. *breiwa- (Goth. *breiws is related to OHG. brîo in the same way as Goth. saiws to OHG. sêo). It is hardly possible that the word is connected with the root brū̆, discussed under brauen. Did a root brī̆, ‘to cook,’ exist? comp. OIc. brîme, ‘fire.’ Gr. ορίσσω (root φρῖκ) has been suggested.
breit, adj., ‘broad, wide,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. breit; it corresponds to OSax. brêd, Du. breed, AS. brâd, E. broad, Goth. braiþs, ‘broad.’ Probably from pre-Teut. mraitó-, akin to the root mrit preserved in Sans., ‘to fall to pieces’ (properly ‘to extend’?).
Breme, ‘edge, border.’ See verbrämen.
Breme, Bremse, f., ‘gadfly.’ Comp. MidHG. brëme, brëm, OHG. brëmo, ‘gadfly.’ Bremse is LG. for HG. Breme; comp. OLG. brimissa, AS. brimse, MidE. brimse. OHG. brëmo would be in Goth. *brima, m., Bremse, Goth. *brimisi, f. Yet E. breeze (horsefly) cannot be cognate, since breósa (and not brimes) is its AS. form. The root of Bremse, discussed under brummen, is brem (pre-Teut. bhrem, Lat. fremere), ‘to buzz, hum,’ whence also Sans. bhramara, m., ‘bee.’
Bremse, f., ‘drag-shoe,’ from MidHG. bręmse, f., ‘barnacle, muzzle.’ It cannot be identified with Bremse, ‘gadfly’ (see Breme), because the latter indicates a Goth. brimisi, while Bremse, ‘drag-shoe,’ points to a Goth. bramisjô. For Bremse, ‘drag,’ dialectal forms such as bram (with a and the loss of the suffix s) have been authenticated, but of a root bram with some such meaning as ‘to press, squeeze,’ there is no trace, The suffix s recalls Goth. jukuzi, ‘yoke,’ from the equiv. juk; comp. also aqizi, ‘axe.’
brennen, vb., ‘to burn, scorch, sting, distill’; it combines the meanings of MidHG. brinnen, str. vb., ‘to burn, give light, shine, glow,’ and its factitive brennen, wk. vb. ‘to set fire to, cause to burn’; the former is Goth., OHG. and OLG. brinnan, ‘to burn’ (intrans.), the latter Goth. brannjan, ‘to set fire to.’ Comp. AS. birnan (intrans.), bœrnan, bernan (trans.). E. to burn, is trans. and intrans., like the ModHG. word. Under Brand attention is called to the fact that only one n of the Goth. verb. brinnan belongs to the root; the second n is a suffix of the present tense (comp. also ​rinnen, rennen); the form with simple n is seen in AS. bryne, ‘conflagration’ (from bruni). A root bren-, pre-Teut. bhren, with the meaning ‘to burn,’ has not yet been authenticated in the other Aryan languages.
brenzeln, vb., ‘to taste burnt,’ first occurs in ModHG. a frequentative form of brennen.
Bresche, f., ‘breach, gap,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. brèche, whence also the equiv. Du. bres. The Fr. word is usually traced back to the OG. stem of brechen.
Brett, n., ‘board, plank, shelf, counter,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brët, OHG. brët, n.; corresponds to AS. brëd, n,; Goth. *brid, n. It has been shown under Bort, ‘board,’ that the OTeut. word for Brett had two stems, primarily identical and separated only by gradation, viz., bredo- and bordo-, whose connection might be represented thus: Ind. bradhas is related to bṛdhas, as Aryan bhrédhos is to bhṛdhós, n.; MidHG. brët combines the meanings ‘board, shield,’ &c., like AS. bord; see also Korb.
Bretzel, m., f., ‘cracknell,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brezel, also breze, OHG. brezitella and brezita (bergita); allied to Bav. die bretzen, Suab. brätzg, brätzet, Alsat. brestell. The Suab. form as well as OHG. brizzilla presupposes a Teut. ë; but the vowel sounds of the remaining forms are uncertain. It is most frequently referred to MidLat. brâcéllum (whence brăzil, and by mutation brĕzil’), or rather brâchiólum, ‘little arm’ (the different kinds of pastry are named from their shape; comp. e.g. MidHG. krâpfe, ‘hook, hook-shaped pastry’); MidHG. brœzte would be brâchitum. From OHG. brézitella the ModHG. Bretstelle (Strassb.) was produced, while breztella was resolved by a wrong division of syllables into Bret-s-telle; thus we deduce In ModHG. Tapfe from Fußtapfe, i.e. Fuß-stapfe. The absence of the word in Rom. (yet comp. Ital. bracciatello) seems to militate against the derivation of the whole of this class from Lat. bracchium. In that case OHG. bergita, brezita, might perhaps be connected with AS. byrgan, ‘to eat,’ OIr. bargen, ‘cake.’
Brief, m., ‘letter, epistle,’ from MidHG. brief, OHG. brief, m.; from Lat. brĕvis (scil. libellus); the lengthened ê from ĕ in words borrowed from Lat. becomes ea and then ie (comp. Priester); Lat. brevis and breve, ‘note, document,’ The HG. word had originally a more general signification, ‘document,’ hence the ModHG. verbriefen. MidHG. and OHG. brief, ‘letter, document,’ and generally ‘a writing.’ When the OTeut. Runic characters were exchanged for the more convenient Roman letters (see schreiben as well as Buch), the Germans adopted some terms connected with writing; OHG. briaf appears in the 9th cent. (the Goth. word is bôka, ‘document’).
Brille, f., ‘spectacles,’ from late MidHG. barille, berille, brille, ‘spectacles’ (Du. bril); properly the gem Lat.-Gr. beryllus (the syncope of the unaccented e is amply attested by bange, bleiben, glauben, &c.); comp. Beryll.
bringen, vb., ‘to bring, accompany,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bringen, OHG. bringan; comp. OSax. brengian, Du. brengen AS. bringan, E. to bring, Goth. briggan, bringan, ‘to bring.’ The Aryan form of this specially Teut. word, which is wanting only in OIc., would be bhrengh (bhrenk?); no cognates are recorded.
Brink, m., ‘grassy hillock, green sward,’ from LG. brink, comp. OIc. brekka (from *brinkô), f., both meaning ‘hill’; akin to E. brink, and OIc. bringa, ‘mead.’
brinnen, see brennen.
Brise, f., from the equiv. E. breeze (whence also Fr. brise ?).
Brocke, Brocken, m., ‘crumb,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brocke, OHG. broccho, m.; Goth. *brukka, m., for which gabruka, f., occurs : formed by gradation from brechen (comp. Trotte from treten); derivatives bröckeln, bröckelig.
Brockperle, f., ‘rough pearl,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. baroque, Port. barocco (Span. barueco), ‘oval.’
brodeln, brudeln, vb., ‘to bubble,’ from MidHG. brodeln, vb.; hence MidHG. aschenbrodele, ‘scullion,’ from which Aschenbrödel, ‘Cinderella,’ comes. See Brot.
Brodem, m., ‘fume, exhalation,’ from MidHG. brā̆dem, m., ‘vapour,’ OHG. brâdam, ‘vapour, breath, heat.’ AS. brœ̂þ, ‘vapour, breath, wind,’ E. breath, are perhaps cognate, so too ModHG. braten?.
Brombeere, f., ‘blackberry,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brâmber, OHG. brâmberi; lit. ‘bramble-berry,’ OHG. brâmo, MidHG. brâme (also ‘briar’ generally). Akin to AS. brôm, E. broom (ModHG. Bram, ‘broom for besoms); AS. brêmel, ‘thorny plant,’ E. bramble, Du. braam, ‘bramble-bush,’ whence Fr. framboise.
Brosam, m., Brosame, f., ‘crumb’; ​connected instinctively by Germans with Brot and Samen; comp., however, MidHG. brôsem, brôsme, OHG. brôsma, OLG. brôsmo, ‘crumb, fragment’ (Goth. *brausma, ‘crumb,’ is not recorded). It is related either to the Teut. root brut, which appears in AS. breótan, ‘to break,’ or to AS. brysan, OFr. bruiser (E. to bruise), from a Kelt.-Teut. root brū̆s, which the UpGerm. dialects preserve in brösolen; ‘to crumble’ (whence, too, OSlov. brŭselŭ, ‘sherd,’ brŭsnąti, ‘to wipe off, rub off’).
Bröschen, n., ‘sweetbread,’ first occurs in ModHG., from LG.; comp. Dan. bryske, E. brisket. See Brausche.
Brot, n., ‘bread, food, loaf,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brôt, OHG. brôt, n. The form with t is strictly UpGer.; comp. LG. brôd, Du. brood, AS. breád, E. bread, OIc. brauð. The old inherited form for Brot was Laib (Goth. hlaifs); and ancient compounds like AS. hlâford.œd (for *hlâfward), ‘loafward, bread-giver,’ E. lord, preserve the OTeut. word (see Laib), in addition to which a new word peculiar to Teut. was formed from a Teut. root. To this root, which appears in brauen, we must assign the earlier and wider meaning of ‘to prepare by heat or fire’; comp. AS. and E. broth (Ital. broda, ‘broth,’ is of Teut. origin) and brodeln. In Brot it would have the special signification ‘to bake.’ There is a strange OTeut. compound of Brot-, MidHG. bî-brôt, ModHG. Bienen-brot, AS. beóbreád, E. beebread, all of which signify ‘honeycomb,’ lit. ‘bread of bees’; in this compound the word Brot appears, singularly enough, for the first time. In earlier AS. the modern meaning, ‘bread,’ is still wanting, but it is found even in OHG.
Bruch (1.), m., ‘breach, rupture, crack,’ from MidHG. bruch, OHG. bruh, m.; formed by gradation from brechen.
Bruch (2.), m., n., ‘damp meadow, marsh, bog,’ a Franc.-Sax. word from MidHG. bruoch, OHG. bruoh(hh), n. m., ‘marshy soil, swamp’; comp. LG. brôk, Du. broek, ‘marsh-land,’ AS. brôk, ‘brook, current, river,’ E. brook. Similarly MidHG. ouwe combines the meanings of ‘water-stream, watery land, island.’ It is possible that West Teut. *broka- is allied to brechen, a supposition that has been put forward on account of the AS. meaning ‘torrent’; in that case the OHG. sense ‘swamp’ would be based upon ‘a place where water gushes out.’
Bruch (3.), f., n., ‘breeches,’ from MidHG. bruoch, OHG. bruoh(hh), f., ‘breeches covering the hip and upper part of the thigh’ (akin to AS. brêc, E. breech); comp. the corresponding AS. brôc, plur. brêc, E. breeches, MidLG. brôk, Du. broek, OIc. brók, ‘breeches.’ It has been asserted that the common. Teut. brôk- has been borrowed from the equiv. Gall.-Lat. brâca (likewise Rom., comp. Ital. brache, Fr. braies); but AS. brêc, ‘rump,’ shows that Bruch contains a Teut. stem; hence the Gall.-Lat. word is more likely borrowed from Teut.; comp. Hemd.
Brücke, f., ‘bridge,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brücke, OHG. brucka, f., which points to Goth. *brugjô, f.; comp. Du. brug, AS. brycg, E. bridge. Besides the meaning ‘bridge,’ common to West Teut., the OIc. bryggja (likewise LG. brügge) is used in the sense of ‘landing-place, pier,’ while brú (equal to ModHG. Braue) is the proper Scand. word for ‘bridge.’ Brücke (from *brugjô-) is undoubtedly allied to OIc. brú; no common Aryan term for bridge can be found. OSlov. brŭvĭ also means both ‘eyebrow’ and ‘bridge,’ and OHG. brâwa (see under Braue) is identical with OGall. brîva, ‘bridge,’ both of which point to Aryan bhrêwâ. With regard to the transition of *brawî to *brugî, see Jugend.
Bruder, m., ‘brother, friar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bruoder, OHG. bruodar; comp. Goth. brôþar, AS. brôþor, E. brother, Du. broeder, OSax. brôthar. Inherited, like most words denoting kinship, from the period when all the Aryans formed only one tribe, without any difference of dialect; the degrees of relationship (comp. Oheim, Vetter, Vase) at that period, which is separated by more than three thousand years from our era, were very fully developed. The primit. form of the word Bruder was bhrãtô(r), nom. plur. bkrâtores; this is attested, according to the usual laws of sound, both by Goth.-Teut. brôþar and Lat. frâter, Gr. φράτηρ, OInd. bhrâtar-, OSlov. bratrŭ; all these worlds retain the old primary meaning, but in Gr. the word has assumed a political signification.
Brühe, f., from the equiv. MidHG. brüeje, ‘broth, sauce.’ The root of the word must not he sought in brauen, which is based upon bru-; brü-je would be in Goth. brôja, Teut. root brô, in MidE. brêie, MidDu. broeye. From the same stem MidHG. Brut has been formed, with a dental suffix. The wk. vb. is brühen, MidHG. ​brüejen, brüen, ‘to scald, singe, burn’; comp. Du. broeijen, ‘to warm, brood’; in earlier ModHG., too, brühen signifies ‘to brood,’ In spite of the meaning, the connection with Bruch is, on phonetic grounds, improbable.
Brühl, m., ‘marshy copse,’ from MidHG. brüel, m., ‘low-land, marshy copse,’ OHG. bruil; from Fr. breuil, Prov. bruelh, ‘thicket’; of Kelt. origin (brogil).
brüllen, vb., ‘to roar, bellow, low,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brüelen; in UpG. dialects even now briele, brüele. The remarkable short ü of ModHG. compared with MidHG. üe may be explained by the pret. brülte, where the shortness of the vowel is produced by the following double consonant; OHG. *bruowilôn is wanting; allied perhaps to E. brawl?. From the root brô (‘to scald’) in the sense of ‘to bubble’?.
brummen, vb., ‘to growl, snarl, grumble,’ from MidHG. brummen, wk. vb., ‘to growl, hum,’ a deriv, of the MidHG. str. vb. brimmen, ‘to growl, roar’ (comp. the equiv. MidE. brimmen). This again is cognate with MidHG. brëmen, OHG. brëman, str. vb., ‘to growl, roar,’ since mm belongs properly only to the pres. and not to the other tenses. The cognates of the stem brëm-, which these verbs indicate, also includes OIc. brim, ‘surge,’ MidE. brim, ‘glow’ (E. brimstone); other related words may be found under Bremse. The Teut. root brem, pre-Teut. bhrëm, appears in Lat. fremere, ‘to gnash,’ with which some are fond of comparing Gr. βρέμεω, ‘to rumble.’ The OInd. bhram as a verbal stem significs ‘to move unsteadily’; bhramá, n., ‘whirling flame,’ bhrmí, m., ‘whirlwind.’ Hence the meaning ‘to rush, gnash, crackle,’ seems to have been developed from a vibrating motion, especially that of sound. See the following word.
Brunft, f., ‘rutting-time,’ from MidHG. brunft, f., ‘fire, heat, rutting season of deer, cry.’ The MidHG. brunft is of dual origin; in the sense of ‘heat’ it belongs to brennen, Brand. Brunft, ‘the rutting season of deer,’ was rightly connected, as early as Lessing, with brummen, since it “indicates the impulse of certain animals to copulation, that is to say, of those that roar or bellow in the act; ignorance and negligence have transformed this word into Brunft” (Lessing).
Brunn, Brunnen, Born, m., ‘fountain, spring, well.’ The form with the metathesis of the r is LG.; the first two are based upon MidHG. brunne, m., ‘spring, spring-water, well’; OHG. brunno (beside which a form pfuzzi, ‘well,’ from Lat. puteus, appears in OHG.; comp. Pfütze). It is based upon an OTeut. word; Goth. brunna, ‘spring,’ AS. burna (for brunna), E. bourn (‘brook’). Brunnen has been derived from brennen, for which a primary meaning ‘to heave, seethe’ (comp. MidHG. LG. sôt, ‘well, draw-well’) is assumed without proof. Gr. φρέαρ, ‘well,’ scarcely points to a root bhru, ‘to heave, bubble’ (cognate with brauen?); nn may be a suffix, as perhaps in ModHG. Sonne.
Brünne, f., recently borrowed from the equiv. MidHG. brünne (OHG. brunna), f., ‘breastplate’; comp. Goth. brunjô (whence OFr. brunie), OIc. brynja, AS. byrne; not from brennen; the appellations ‘glowing, shining,’ scarcely suit the earlier leather breastplates. OIr. bruinne, ‘breast,’ is more probably allied. From Teut. are borrowed OFr. broigne and OSlov. brŭnja, ‘coat of mail.’
Brunst, f., from the equiv. MidHG. brunst, f., ‘burning, fire, glow, heat, devastation by fire’ (Brunftzeit, see Brunft); OHG. brunst, Goth. brunsts. In Eng. this deriv. from the root of brennen is wanting (comp. Kunst from kennen); the s before the suffix t is due to the double n of the verb.
Brust, f., ‘breast, chest, pap,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brust, OHG. brust, f.; it corresponds to Goth. brusts, a plur. noun (conson. stem), f., Du. and LG. borst. In the other OTeut. dialects the words corresponding exactly to Goth. brusts are wanting; they have a peculiar neut. form: AS. breóst, E. breast, OIc. brjóst, OSax. breost, which are related by gradation to HG. Brust. This term for breast is restricted to the Teut. languages (including OIr. bruinne, ‘breast’?), the individual members of the Aryan group differing in this instance from each other, while other parts of the body (see Bug) are designated by names common to all of them. Of the approximate primary meaning of Brust, or rather of the idea underlying the word, we know nothing; the only probable fact is that the primitive stem was originally declined in the dual, or rather in the plural.
Brut, f., ‘brood, spawn, brats,’ from MidHG. and OHG. bruot, f., ‘vivified by warmth, brood, animation by warmth, brooding, heat’; comp. Du. broed, AS. brôd. ​E. brood. The dental is deriv.; brô, as the root-syllable, is discussed under Brühe; the primary root signified ‘to warm, heat.’ —
brüten, ‘to brood,’ from MidHG. brüeten, OHG. bruoten (Goth. *brôdjan); comp. AS. brêdan, E. to breed (with the further signification ‘to beget, bring up’). E. bird, AS. bridd, ‘the young of birds, little bird.’ are often incorrectly allied to brüten; AS. bridd would be in Goth. *bridi (plur. bridja), and consequently the connection of the E. word with HG. brüten (Goth. *brôdjan) becomes impossible. It is worth noticing that Du. broeijen, LG. brœjen, and ModHG. dial. brühen partake of the meaning of brüten. See brühen.
Bube, m., ‘box, lad, rogue, knave (at cards),’ from MidHG. buobe (MidLG. bóve), m., ‘boy, servant, disorderly person’ (OHG. *buobo and Goth. *bôba are wanting); a primit. Ger. word, undoubtedly of great antiquity, though unrecorded in the various OTeut. periods (yet note the proper names identical with it, OHG. Buobo, AS. Bôfa). Comp. MidDu. boeve, Du. boef (E. boy is probably based upon a diminutive *bôfig, *bôfing). ‘Young man, youth,’ is manifestly the orig. sense of the word; comp. Bav. bua, ‘lover,’ Swiss bua, ‘unmarried man.’ To this word MidE. babe, E. baby are related by gradation; also Swiss, bâbi, bœ̂bi (most frequently tokχebâbi, tittibâbi), ‘childish person’ (Zwingli — “Baben are effeminate, foolish youths”); akin to this is OHG. Babo, a proper name. The OTeut. words babo-bôbo are probably terms expressing endearment (comp. Ätti, Base, Muhme), since the same phonetic forms are also used similarly in other cases; comp. OSlov. baba, ‘grandmother’; further, Ital. babbéo, ‘ninny,’ Prov. babau, ‘fop’ (late Lat. baburrus, ‘foolish’), Ital. babbole, ‘childish tricks.’
Buch, n., ‘book, quire,’ from the equiv. MidHG. buoch, OHG. buoh, n. It differs in gender and declension in the various OTeut. dialects; Goth. bôka, f., and bôk, n., f., signify ‘letter (of the alphabet)’ in the sing., but ‘book, letter (epistle), document’ in the plur.; akin to OSax. bôk, ‘book,’ Du. boek, AS. bôk, f., equiv. to E. book. The sing. denoted orig., as in Goth., the single character, the plur. a combination of characters, ‘writing, type, book, letter’; comp. Goth. afstassais bôkôs, ‘writing of divorcement’; wadjabôkôs, ‘bond, handwriting’; frabauhta bôka, ‘deed of sale.’ The plur. was probably made into a sing. at a later period, so that ModHG. Buch signified lit. ‘letters (of the alphabet).’ The OTeut. word, which even on the adoption of Roman characters was not supplanted by a borrowed word (see Brief, made its way, like the word Buche, into Slav. at an early period; comp. OSlov. buky, ‘beech, written character’ (plur. bukŭve, ‘book, epistle’). Buch was used in the earliest times for the runes scratched on the twigs of a fruit-tree (see reißen); hence it results from Tacitus (Germania, 10) that Buch (lit. ‘letter’) is connected with OHG. buohha, ‘beech.’ The same conclusion follows from the Ger. compound Buchstabe, which is based on an OTeut. word — OHG. buohstab, OSax. bôcstaf, AS. bôcstœf (but E. and Du. letter), OIc. bókstafr. Undoubtedly the Germans instinctively connect Buchstabe with Buch and not with Buche. As far as the form is concerned, we are not compelled to accept either as the only correct and primit. Teut. word; both are possible. Historical facts, however, lead us to regard Buchstabe as Buchenstab. With the term Buchenstab the early Germans intimately combined the idea of the rune scratched upon it, and constituting its chief value. Comp. the following word and Rune.
Buche, f., ‘beech, beech-tree,’ from the equiv. MidHG. buoche, OHG. buohha; AS. bôc-treów, with the collateral form bêce (from boeciae), E. beech. The form bôc has been preserved in E. buckmast, buckwheat; comp. OIc. bók, Goth. *bôka, ‘beech.’ The name of the tree is derived from pre-Teut.; according to Lat. fâgus, ‘beech,’ and Gr. φᾶγός, φηγός, its Europ. form would be bhâgos. The Gr. word signifies ‘edible oak.’ This difference between the Gr. word on the one hand and the Teut.-Lat. on the other has been explained “by the change of vegetation, the succession of an oak and a beech period”; “the Teutons and the Italians witnessed the transition of the oak period to the beech period, and while the Greeks retained φηγός in its orig. signification, the former transferred the name as a general term to the new forests which grew in their native wastes.” Comp. Eiche. Buche is properly ‘the tree with edible fruit’ (comp. Gr. φαγεῖν, ‘to eat,’ and φηγός), and hence perhaps the difference of meaning in Gr. may be explained from this general signification, so that the above hypothesis was not necessary.
​ Buchs, m., Buchsbaum, ‘box, box-tree,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. buhsboum; formed from Lat. buxus, Gr. πύξος; comp. Ital. bosso, Fr. buis, E. box.
Büchse, f., ‘box, pot, jar, rifle,’ from MidHG. bühse, ‘box, magic-box, firelock’; OHG. buhsa, from *buhsja, from Gr. πυξίς, ‘a box of boxwood (πύξος), medicine-box.’ The Gr. medical art was in vogue in the Middle Ages among all civilised nations, consequently some Gr. medical terms found their way into German. See Arzt, Pflaster. Comp. AS. and E. box, Ital. bossolo, Fr. bossette, ‘box.’
Bucht, f., ‘bay,’ first occurs in ModHG., from LG. bucht; comp. Du. bogt, E. bought (from MidE. boght), ‘a twist, bend,’ and E. bight (from AS. byht); properly a verbal abstract from biegen.
Buckel (1.), m., ‘boss, stud,’ from MidHG. buckel, m., f., ‘boss of a shield’; from OFr. bocle (whence Fr. boucle, ‘buckle’), which is based on Lat. buccula, ‘beaver of a helmet, boss.’
Buckel (2.), Puckel, m., ‘back, hump,’ from MidHG. buckel. The Swiss bukel (not *buχel) points to a primary form bugg- (see biegen, Bühel, Bügel), not directly to bücken, from biegen (root bug). Buckel is lit. ‘a curve, bend.’
Bücken, vb., ‘to stoop, bow,’ from MidHG. bücken, ‘to bend, bow’; frequentative of biegen, like schmücken of schmiegen. The Swiss bukχe points to OHG. bucchen (Swiss bukχ, ‘bend’); comp. LG. bucken, ‘to stoop.’ See Buckel.
Bücking, m., ‘bloater’ (also Bückling, based on Bückling, ‘bow,’ from biegen), from the equiv. MidHG. and MidLG. bückinc; comp. Du. bokking, which is probably a deriv. of Bock, Du. bok, ‘hircus’; in fact, the fish is also called boxhorn (bockshorn) in MidDu.
Bude, f., ‘booth, stall, shop,’ from MidHG. buode, f., ‘hut, tent’; corresponds to MidE. bôþe, ‘taberna,’ E. booth; OIc. búð, f., ‘dwelling, hut, tent,’ has a different vowel, and is based on the widely diffused root bû-bhû, ‘to dwell, stay.’ By a different derivation E. to bui-ld, AS. bold, botl, ‘dwelling,’ OFris. bold, OIc. ból, OLG. bodal, are produced from the same root. So too OIr. both (bothán), ‘hut,’ from *bu-to, as well as the words discussed under bauen, Lith.-Slav. buda, ‘booth,’ and Bohem. and Silesian Baude, ‘shepherd's hut,’ are borrowed.
Büffel, m., ‘buffalo, boor, buff (leather),’ from MidHG. büffel, m. ox; borrowed from Fr. bufle, Lat. bubalus, Gr. βούβαλος; hence also E. buff.
Bug, m., ‘bend, flexure, hock, bow (of a ship),’ from MidHG. buoc(g), OHG. buog, m., ‘upper joint of the arm, shoulder, upper joint of the leg, hin, hock’; comp. Du. boeg, ‘ship’s bow,’ AS. bôg, bôh, ‘armus, ramus,’ E. bough (‘the joint of a tree,’ as it were). The Goth. word may have been *bôgus (from pre-Teut. bhâghú-s); comp. Sans. bâhus (for bhâghú-s), ‘arm, fore-arm, fore-feet,’ also Gr. πᾶχυς, πῆχυς (for φᾶχυς), ‘elbow, fore-arm, bend of the arm,’ Armen. bazuk, ‘arm.’ On account of the Aryan base bhâghú-s the derivation of ModHG. Bug from biegen (root bug, pre-Teut. bhuk), is impossible. The ancient terms for parts of the body, such as Arm, Bug, Herz, Nase, Niere, &c., are based upon obscure roots, of which we find no further trace anywhere; they belong, in fact, to the most primitive vocabulary of Aryan speech. —
Bugspriet, n., from the equiv. Du. boegspriet; comp. the equiv. MidE. bôusprét, E. bowsprit (Fr. beaupré).
Bügel, m., ‘curve, arc, guard (of a gun),’ ModHG. only, derived from biegen (OTeut. baug, ‘ring,’ corresponding to Hügel from OTeut. haug); comp. Du. beugel, ‘hoop, stirrup.’
Bühel, Bühl, m., from the equiv. MidHG. bühel, OHG. buil, buhil, m., ‘hill’; it is probably rightly referred to the Aryan root bhū̆k, bhū̆g, ‘to bend.’ See biegen and Buckel.
Buhle, m., ‘lover, paramour,’ from MidHG. buole, m., ‘near relative, lover, sweetheart’; likewise MidHG. buole, f., ‘lady-love’ (OHG. Buolo, m., as a masculine name only); the implied correspondences in the cognate Teut. dialects are not recorded. It is scarcely disputable, however, that a primit. Germ. word lies at the base of Buhle. Since Bube in Up Germ. dialects signifies ‘lover’ also, it is perhaps connected with Buhle, which may a term of endearment formed from it.
Bühne, f., ‘stage, gallery, orchestra,’ from MidHG. büne, bün, f., ‘ceiling of a room (a meaning still preserved in Swiss), board, lath’; the latter is at all events the primary meaning. Perhaps AS. binn, ‘crib, box,’ E. bin, are allied by gradation to MidHG. büne. The origin of the words has not yet been explained.
​ Bühre, f., ‘bed-tick,’ ModHG. only, from LG. büre; probably cognate with Fr. bure, ‘coarse stuff.’
Bulge (Swiss, also Bulgge), f., ‘leather water-pail,’ from MidHG. bulge, OHG. bulga, ‘leather bag’; MidE. and E. bilğe, bulğe, from *bylčğe. The cognates are allied to Balg (Goth. balgs, ‘leather bottle, bag’), MidLat. bulga.
Bulle (1.), m., ‘bull’ MidHG. only, from the equiv. LG. bulle; comp. Du. bul, bol, E. bull (in AS. only the deriv. bulluca, ‘bullock,’ appears); akin to OIc. bole, ‘bull’; Lith. bullus is not a cognate; root bel in bellen?.
Bulle (2.), f., ‘bottle,’ first occurs at a late period in ModHG., corrupted from buttel, Fr. bouteille.
Bulle (3.), f., ‘bull, papal edict,’ from MidHG. bulle, f, ‘seal, document, bull’ AS. bulle, E. bull, ModFr. bulle). From Lat. bulla, lit. ‘‘water bubble,’ then ‘boss, knob (on a door),’ finally ‘a ball attached as a seal to documents’; whence also Bill.
bumbsen, vb., ‘to bounce,’ ModHG. only; a recent onomatopoetic word.
bummeln, vb., ‘to dangle,’ simply ModHG. from LG. bummeln; an onomatopoetic word of recent origin.
Bund, m., from the equiv. MidHG. bunt (d), ‘bond, fetter, confederacy’; related to binden.
Bündel, n., ‘bundle, parcel,’ ModHG. only, though existing in AS. (byndel, E. bundle); related to binden. See the previous word.
bündig, adj., ‘binding, valid, terse,’ not from MidHG. bündec, ‘firmly bound,’ but formed from Du. bondig, ‘binding, firm’; the latter word is akin to binden.
bunt, adj., ‘gay, mottled, variegated,’ a MidG. and LG. word (for which gefleckt, gespreckelt, &c., are used in UpG.), from the equiv. MidHG. bunt (inflected bunter); nt shows that the word cannot have been handed down from OHG., for nt in OHG. would have become nd in MidHG. Akin to MidLG. bunt, MidDu. bont, also with -nt-. Bunt was borrowed in the MidHG. period; the MidHG. signification, ‘with black spots on a white ground’ (ModHG. bunt is MidHG. missenar), supports the view that it was borrowed from MidLat. punctus, ‘dotted, spotted’ (for the loss of the medial c comp. Ital. punto, ‘point,’ as well as Tinte). In spite of this explanation the absence of the word in Rom. is remarkable. On account of the earlier reference to fur-skin (MidHG. and MidLG. bunt, n., also signifies ‘fur-skin’), MidLat. mus ponticus, ‘ermine,’ has been suggested, the meaning of which would suit excellently were there no objection to the form of the expression.
Bunzen, Bunzel, m., ‘punch, stamp,’ from MidHG. punze, ‘burin, chisel’; the latter word is borrowed from Rom. (Ital. punzone, Fr. poinçon, Lat. punctionem), whence also E. punch, puncheon, puncher.
Bürde, f., ‘burden, load,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bürde, OHG. burdi, f.; it corresponds to Goth. baurþei, ‘burden, load’; AS. byrþen, f., E. burthen, burden, have an n suffix; allied to OTeut. beran, ‘to carry.’ See Bahre.
Burg, f., ‘stronghold, citadel, castle, fortified town,’ from MidHG. burc(g), OHG. burg, burug, f., ‘enclosed, fortified place, stronghold, castle, town.’ Comp. OSax. burg, Du. burg, AS. burh (plur. byrg), E. borough, bury, burrow (especially in compounds), Goth. baúrgs. In the OTeut. dialects Burg corresponded to the modern town. Ulfilas translated πόλις by baurgs. According to the Germania of Tacitus, the Teutons had no urbes, but their oppida were mentioned as early as Cæsar (De Bell. Gall.). With Gr. πύργος, ‘tower,’ the OTeut. Burg accords neither in form nor meaning. The OTeut. word appears strangely enough in Armen. as burgu, and in Arab. as burǵ, which probably owed their immediate origin to late Lat. burgus (whence the Rom. words Ital. borgo, Fr. bourg, ‘market town’; so too OIr. borg, ‘town’). In this sense the word is solely Teut., and belongs with Berg to an Aryan bhṛgh-, which also appears in OIr. bri (gen. brig), ‘mountain, hill,’ but scarcely to the verbal stem of bergen. The words for ‘town’ were not formed until the separate Aryan tribes ceased their wanderings and became permanent settlers; comp. also Garten.
Bürge, m., ‘surety, bail,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bürge, OHG. burigo, m. We may assume a Goth *baúrgia, which would, however, be distinct from baúrgja, ‘citizen.’ OIc. á-byrgjast, ‘to become bail.’ Allied to borgen; the root is pre-Teut. bhergh, with the orig. sense ‘to take care of, heed.’
Bursche, m., ‘fellow, apprentice, student,’ properly identical with ModHG. Börse, from MidHG. burse, f., ‘purse, money-bag, society, house belonging to a ​society, especially to a students' society.’ From the last meaning, prevalent in the 15th cent., the ModHG. acceptation of Bursche (s after r became sch, as in Arsch, Hirsch) was developed, just as perhaps Frauenzimmer from Frauengemach; comp. the existing phrase altes Haus among students, AS. geogoð. ‘a company of young people,’ similar to E. youth.
Bürste, f., ‘brush,’ from MidHG. bürste, f., a deriv. of Borste; the equiv. E. term is, however, of Rom. origin (Fr. brosse).
Burzel, m., ‘purslane,’ from MidHG. and OHG. burzel, corrupted from the corresponding Lat. portulaca.
Bürzel, m., ‘hinder part of an animal, buttocks, brush (of a fox), scut,’ &c.; ModHG. only; allied to burzeln, purzeln?.
burzeln, vb., ‘to tumble head over heels,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bürzen, burzeln; the word cannot be traced farther back.
Busch, m., ‘bush, thicket, plume (of a helmet),’ from MidHG. busch, bosch, OHG. busc, m., ‘bush, shrubbery, thicket, wood, cluster’; comp. E. bush, Du. bos, ‘cluster,’ bosch, ‘copse,’ bussel, ‘cluster.’ There are similar forms in Rom., Ital. bosco, Fr. bois, which are traced back to. a MidLat. buscus, boscus. — Allied to Büschel, ‘cluster,’ from MidHG. büschel, m.
Büse, f., ‘herring-boat,’ not from MidHG. buze, OHG. buzo (z for ts), but from the equiv. Du. buis, to which OIc. búza,. AS. bûtse (in bûtsecearlas), E. buss, also correspond. There are similar words in Rom. — MidLat. buza, bussa, OFr. busse, buce. The origin of the cognates is probably not to be sought for in Teut.; the source whence they were borrowed is uncertain.
Busen, m., ‘bosom,’ from the equiv. MidHG. buosen, buosem, OHG. buosam, buosum, m..; comp. OSax. bôsm, Du. boezem, AS. bôsm, E. bosom; in East-Teut. (Goth., Scand.) the corresponding word (Goth. *bôsma-) is wanting. It may perhaps be allied to Bug, MidHG. buoc, ‘arm, shoulder’ (pre-Teut. bhâghu-); but since a pre-Teut. bhâghsmo, bhâksmo- does not occur in the cognate languages, nothing can be cited in favour of that explanation; at all events, Busen is not allied to biegen.
Büste, f., ‘bust,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. buste.
Bußaar, Bussard, m., ‘buzzard’; the first form is a popular corruption of the second, which first occurs in ModHG., from Fr. busard, ‘mouse-hawk, buzzard.’
Buße, f., ‘penance, atonement,’ from MidHG. buoęe, OHG. buoęa, f., ‘spiritual and legal atonement, compensation, relief’; OSax. bôta, ‘healing, relief’; AS. bôt, E. boot (‘use, gain, advantage’); also E. bote (‘wergeld’), firebote, fireboot (‘a free supply of fuel’), housebote (‘prison expenses,’ then ‘a free supply of wood for repairs and fuel’), Goth. bôta, ‘use.’ Under the cognate adjs. besser, best (comp. büßen in Lücken büßen, ‘to repair,’ OHG. buozzen; AS. bétan), will be found the necessary remarks on the evolution in meaning of the stem bat contained in these words. Comp. vergüten, ‘to make atonement, give compensation’ (Ersatz); Ersatz denotes a substitute of equal worth. Comp. also etwas gut machen, ‘to make good a loss,’ &c. See besser.
Butte, f., ‘flounder,’ first occurs in ModHG., from LG. butte; comp. the corresponding Du. bot, MidE. but. Origin obscure.
Bütte, Butte, f., from the equiv. MidHG. büte, bütte, büten, OHG. butin, f., ‘tub, butt’; the cognate LG. and E. words contain an abnormal medial t; AS. bytt, ‘flagon,’ E. butt, OIc. bytta. These indicate that the HG. word was borrowed in the OHG. period, when the shifting of t to tz was already accomplished. In the cognates the meaning varies, ‘leather pipe, cask,’ just as in the Rom. class from which they were borrowed — Span. bota, ‘leather pipe,’ Fr. botte, ‘butt.’ To OHG. butin (MidLat. butina), MidHG. büten, the ModHG. deriv. Büttner (from MidHG. bütenœre), ‘cooper’ (likewise a frequent surname), is also related.
Büttel, m., ‘beadle, jailer,’ from MidHG. bütel, OHG. butil, m., ‘a messenger of the law’; comp. AS. bydel, ‘messenger,’ E. beadle (which is based both on the AS. bydel and on a MidE. word of Rom. origin — MidLat. bedellus, ModFr. bedeau, ‘beadle’); allied to bieten.
Butter, f., ‘butter,’ from the equiv. MHG. buter, f., m., late OHG. butera, f.; the same medial dental appears in Du. boter, AS. butere, E. butter. This necessitates the assumption that the HG. word was first introduced into Germany about the 10th cent. It is derived, though changed in gender (der Butter, however, is common to the UpGer. dialects), from the ​ Rom.-MidLat. butyrum (whence Fr. beurre, Ital. burro), late Gr.-Scyth. βούτυρον. Yet the art of making butter was known in Germany ere the introduction of the term from the South of Europe. Butter was called Aufe, as is still the case in Alem.; comp. Anke and Kerne; perhaps the process in the south was different, and with the new method came the new term. The art of making cheese may have found its way earlier, even before the middle of the 9th cent., from the South of Europe to the North. See Käse.
Butzen, m., ‘core, snuff (of candles),’ first occurs in ModHG.; cognate with the equiv. Swiss bœ̄ke, f. (bätzi, bätzgi). The structure of the word resembles ModHG. (dial.) Großen; see under Griebs. Probably, therefore, represents *bugze, *bûgaȥ (Swiss bœ̄ke, from *bauggyô)?.