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

| This annotated version expands the abbreviations in the original entry E (full text). | Random word Special:RandomInCategory/Annotated entries in Kluge's Etymological Dictionary of the German Language |
* 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
E.
Ebbe, feminine, ‘ebb,’ merely Modern High German, borrowed, like many terms relating to the sea, from Low German; compare Dutch ebb, ebbe, feminine, Danish ebbe, Swedish ebb, masculine. The word is first found in Anglo-Saxon, where ebba, masculine, is the form (compare English ebb, whence also French ébe), nautical terms being generally recorded at an earlier period in that language than elsewhere; compare Boot, Leck, Schote (2.), Steven, and Bord. Had the Old Teutonic word been preserved in German we should have expected Old High German eppo, Modern High German Eppe. It is possible that the word is connected with the cognates of eben (Ebbe, literally ‘leveller,’? ‘plain’?). Yet Ebbe, from its meaning, is more appropriately connected with Gothic ibuks, ‘backwards, back’ (Old High German ippihhôn, ‘to roll back’); hence Ebbe is literally ‘retreat’; the connection with eben (Gothic ibns) is not thereby excluded. Scandinavian has a peculiar word for Ebbe — fjara, ‘ebb,’ fyrva, ‘to ebb.’ No Gothic word is recorded.
​ eben, adjective, ‘even, level, plain, smooth,’ from Middle High German ëben, Old High German ëban, adjective, ‘level, flat, straight’; common to Teutonic under these meanings, but it is not found in any other Aryan group; compare Old Saxon eƀan, Dutch even, Anglo-Saxon ëfn, English even, Old Icelandic jafn, Gothic ibns, ‘level.’ Akin perhaps to Gothic ibuks, adjective, ‘backward’ (see Ebbe). Apart from Teutonic the stem ib in the form ep or ebh has not yet been authenticated; Latin œ̂quus (Sanscrit êka), cannot, on account of phonetic differences, be regarded as a cognate. —
eben, adverb, ‘even, just,’ from Middle High German ëbene, Old High German ëbano; compare Old Saxon ëfno, Anglo-Saxon ëfne (whence English even); the old adverb form of the adjective (Compare neben.)
Ebenbaum, masculine, ‘ebony-tree,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and late Old High German ebênus, adopted as a foreign word (still declined after the Latin method in Old High German) from Latin ebenus (Greek ἔβενος).
Eber, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German ëber, Old High German ëbar, masculine, ‘wild boar’; corresponds to Anglo-Saxon eofor, masculine, ‘wild boar’ (English York from Anglo-Saxon Eoforwic, literally ‘boar-town’), Old Icelandic jǫfurr, ‘wild boar,’ figuratively ‘prince’ (also jórbjúga, ‘a kind of sausage’); Gothic *ibrus, *ibarus. With the pre-Teutonic base eprús some have connected Old Bulgarian veprĭ, masculine, Latin aper, masculine, ‘wild boar.’ Similarly in the terms for Ferkel and Schwein, the West Aryan languages only partially agree.
Ebritz, masculine, ‘southern-wood,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German eberitz (ebereize), feminine, from Latin abrotanum (whence also Aberraute, see aber), but corrupted by connection with Eber.
echt, adjective, ‘genuine, real, legitimate,’ simply Modern High German adopted from Middle German and Low German, where echt is the normal corresponding of Middle High German and Old High German êhaft, ‘lawful’; compare Dutch echt; akin to Old Frisian âft, ‘lawful’; from Ehe, compared with which the adjective has retained the old meaning of Ehe, ‘law.’ By means of the law-books based on the Saxon Code the Low German adjective found its way into High German but not until after Luther; yet the word does not occur in the Upper German dialects.
Eck, neuter, Ecke, feminine, ‘edge, corner,’ from Middle High German ęcke, feminine (seldom neuter), ‘edge of weapons, point, corner, brim,’ Old High German ękka, feminine, ‘point, edge of a sword.’ Corresponds to Old Saxon ęggia, feminine, ‘edge, sharpness, sword,’ Anglo-Saxon ęcg, ‘corner, point, edge (of a sword, &c.), sword,’ English edg,, Old Icelandic egg, feminine, ‘point’: Gothic *agja, feminine, is not recorded. The meaning ‘point, sharp edge,’ which originally was the most prominent in the cognates (see also Egge), recalls the development in Modern High German Ort. The Teutonic root ag(ah), pre-Teutonic ak (Gothic agjô-, from Aryan akyã-), with the primary meaning ‘pointed,’ is found in very many non-Teutonic languages, since Modern High German Ähre and the non-Teutonic words cited under that word are primitively allied to it, as are also Latin acies, Greek ἀκίς, ‘point,’ both in form and meaning.
Ecker, feminine, ‘acorn,’ simply Modern High German, from Middle German and Low German ecker, ‘acorn, beech nut’; there is also in Upper German a word *acheren primitively allied and equivalent to Swiss ackeram (Bavarian akram). Compare the corresponding Gothic akran, neuter, ‘produce, fruit (generally),’ Old Icelandic akarn, neuter, Anglo-Saxon œcern, English acorn, Dutch aker, ‘acorn.’ Since the meaning ‘acorn, beechnut,’ is a recent specialisation in comparison with Gothic akran, ‘produce, fruit,’ the cognates nay be connected with Gothic akrs, High German Acker, and perhaps also with Lithuanian ŭga, ‘berry,’ unless the later is more closely allied to Latin uva. In any case its kinship with Eiche must be denied, since the latter would be *aiks in Gothic. The mutation of the stem in Modern High German and Low German Ecker must be explained by a Gothic *akrin.
edel, adjective, ‘of noble birth or qualities, excellent, generous,’ from Middle High German ędel, ędele, Old High German ędili (adal-), adjective, ‘of a good family, noble, high-minded’; a derivative of Adel, Old High German adal. Compare Old Saxon ęðili (aðal-), ‘of a good family, noble,’ from aðali, ‘noble family,’ Anglo-Saxon œðele, ‘noble, distinguished.’ For details see Adel.
Egel, see Igel.
Egge, feminine, ‘harrow,’ simply Modern High German, from Low German egge; likewise eggen from Low German, because a corresponding High German word would be ecken or egen. The Middle High German word is ęgede, Old High German ęgida, feminine, ‘harrow,’ Old High German ęcken (participle gi-ęgit), ‘to harrow,’ Middle High German ęgen. Compare Dutch egge, Anglo-Saxon ęgeðe; Gothic *agjan, ‘to harrow,’ *agiþa, ‘harrow,’ are not recorded. The Teutonic root ag (ah), ‘to harrow,’ from pre-Teutonic ak, ok, is most closely connected with Latin occa, ‘harrow,’ Lithuanian akėiti, ‘to harrow,’ akėczos, ‘harrow,’ OCorn. ocet, Welsh oged, ‘harrow.’ The West European cognates may also be further connected with Ecke (Latin acies).
ehe, adverb, ‘before,’ from Middle High German ê, a parallel form to Modern High German ehr, Middle High German êr, like Modern High German da from dar, wo from war. See eher.
Ehe, feminine, ‘marriage, wedlock, matrimony,’ ​from Middle High German ê, êwe, feminine, ‘customary right, justice, law, marriage,’ Old High German êwa, feminine, ‘law, marriage’; corresponds to Old Saxon êo, masculine, ‘law,’ Dutch echt, ‘marriage’ (from ê-haft, see echt), Anglo-Saxon œ̂, œ̂w, feminine, ‘law, marriage.’ These West Teutonic cognates aiwi- might be derived from aigwí-, aihwí-, and connected with Latin aequum (base aiqo-). To this there is no objection from the linguistic standpoint, for it is probable that the cognates similar in sound and signifying ‘time, eternity,’ are totally different from those just quoted; compare Gothic aiws, Old High German êwa, Anglo-Saxon œ̂, œ̂w, ‘time, eternity,’ which are allied to Latin aevum, aeternus, Greek αἰών, αἰεί; so too Sanscrit aỹas, ‘duration of life.’ Yet the first group might also perhaps be connected with Sanscrit êva, masculine, ‘progress, course, procedure, custom.’
eher, ehr, adverb, ‘sooner, earlier, rather,’ from Middle High German and Old High German êr (ê), ‘formerly, previously,’ comparative adverb; compare Gothic airis, ‘formerly,’ from air, ‘early,’ also Anglo-Saxon œ̂r, English ere. See ehe, erst.
ehern, see Erz.
Ehni, see Ahn.
Ehre, feminine, ‘honour,’ from Middle High German êre, Old High German êra, feminine, ‘honour, fame, sense of honour’; corresponds to Old Saxon êra, feminine, ‘honour, protection, pardon, gift,’ Anglo-Saxon âr, feminine, ‘honour, help, pardon’ (ârian, ‘to spare, pardon’), Old Icelandic eir, feminine, ‘pardon, gentleness.’ Gothic *aiza is by chance not recorded; it is probably allied to Gothic ais-tan, ‘to shun, respect,’ which is undoubtedly primitively akin to Latin aes-tumare, ‘to acknowledge, value.’ It is probably connected with the Sanscrit root iš, ‘to desire, seek to obtain.’
Ei, masculine, ‘egg,’ from Middle High German and Old High German eì, neuter, ‘egg’; common to Teutonic with the same meaning, although Gothic *addjis, neuter (compare Old Icelandic egg), is wanting; ada, however, is found in Crimean Gothic. Compare Old Saxon ei, Dutch ei, Anglo-Saxon œ̂g, neuter English egg is borrowed from Scandinavian egg. Between the Teutonic aias (ajjas), neuter, ‘egg,’ and the corresponding terms in the West Aryan languages there is an unmistakable agreement of sound, although the phonetic justification for the comparison has not yet been found; compare Latin óvum (Low Latin *ŏvum, on account of French œuf), Greek ὠόν, Old Slovenian jaje, aje (from the base *êjo-?), Old Irish og, ‘egg.’ Arguing from these cognates, Teutonic ajjas, neuter, has been derived from êwjo-, ôwjo-, and connected with Latin avis, Sanscrit vi, ‘bird.’ In East Aryan no corresponding word is found.
Eibe, feminine, ‘yew,’ from the equivalent Middle High German îwe, Old High German îwa, feminine (Middle High German also ‘a yew-tree bow’); compare the corresponding Anglo-Saxon îw, eów, English yew, and Old Icelandic ýr, masculine, ‘yew’ (and ‘bow’). Gothic *eiws is by chance not recorded. Swiss îche, îge, Old High German îha, Old Low German îch, Anglo-Saxon eoh, prove that the word had originally a medial guttural; hence the primary form Gothic *eihwa?. From the Teutonic word, Middle Latin îvus, French if, Spanish iva, ‘yew,’ are derived. The relation of Old High German îwa, îha, Anglo-Saxon îw, eoh, to Old Irish éo, Welsh yw, ‘yew’ (Lithuanian jëvà, ‘bird-cherry tree,’ Old Slovenian iva, ‘willows’), has yet to be determined.
Eibisch, masculine, ‘marsh mallow,’ from Middle High German îbische, Old High German îbisca, feminine, ‘marsh mallow, dwarf mallow’; borrowed early from the equivalent Latin ibiscum (Greek ἰβίσκος).
Eiche, feminine, ‘oak, oak-tree,’ from the equivalent Middle High German eich, Old High German eih (hh), feminine; a term common to Teutonic, but by chance not recorded in Gothic (*aiks, feminine); compare Dutch eek (eik), Anglo-Saxon âc, feminine, English oak. In Iceland, where there are no trees, the old word eik, feminine, received the general meaning ‘tree’ (for a similar change of meaning see Esche, Föhre, Tanne; compare Greek δρῦς, ‘oak, tree (generally).’ The term aik- is peculiar to Teutonic; whether it is connected with Old Icelandic eikenn, adjective ‘wild,’ and with the Sanscrit root êj, ‘to shake,’ is undecided.
Eichel, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German eichel, Old High German eihhila, ‘acorn, fruit of the oak’ (corresponding to Dutch eikel). The form was originally a diminutive of Eiche, ‘the offspring of the oak,’ as it were; the derivative is wanting in English and Scandinavian. Eckern, Modern High German, is not a cognate. —
Eichhorn, neuter, ‘squirrel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German eichorn, Old High German eihhorn (*eicchorn according to Swiss eikχer), but corrupted at an early period by connecting it with Horn. The primitively Teutonic base cannot be discovered with any certainty, since the word has been transformed by popular etymology in all languages. Dutch eekhoren corresponds to the High German form. Anglo-Saxon âc-wern (earlier âcweorna), ‘squirrel,’ is abnormal, and apparently a compound; still more remote is the equivalent Old Icelandic íkorne, from eik, ‘oak, tree.’ The implied Goth (primitively Teutonic) word *aikawaírna (*eikawaírna) seems by its formation to resemble Gothic widuwaírna, Old High German diorna (see Dirne); in that case Anglo-Saxon âcweorna (Old Icelandic íkorne) might be a diminutive of aik (îk?), ‘oak,’ meaning literally ‘little ​oak-animal’?. Compare the diminutive forms Middle Latin squiriolus, Modern High German Eichhörnchen, Old Slovenian vĕverica. On the other hand, some maintain that weorn in Anglo-Saxon âcweorna means ‘tail,’ while others connect it with Latin viverra, derived from a North European word (Lithuanian voverě, Old Slovenian veverica). At all events, since the Teutonic cognates include Old Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon, and Old High German, we need not suppose the word was borrowed from a Southern Romance term; Latin sciûrus (Greek σκίουρος), French ecureuil, Spanish esquilo (Middle Latin squiriolus) — whence English squirrel — are too remote in sound from the Teutonic words. There is no reason for assuming that the Teutonic word was borrowed from another source.
eichen, aichen, verb, ‘to gauge,’ from Middle High German îchen (ähten), ‘to survey, gauge, inspect’; akin to Middle High German îche, îch, feminine, ‘measure, official standard, office of weights and measures’; corresponds to Dutch ijk, ‘gauge, stamp,’ ijken, ‘to gauge, stamp.’ In Low German and Middle Low German ike, feminine, means ‘gauge mark, instrument for gauging,’ generally ‘a pointed instrument, lance,’ for which reason the cognates have been derived from a Teutonic root îk, ‘to prick.’ Yet Middle High German ähten points to a connection with ahten. In Upper German pfechten (see Pegel) has a parallel form pfechen. The solution of the difficulty with regard to aichen has not yet been found. The spelling of the word with Old Bavarian ai is also remarkable, since in Suabian and Bavarian ei corresponds to the Middle High German î.
Eichhorn, see Eiche.
Eid, masculine, ‘oath, execration,’ from the equivalent Middle High German eit(d), Old High German eid, masculine; a word common to Teutonic, but not found in the other groups; Gothic aiþs, Old Icelandic eiðr, Anglo-Saxon âþ, English oath, Dutch eed, Old Saxon éth, masculine; for the common Teutonic aiþa-z, from pre-Teutonic ói-to-s (compare Old Irish oeth, ‘oath’), no suitable cognate has yet been found. Ehe and its cognates are scarcely allied to it, though Eidam may be so.
Eidam, masculine, ‘son-in-law,’ from Middle High German eidem, masculine, ‘son-in-law,’ also ‘father-in-law’ (compare Vetter, Schwager, Base, Neffe, with regard to the fluctuating meaning), Old High German eidum, ‘son-in-law’; corresponds to Anglo-Saxon âðum, Old Frisian âthum, ‘son-in-law.’ Gothic *aiþmus (?) is wanting, the word mêgs (see Mage) being used. This merely West Teutonic term, the derivation of which appears to be similar to that of Oheim, is connected with Middle High German eide, Old High German eidî, Gothic aiþei, ‘mother.’ It is not impossible that it may be allied to Eid also; compare English son-in-law. In Suabian and Alemannian Eidam is unknown, the word used being Tochtermann.
Eide, feminine, ‘awn, beard,’ Low German. See Ähre.
Eidechse, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German ęgedëhse, Old High German ęgidëhsa, feminine, ‘lizard’; like Eichhorn, the word has been corrupted in various ways in the other languages of the West Teutonic group, so that it is impossible to discover its primary meaning. Dutch haagdis, hagedis, ‘lizard,’ is based on haag, ‘hedge,’ in Middle Dutch eggedisse; Anglo-Saxon âþëxe, whence English ask, asker, ‘water-newt,’ is altogether obscure. The component Old High German -dëhsa, Anglo-Saxon -þëxe (to use Echsen, ‘lizards,’ in natural history as an equivalent term for Saurier, ‘Saurians,’ is a mistake due to a wrong derivation), may be connected with the Aryan root teks, ‘to make,’ which appears in Dachs; Old High German ęgi-dëhsa, literally ‘one who inspires fear’?. Compare Old High German ęgi, Gothic agis, ‘fear,’ primitively cognate with Greek ἄχος, ‘pain, sadness.’
Eider, Eidergans, feminine, ‘eider-duck,’ simply Modern High German from Low German eider; the latter, like English eider, eider-duck, is from Icelandic œ̂þr (genitive œ̂þar), œþekolla, ‘eider-duck’ (Modern Icelandic œ is pronounced like ei). Eider-down was brought by the Hanse traders from Iceland to England and Germany, and from the latter imported into Sweden (Swedish ejder, ejderdun). To the Old Icelandic œ̂þr, Sanscrit âtí-, ‘water-bird,’ may correspond; the latter, it is true, is mostly connected with Ente; compare further Norwegian ȧdder, Swedish (dialectic) ȧda, ‘eider-duck’ (from Old Icelandic *áþr, without mutation).
Eifer, masculine, ‘zeal, fervour, passion,’ from late Middle High German îfer, masculine (îfern, neuter), ‘zeal, jealousy.’ The word appeared at a remarkably late period (15th century), and its previous history is quite obscure; it found its way from Upper German, in connection with Luther's translation of the Bible, into Low German, Dutch, Danish and Swedish. Nothing can be adduced in favour of the assumption that the world was borrowed from Upper German eifern. An older German adjective, eifer, ‘sharp, bitter’ (as late as Logan), Old High German eivar, eibar, ‘sharp, bitter,’ Anglo-Saxon âfor, ‘sharp, bitter,’ might perhaps be cognate with Modern High German Eifer.
eigen, adjective, ‘own, pertinent, peculiar, odd,’ from the equivalent Modern High German eigen, Old High German eigan; an adjective common to Teutonic; compare Old Saxon êgan, Dutch eigen, Anglo-Saxon âgen, English own, Old Icelandic eiginn; Gothic used swês for *aigans. The old adjective eigen is, as the suffix n shows, ​Prop. a participle ending in -ana- of a verb, which only appears, however, as a preterite present, meaning ‘to possess,’ throughout the Teutonic group; compare Gothic áigan, (áihan), Old Icelandic eiga, Anglo-Saxon âgan, ‘to have’ (English to owe), preterite in Anglo-Saxon âhte, in English ought, whence also Anglo-Saxon âgnian, English to own. The Teutonic root aig (aih), from pre-Teutonic aik, preserved in these words, has been connected with the Sanscrit root îç, ‘to possess, have as one's own,’ the participle of which, îçâná-s (îçâna-s), agrees exactly with High German eigan, Gothic *aigans. In Modern High German Fracht (which see) we have a substantive formed with a dental suffix (Gothic aihts, ‘property, possession,’ Old High German êht).
Eiland, neuter, ‘isle,’ from Middle High German eilant, einlant(d), neuter, ‘land lying by itself, island’ (compare Middle High German eilif, from Old High German einlif, see elf). Ein here has the meaning ‘solitary, alone,’ as in Einsiedler, Einöde. English land, and Dutch eiland, are not allied; they belong to Au; see the latter.
eilen, verb, ‘to hasten, hurry,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Middle Low German îlen, Old High German îlen (îllen from îljan); akin to Anglo-Saxon ĭle, Old Frisian ile, Old Icelandic il (genitive iljar), ‘sole of the foot.’ If the l be accepted as a derivative, as it often is in other words, we obtain the widely diffused root ī̆, ‘to go,’ as the source of the cognates; compare Greek ἱέναι Latin ire, Sanscrit root i, ‘to go,’ Old Slovenian iti, Lithuanian eíti, ‘to go.’ See gehen.
eilf, see elf.
Eimer, masculine, ‘pail, bucket,’ from the Middle High German eimber, ein-ber, masculine, Old High German eimbar, einbar, masculine, neuter, ‘pail’; corresponds to Old Saxon êmbar (êmmar), Dutch emmer, Anglo-Saxon ā̆mbor, ombor, masculine, ‘pail.’ Apparently a compound of ein- (Gothic ains) and a noun formed from the root ber (Greek φερ, Latin fer), ‘to carry,’ which is discussed under Bahre, Bürde; hence ‘a vessel to be carried by one person’?, or rather ‘a vessel with a handle’?. In reality, however, the words cited are only popular corruptions, which were suggested by Zuber (Old High German zwibar) as well as by Old High German sumbirî(n); for undoubtedly Old High German ambar, Anglo-Saxon ombor, are the older forms, as is also proved by the borrowed words, Old Slovenian ąborŭ, Prussian wumbaris, ‘pail’; in that case it would be connected with Greek ἀμφορά. Note too the diminutives Old High German amprî (Middle High German ęmmer?), Anglo-Saxon ęmbren, ‘pail,’ formed from Old High German sumdbirî(n).
ein, numeral, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German ein, ‘one,’ also the indefinite article even in Old High German and Middle High German; compare Old Saxon én, Dutch een, Anglo-Saxon ân (English one, as a numeral a, an, as indefinite article), Old Icelandic einn, Gothic ains. The numeral common to Teutonic for ‘one,’ originally ainos, which is primitively cognate with Latin ûnus (compare commûnis and gemein, ‘common’), and also with Old Irish óen, Old Slovenian inŭ, Lithuanian vënas, Prussian ains, ‘one.’ From this old numeral, which strangely enough is unknown to East Aryan (in which the cognate terms Sanscrit êka, Zend aéva, ‘one,’ occur), Greek (dialectic) has preserved οἰνός, ‘one,’ and οἴνη, ‘the one on dice, ace.’ See Eiland, Einöde. —
einander, ‘one another,’ thus even in Middle High German einander, Old High German (in the oblique cases) einander, pronoun, ‘one another’ — a senseless combination of the nominative ein with an oblique case of ander; e.g. Old High German sie sind ein anderen ungelîh, ‘they are unlike one another’ (literally the one to the other), zeinanderen quëdan, ‘to say to one another’ (literally one to the others), for which, however, by a remarkable construction, zeinen einanderen may be used in Old High German —
Einbeere, feminine, ‘one-berry, true-love,’ simply Modern High German; the assumption that the word is a corruption of juniperus is not necessary in order to explain the word. Compare Icelandic einer. —
Einfalt, feminine, ‘simplicity, silliness,’ from Middle High German einvalt, einvalte (-vęlte), feminine, Old High German einfaltî, feminine, ‘simplicity, silliness’; compare Gothic ainfalþei, feminine, ‘silliness, good nature’ — an abstract noun from Gothic ainfalþs, ‘silly,’ Old High German and Middle High German einfalt, ‘silly,’ whence Old High German einfaltîg, Middle High German einveltec, adjective, ‘silly.’ See falt. —
eingefleischt, see Fleisch. —
Eingeweide, neuter, ‘entrails, bowels, intestines,’ from Middle High German ĭngeweide (Anglo-Saxon innoþ from *inwâþ), neuter, ‘bowels,’ for which geweide, neuter, also meaning ‘food,’ chiefly occurs; Modern High German ein- for Modern High German ĭn, ‘within, inside’; Old High German weida, ‘food, pasture.’ Therefore Eingeweide must have meant literally ‘the food that has been eaten,’ and afterwards ‘the organs at work in digesting it’; compare also ausweiden, ‘to disembowel.’ See Weide. —
einig, adjective, ‘agreed, sole, only,’ from Middle High German einec(g), Old High German einag, adjective, ‘sole, only’; a derivative of ein. —
Einöde, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German einœde, einœte, einôte, feminine, ‘solitude, desert,’ Old High German einôti, neuter, ‘solitude, desert.’ By being based on öde, the Middle High German and Modern High German word received its present form; properly, however, -ôti in the Old High German word is a suffix (compare Heimat, Monat, Armut); Gothic *ainôdus (compare mannisk-ôdus, ‘benevolence’) is ​wanting; compare Anglo-Saxon ânad (from ânôd), Old Saxon ênôdi, ‘desert’; the suffix -ôdus corresponds to Latin -âtus (senatus, magistratus). —
einsam, adjective, ‘lonely, solitary,’ simply Modern High German derived from ein and the suffix of langsam, wonnesam, ehrsam. See -sam. —
Einsiedel, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German einsidel, einsidele (also even einsidelœre), masculine, Old High German einsidilo (einsidillo, Gothic *ainsiþlja), ‘hermit;’ an imitation of Greek ἀναχωρητής, Latin anachoreta, basing it on Old High German sëdal, ‘seat.’ See siedeln.
ein, adverb, ‘in, into,’ from Middle High German and Old High German în, adverb, ‘in, into,’ beside which Middle High German and Old High German in with the same meaning. The long form was derived from the short, as is proved by the connection with the cognates of in, which see.
einst, adverb, from the equivalent Middle High German einst, einest, Old High German einêst, adverb, ‘once, at one time’; an obscure derivative of ein; in Anglo-Saxon œ̂nes, English once, to which Old High German eines, Middle High German eines, ‘once, at one time,’ also correspond. Compare Old High German anderes, anderêst, Middle High German anderes, anderst, ‘otherwise,’ as similar formations.
Eintracht, feminine, ‘concord, harmony, agreement,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German eintraht, feminine, which, however, belongs, as a Middle German word, to treffen; hence Middle German cht for ft. Old High German preserves the correct form eintraft, ‘simple.’ Compare Zwietracht.
einzeln, adjective and adverb (in Suabian and Bavarian einzächt), ‘single(ly), sole(ly), individual(ly),’ from the equivalent Middle High German einzel, a modification of the older and more frequent einlütze, Old High German einluzzi, ‘single, alone’; compare Thuringian, and Saxon eelitzg (êlizχ), ‘unmarried,’ from Middle High German einlützec (Old High German einluzzo), ‘unmarried.’ The second component belongs to Modern High German Loos (Old High German hlioȥȥan); Old High German ein-luzzi, ‘one whose lot stands alone.’ Compare also Old Icelandic eínhlítr, ‘single’?
einzig, adjective, ‘only, sole, unique,’ from Middle High German einzec, ‘single,’ a developed form of Old High German einazzi (adverb, einazzêm), the zz of which is derivative, as in emsig (compare Greek κρυπτάδιος with a cognate suffix).
Eis, neuter, ‘ice,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German îs, neuter; a word common to Teutonic; compare Dutch ijs, Anglo-Saxon îs, English ice, Old Icelandic íss, ‘ice’ (Gothic *eisa is by chance not recorded). Outside the Teutonic group no term identical with this can be found. It is still undecided whether it is cognate with Eisen (root ī̆s ‘to shine’?) or with Zend isi (‘ice’?).
Eisbein, neuter, a North German word, from the equivalent Low German îsbên, Middle Low German îsbên, ‘hip-bone’; compare Dutch ijsbeen, ischbeen, ‘the socket of the hip-bone,’ Anglo-Saxon îsbân, masculine. The first part of the compound seems to contain a substantive îsa-, ‘gait, walking,’ which Sanscrit ẽša, masculine, ‘hastening on,’ resembles.
Eisen, neuter, ‘iron, weapon, sword, fetters,’ from Middle High German and Middle Low German îsen (îsern), Old High German îsan, îsarn, neuter, ‘iron’; corresponds to Dutch ijzer, Anglo-Saxon îsern, îren, English iron, Old Icelandic ísarn, Gothic eisarn, ‘iron.’ Its relation to Eis is still undecided; it is most closely connected with Old Irish íarn, ‘iron’ (for *ísarno-), whence Old Icelandic jarn (Danish jern) is borrowed. It is less certain that Old High German êr, Gothic aiz, Latin aes, ‘bronze,’ are allied to it. The derivative r of the earlier forms is retained by Modern High German eisern, which is based on Middle High German îserîn, îsernîn, Old High German îsarnîn, adjective, ‘of iron.’
eitel, adjective, ‘vain, idle, useless, void,’ from Middle High German îtel, adjective, ‘empty, vacant, vain, useless, fruitless, pure, unadulterated,’ Old High German îtal, ‘empty, vacant, vain, boastful’; corresponding to Old Saxon îdal, ‘empty, invalid,’ Dutch ijdel, Anglo-Saxon îdel, ‘empty, useless, worthless,’ English idle. The originally meaning of the adjective was probably ‘empty’; but if we accept ‘shining’ as the primary sense, it follows that the word is connected with Greek αἴθω, Sanscrit root idh, ‘to flame.’
Eiter, neuter, ‘pus, matter, suppuration,’ from Middle High German eiter, Old High German eitar (eittar), neuter, ‘poison’ (especially animal poison); Gothic *aitra- is wanting; an old tr remains unchanged in High German (see treu, zittern). Compare Middle Low German and Dutch etter, Anglo-Saxon âttor, attor, English atter (‘pus, poison’), Old Icelandic eitr, neuter. Also a variant without the suffix r (Gothic *aita-); compare Old High German and Middle High German eiȥ (Alemannian eisse, Bavarian aiss), masculine, ‘abscess, ulcer,’ with a normal permutation of t to ȥȥ. The Teutonic root ait, ‘poisonous ulcer,’ has been rightly connected with the Greek οἶδος, neuter, οἶδμα, neuter, ‘swelling,’ οἰδάω, ‘to swell’; hence the root is Aryan oid.
Ekel, masculine, ‘nausea, disgust, aversion,’ a Modern High German word, which has obtained a wide circulation through Luther (he used the form Eckel; unknown in the contemporaneous Upper German writings). A Middle German word with obscure cognates; it is perhaps connected with Anglo-Saxon âcol, ‘burdensome, troublesome’ (base aiklo-), and probably also to Low German extern, ‘to vex’ (Dutch akelig, ‘terrible,’ English ‘ache’?). The h in Upper German heifel (Swiss, heikχel) may be excrescent, as in heischen. These cognates ​have probably no connection with a Teutonic root erk, ‘to vomit, nauseare,’ to which old Upper German erkele, ‘to loathe,’ English irksome, to irk, are allied. —
Ekelname, ‘nickname,’ simply Modern High German, in Middle High German â-name, properly ‘false name’; from Low German œkelname; compare Swedish öknamn, ‘nickname,’ Old Icelandic aukanafn, ‘epithet, surname’; from the Teutonic root auk, ‘to increase.’ See auch.
Elch, Elen, see Elentier.
Elefant, see Elfenbein.
elend, adjective, ‘wretched, pitiful, miserable, despicable,’ from Middle High German ęllende, adjective, ‘unhappy, woful, living in a foreign country, banished,’ Old High German ęli-lenti, ‘banished, living out of one's country, foreign, alien, captive’; corresponding to Old Saxon ęli-lendi, ‘alien, foreign.’ To this is allied the abstract Elend, neuter, from Middle High German ęllende, Old High German ęli-lenti, neuter, ‘banishment, foreign country,’ Middle High German also, ‘want, distress, misery,’ Old High German also, ‘captivity,’ Old Saxon ęlilendi, neuter, ‘foreign country.’ The primary meaning of the adjective is ‘living in, born in a foreign country’ (compare Elsaß, from early Middle Latin Alisatia, from Old High German Elisâȥȥo, literally ‘incola peregrinus,’ or ‘inhabitant of the other bank of the Rhine’). Gothic aljis, ‘another,’ is primitively cognate with Latin alius, Greek ἄλλος (for ἄλjος), Old Irish aile, ‘another’; compare the corresponding genitive Old High German and Anglo-Saxon ęlles, ‘otherwise,’ English else. The pronominal stem alja- was even in the Gothic period supplanted by anþara-, ‘another.’ Compare Recke.
Elentier, neuter, also Elen, Elend, masculine and neuter, ‘elk,’ first occurs in Modern High German with an excrescent d (as in Mond); borrowed from Lithuanian élnis, ‘elk’ (Old Slovenian jelenĭ, ‘stag’), with which Old Slovenian lani, ‘hind’ (from *olnia), is primitively allied. From the Modern High German word French élan, ‘elk,’ is derived. The genuine Old German term for Elen is Elch (English elk); compare Middle High German ëlch, ëlhe, masculine, Old High German ëlaho, Anglo-Saxon eolh, Old Icelandic elgr. The last word (originating in algi-) is termed alces in Cæsar's Bell. Gall., with which Russian losĭ (from Old Slavonic *olsĭ?) is also remotely connected. Perhaps Old German Elch facilitated the introduction of the Lithuanian word.
Elf, masculine, simply Modern High German borrowed in the last century from the equivalent English elf (compare Halle, Heim); also Modern High German Elfe, feminine; for further references see Alp. The Middle High German ęlbe, ęlbinne, feminine, shows that a corresponding Modern High German would have b in place of f.
elf, eilf, numeral, ‘eleven,’ from the equivalent Middle High German eilf, eilif, einlif, Old High German einlif; a term common to Teutonic for ‘eleven.’ Compare Old Saxon êlleƀan (for ênliƀan), Anglo-Saxon ândleofan, endleofan (for ânleofan), English eleven, Old Icelandic eilifu, Gothic aintif. A compound of Gothic ains, High German ein, and the component -lif in Zwölf (Gothic twalif). In the non-Teutonic languages only Lithuanian has a corresponding formation; compare Lithuanian vënólika, ‘eleven,’ twýlika, ‘twelve,’ trŷlika, keturiólika (and so on up to nineteen); the f of the German word is a permutation of k, as in Wolf (λύκος). The signification of the second component, which is met with in Teutonic only in the numbers elf and zwölf, is altogether uncertain. Some have derived the compound, upon which the Lithuanian and Teutonic words are based, from the Aryan root lik, ‘to remain over’ (see leihen), or from the Aryan root lip (see bleiben), and regarded elf as ‘one over.’
Elfenbein, neuter, from the equivalent Middle High German hëlfenbein, Old High German hëlfanbein, neuter, ‘ivory,’ but based anew on Elefant. How the word came b the initial h (Anglo-Saxon ylpendbân), which is also ound in Middle High German and Old High German hëlfant (also less frequently ëlfant, equivalent to Anglo-Saxon ylpend) ‘elephant,’ is not known. It is possible that the excrescent h at the beginning is due to the word being connected with helfen (in the Middle Ages special healing qualities were ascribed to ivory). Perhaps the word was obtained not from Romance, but from the East, from Byzantium (Greek ἐλέφαντ-); for the word would probably correspond to Latin (ebur) eboreus had it been introduced into German through a Romance medium. Compare Italian avorio, French ivoire, ‘ivory,’ Dutch voor, English ivory (yet also Spanish marfil, Portuguese marfim). — With regard to the meaning of the second part of the compound (Bein, literally ‘bone’), see Bein.
Elle, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German ęlle, ęle, ęln, ęlne, Old High German ęlina (and ęlin), feminine ‘ell’; corresponding to Gothic aleina (wrongly written for *alina?), Old Icelandic ǫln, Anglo-Saxon ęln, feminine, English ell, Dutch el, elle; all these words signify ‘ell,’ which is derived from the literally meaning ‘fore-arm’ (compare Fuß, Spanne, Klafter, as standards of measure). The word in the form ō̆lē̆nâ is also preserved in other Aryan languages. Compare Greek ‘ὠλένη, ‘elbow, arm,’ Latin ulna, ‘elbow, arm, ell,’ Old Irish uile, Sanscrit aratní, Old Slovenian lakŭtĭ (from *olkŭtĭ), Lithuanian ólektis (ŭlektis), ‘elbow, ell,’ are more remote; they also contain, however, the ​comnmon Aryan ŏle- (whence too Ahle?). From the Teutonic *alina the Romance cognates — Italian alna (French aune) — are borrowed. —
Ellenbogen, Ellbogen, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German ęllenboge, ęlenboge, Old High German ęlinbogo, masculine, ‘elbow.’ Compare Dutch elleboog, Anglo-Saxon ęlnboga, masculine, English elbow, Old Icelandic ǫlnboge, masculine, ‘elbow,’ literally ‘bend of the arm.’
Eller, see Erle. — Elsebeere, similarly.
Elrifze, feminine, ‘minnow,’ akin to Middle High German and Old High German erlinc. See Erle.
Elster, feminine (in Swiss œgeršt, on the Mid-Rhine atzel, Suabian hätz and kœ̂gerš), ‘magpie,’ from the equivalent Middle High German egelster, agelster, aglaster, Old High German aglastra, feminine; corresponding to Old Low German agastria, Low German âgster, Dutch ekster, aakster, ‘magpie.’ Its origin is altogether dubious; -striôn seems here, as sometimes in other cases, to be a feminine suffix. The meaning of the base ag-ul- may have already been ‘magpie,’ as is indicated by Old High German agazza, ‘magpie’ (hence Modern High German atzel for agze-l; compare Blitz, Lenz, Runzel), Anglo-Saxon agu, ‘magpie.’ From the Old Teutonic (type *agatja), Italian gazza, and French agace, are derived.
Eltern, plural, from the equivalent Middle High German (seldom occurs) ęltern, altern, plural, Old High German ęltiron, (altron), plural, ‘parents’; corresponds to Old Saxon ęldiron, Dutch ouders, ouderen, Anglo-Saxon yldran, Old Frisian aldera, ‘parents’; the plural of the comparative of alt used as a substantive in West Teutonic only. In Anglo-Saxon the corresponding singular yldra in Anglo-Saxon denotes ‘father.’ For a similar evolution of meaning compare Herr, Jünger.
empfangen, empfinden, see ent-.
empor, adverb, ‘upwards, aloft,’ from Middle High German enbor, enbore, adverb, ‘into or in the heights’; Old High German inbore, in bore, with the same meaning; a combination of the preposition in with the dative of Old High German and Middle High German dor, ‘upper space’ (Old High German also ‘summit’), the origin of which is obscure. It scarcely belongs to the root ber, ‘to carry’ (in Bahre); more probably to empören. The p of the Modern High German word is based on an early Modern High German medium form entbôr, from which entpor, empor, must have been produced.
empören, verb, ‘to excite, enrage, (reflexive) to revolt,’ from Middle High German enbœren, Old High German (occurs only once) anabôren, ‘to raise’; akin to Middle High German bôr, masculine, ‘defiance, revolt.’ The origin of the cognates is uncertain, because it is difficult to determine whether the r is primitive or whether it is by a later change based upon s (z); with ber, ‘upper space’ — see empor — there seems to be a connection by gradation of u to au; Modern High German böse (Old High German bôsi) is not allied.
emsig, adjective, ‘busy, active, assiduous, industrious,’ from Middle High German ęmȥec, ęmȥic, Old High German ęmaȥȥig, ęmiȥȥig (also with tz) ‘constant, persistent, continuous’; Suabian and Alemannian have fleißig, instead of the non-existent emsig. A derivative by means of the suffix -ig from Old High German ęmiȥ, whence Middle High German ęmeȥliche. Its connection with Muße is questionable, since ă- as an accented prefix is not to be found. Anglo-Saxon œ̂metig, emtig, ‘free, empty,’ English empty, is not allied. With greater probability, the West Teutonic term for ‘ant’ (see Ameise) is related to emsig.
Ende, neuter, ‘end, aim, termination,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęnde, Old High German ęnti, masculine, neuter; corresponds to Old Saxon ęndi, masculine, Dutch einde, Anglo-Saxon ęnde, masculine, English end, Old Icelandic ender, ende, masculine, Gothic andeis, masculine ‘end.’ The common Teutonic stem andja-, from pre-Teutonic antyá-, is closely connected with Sans ánta-s, masculine, ‘boundary, end, edge, border,’ Old Irish êt (from anto-?), ‘end, point.’
Endivie, feminine, ‘endive,’ early Modern High German only, formed from the equivalent Middle Latin and Romance endivia (Latin intibus).
eng, adjective, ‘narrow, close, strait, confined,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Middle Low German ęnge, Old High German ęngi, angi; corresponds to Gothic aggwus, Old Icelandic øngr (seldom ǫngr), ‘narrow,’ Dutch eng; from the Teutonic root ang, Aryan angh, preserved also in Angst. Compare Latin angustus, angustiœ, angere (see also bange), as well as Sanscrit aṅhú, ‘narrow,’ áṅhas, neuter, ‘narrowness, chasm, oppression,’ Old Slovenian ązŭkŭ, ‘narrow,’ Greek ἄγχω, ‘to strangle,’ Armenian anjuk, Irish cum-ung, ‘narrow.’
Engel, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German ęngel, Old High German ęngil, angil, masculine, ‘angel’; corresponding to Old Saxon ęngil, Dutch engel, Anglo-Saxon ęngel (but English angel is borrowed from the Old French angele), Old Icelandic engell, Gothic aggilus, masculine, ‘angel.’ The cognates which are diffused throughout Teutonic are borrowed from the ecclesiastical Latin angelus, or more probably from Greek ἄγγελος, ‘angel.’ How they were borrowed cannot, it is true, be discovered with any certainty (compare Teufel).
Engerling, masculine, ‘grub of the cockchafer,’ from Middle High German ęngerlinc, Middle High German Old High German ęngerinc(g), masculine, ‘corn-weevil,’ a derivative of Old High German angar, angari, Middle High German anger, ęnger, ‘corn-weevil’; scarcely ​connected directly with enge. It is more probable that Lithuanian anksztiraí, ‘measles (of swine), cockchafer grubs,’ Polish węgry, ‘measles (of swine),’ are primitively cognates.
Enke, masculine (unknown to Upper German), from the equivalent Middle High German ęnke, masculine, ‘farm servant, bind,’ Old High German ęncho, *ancheo (*ankjo), masculine, ‘servant’; corresponds only to Old Frisian inka and Low German enke, ‘servant.’ It is uncertain whether the word is primitively cognate with Latin ancilla, ‘maid-servant,’ since Latin c would be normally changed into Low German h or g; perhaps, however, it is based on the Aryan root ank or ang.
Enkel (1.), masculine, ‘ankle,’ from Middle High German ęnkel, masculine, Old High German ęnckil, anchal, masculine; numerous primitive variants obscure the etymology. Old Icelandic ǫkkla, neuter, Anglo-Saxon ǫncleów, neuter (English ankle), Middle Dutch anclau, Old High German anchlâo, ‘anklebone,’ seem to be modifications of the primary form, but do they suggest any connection with Klaue (compare Anglo-Saxon ondcleów with oncleów)?. There is a difficulty in determining the relation of Old High German ęnchil, anchal, to anchlâo, and their further connection with Middle High German anke, masculine, ‘joint of the foot, nape’ (even now Anke in Upper German and Middle German dialects is the term for ‘nape, neck’), Old High German ęncha, feminine (from ankia), ‘thigh, tibia’ (French anche, ‘reed, mouthpiece’). Perhaps allied to Sanscrit án̄ga, ‘limb,’ an̄gúri, ‘finger.’
Enkel (2.), masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German ęnenkel, ęninkel, masculine, late Old High German ęninchilî(n), neuter, ‘grandson.’ Since even in Middle High German the forms ęnikel and ęniklîn appear, Modern High German Enkel is most closely connected with a form enekel, in which the medial e was syncopated. The termination inklîn is frequently found as a diminutive suffix; compare Anglo-Saxon scipincel, ‘small ship,’ liþincel, ‘small limb,’ Old High German lęwinchilî(n), ‘small lion,’ huoninchilî(n), ‘chicken.’ Hence Old High German ęninchilî is a diminutive of Ahn, Old High German ano (Gothic *ana, genitive *anin-s), ‘grandfather,’ and signifies literally ‘little grandfather, grandfather's child’; compare the similar evolution of meaning in Latin avunculus (see Oheim). In the non-Teutonic languages there is probably another corresponding term besides the word cited under Ahn — Old Slovenian vŭnukŭ, ‘grandson.’
ent-, prefix, ‘forth, from, out, away,’ from Middle High German ent-, Old High German int-, an unaccented prefix corresponding to the accented ant-, which is of the same origin. In words with initial f, ent- even in Middle High German becomes emp-, hence empfangen (from fangen), empfinden (from finden), empfehlen (befehlen), Old High German int-fâhan, int-findan, *int-fëlhan. The meaning of the prefix belongs to grammar.—
entbehren, verb, from Middle High German enbërn, Old High German (int-?) in-bëran, ‘to do without, want’; a corresponding verb is wanting in the Old Teutonic dialects. The meaning of Old High German in-bëran can hardly be deduced from bëran, ‘to carry’ (see Bahre, gebaren, Bürde); whether it is connected with baar, Old Slovenian bosŭ, from an Aryan root bhes, ‘to be empty,’ remains uncertain, because the prefix has no very definite meaning, and because no other verb from this root has been found.
Ente, feminine, ‘duck,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęnte (for *ęnete), ant (plural ęnte), Old High German anut, ęnit, feminine; a term common to Teutonic; compare Middle Low German anet(d), Dutch eend, Anglo-Saxon œned, Old Icelandic ǫnd, feminine, ‘duck.’ The assumed Gothic form *anuþs points to a primitive kinship with Latin anat-, ‘duck,’ with which some have also connected Sanscrit âti (see, however, Eider), as well as Old Slovenian ątĭ, Lithuanian ántis, ‘duck.’ For the English term ‘duck’ (Anglo-Saxon dûce), see tauchen). —
Enterich (Suabian antrecht), masculine, ‘drake,’ a modification of Middle High German antreche, Old High German antrahho (Danish andrik); probably the correct form is *anutirahho?. In Low German simply Drake, equivalent to English drake, which has certainly nothing to do with Drache, ‘dragon,’ Latin draco. Other terms for drake are Low German erpel in Pomerania, weddik in Mecklenburg, and wart in Holstein, all of obscure origin. Note further Swiss and Bavarian Entvogel for Enterich.
entern, verb, ‘to hoard (a ship),’ simply Modern High German, formed like Dutch enteren, from Spanish entrar (Latin intrare).
entgegen, adverb, ‘against, in opposition, towards,’ from Middle High German engęgen, Old High German ingęgin, and ingagan, adverb and preposition, ‘towards, against’; compare Old Saxon angęgin, Anglo-Saxon ongeán, English again; see gegen. —
entrüstet, ‘exasperated, irritated,’ participle of Middle High German entrüsten, ‘to take off one's armour, to disconcert’ (Dutch and Low German ontrusten, ‘to disturb’); see rüsten. —
entsetzen, ‘to displace, depose’; (reflexive) ‘to be shocked, terrified,’ from Middle High German entsętzen, ‘to lay aside, disconcert, be afraid,’ from Middle High German entsitzen, Old High German intsizzen, ‘to lose one's seat, fear, terrify,’ Gothic andsitan, ‘to shun, fear.’
entweder, particle, ‘either,’ from Middle High German eintwëder, an uninflected neuter, corresponding as a disjunctive particle to an ​oder following; in Middle High German eintwëder, is mostly a pronoun (sometimes with oder following, ‘one of two,’ corresponding to Old High German ein-de-wëder (*ein-dih-wëdar), ‘one of two’; see weder. The origin of the Old High German de- is obscure; see kein.
Epheu, masculine, ‘ivy,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ëphöu, ëbehöu, Old High German ëbahęwi, neuter; even at the present day the word is pronounced Ep-heu in Upper German dialects (Franconian, Suabian, and Alemannian), partly corrupted to Räb-heu, while the Modern High German pronunciation has been influenced by the written language. Of course it is impossible to say positively whether Heu is to be regarded as the second component, especially as the other forms are difficult to explain. Old High German has also ëbawi, ëbah, Anglo-Saxon îfig, English ivy, Middle Low German îflôf, îwlôf, Dutch eiloof, ‘ivy.’ The base of the cognates seems to be a common Teutonic ī̆ba-; yet no definitive clue can be found.
Eppich, masculine, ‘celery, parsley,’ with Low German consonants, from Middle High German ępfĭch, Old High German ępfī̆h, neuter, which are preceded by the shorter forms, Middle High German ępfe, ęffe, Old High German ępfi, neuter. This word, like other names of plants connected with horticulture and cookery, was borrowed previous to the Old High German period (see Kohl) from Latin; the original word in this instance is apium, which denotes a species of umbelliferous plants, comprising parsley, celery, &c.; only in Modern High German has Eppich been confused in meaning with Epheu.
er, pronoun, ‘he, it,’ from Middle High German and Old High German ër, corresponding to the equivalent Gothic is, from a pronominal stem of the third person i-; compare Latin i-s (Latin id, Gothic ita, Old High German and Middle High German ëȥ, Modern High German es). Akin to the Sanscrit pronominal stem i-.
er-, prefix, signifying ‘transition, beginning, attaining,’ from Middle High German er-, Old High German ir, ar, ur-, the unaccented verbal prefix from the accented ur-. See the latter.
Erbe, neuter, ‘heritage, inheritance,’ from Middle High German ęrbe, Old High German ęrbi, arbi, neuter, ‘inheritance’; a word common to Teutonic; compare the equivalent Gothic arbi, Anglo-Saxon yrfe (obsolete in English), Dutch erf, Old Saxon ęrƀi. Akin to Erbe, masculine, ‘heir, inheritor,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęrbe, Old High German ęrbo, arbeo (Gothic arbja), masculine. With the Teutonic root arbh, ‘to inherit,’ some have connected the Old Irish comarpi, ‘joint heirs,’ and Greek ὀρφανός, Latin orbus, ‘orphaned,’ Armenian orb, ‘orphan’; Erbe, literally ‘orphan’?.
Erbse, feminine, ‘pea,’ from the equivalent Middle High German arcweiȥ, ęrweiȥ, ęrwiȥ, feminine, Old High German araweiȥ, arwîȥ, feminine; corresponding to Old Low German ęrit, Dutch erwt, ert, Old Icelandic ertr, plural. The cognates are probably borrowed, as is indicated by the similarity in sound to Greek ἐρέβινθος and ὄροβος, ‘chick-pea’ (see Almosen); compare also Latin ervum, ‘bitter vetch,’ akin to the equivalent Anglo-Saxon earfe. Direct adoption from Greek or Latin is impossible; the way it was introduced cannot be discovered. Probably Erbse is one of the words which Greek and Teutonic have obtained from the same source, as in the case of Hanf. In English, Latin pisum (French pois) was adopted for ‘pea’ early in the Anglo-Saxon period; compare Anglo-Saxon peose, pise, English pease (and pea).
Erchtag, Bavarian, see Dienstag.
Erde, feminine, ‘earth, ground, soil, world,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ërde, Old High German ërda, feminine; a word common to Teutonic; compare Gothic airþa, Old Icelandic jǫrð, Anglo-Saxon eorðe, English earth, Dutch aarde, Old Saxon ërtha, feminine, ‘earth,’ To the dental derivative ër-þô, Old High German ëro, ‘earth,’ also belongs; so too Greek ἔρ-αὗε, ‘to earth,’ and perhaps Latin arvum, ‘arable land’ (Anglo-Saxon eard), as well as the old Aryan root ar, ‘to plough’; see Acker, Art. —
Erdbeere, feminine, ‘strawberry,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ërtbęr, Old High German ërtbęri, neuter; perhaps not really a compound of Erde, but of Old Saxon erda, ‘honey-flower, common balm’; yet Swedish jordbär, tells in favour of a compound of Erde.
erdrosseln, see Drossel (2).
Ereignis, neuter, ‘event, occurrence,’ for an earlier eröugnis from Middle High German eröugen, Old High German ir-ougen, ‘to show.’ Old High German ougen, Gothic augjan, ‘to show,’ are derivatives of Auge. Hence eröugnis means literally ‘what is shown, what can be seen.’ The spelling Ereignis, found even in the 16th century, was due to the corruption of a word no longer understood.
erfahren, verb, ‘to experience, come to know, learn, undergo,’ from Middle High German ervarn, ‘to travel, inquire, investigate, proclaim’; akin to fahren. —
ergötzen, ergetzen, verb, ‘to delight,’ from Middle High German ergętzen, ‘to cause to forget (especially grief), compensate for’; factitive of Middle High German ergeȥȥen, ‘to forget.’ See vergessen. —
erhaben, adjective, ‘sublime, exalted, superior to,’ from the equivalent Middle High German erhaben, which is properly a participle of Middle High German erhęben, ‘to raise aloft.’ —
erinnern, verb, ‘to remind, admonish,’ (reflexive) ‘to recollect, remember,’ from Middle High German innern, inren, ‘to remind, inform, instruct,’ akin to inner.
​ Erker, masculine, ‘bow, projection (of a building), balcony,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ärker, erker, masculine; the latter is formed from Middle Latin arcora (a late plural of Lit. arcus, ‘bow’)?.
erlauben, earlier erleuben, verb, ‘to allow, permit, grant,’ from Middle High German erlouben (erleuben), Old High German irlouben (irlouppen), ‘to allow’; compare Gothic uslaubjan, ‘to permit, grant,’ Anglo-Saxon âlŷfan. The original meaning of erlauben, like that of glauben, is ‘to approve,’ which is also inherent in the Teutonic root lub, upon which the word is based (compare Lob, lieb, Glaube, which are connected by gradation of the root lub, liub, laub). An old abstract of erlauben appears in Modern High German Urlaub.
erlaucht, adjective, ‘illustrious, noble,’ from Middle High German erliuht (with a Middle German vowel erlûht), ‘illuminated, famous’; a participle of erliuhten. See leuchten and Durchlaut.
Erle, feminine, ‘alder,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęrle, Old High German ęrila, ęlira (to this is allied Modern High German Elritze, ‘minnow,’ Old High German ęrlinc, literally ‘elder fish’?). Compare Low German eller, Dutch els (Modern High German Elsbeere, ‘wild service-berry’), Anglo-Saxon alor, English alder, Old Icelandic ǫlr, elrer, elre; Gothic *alisa (*aluza) appears in Spanish alisa, ‘alder,’ French alize, ‘wild service-berry.’ The change of the originally Old High German ęlira to ęrila is analogous to Gothic waírilôs compared with Anglo-Saxon wëleras, ‘lips’ (see Essig). Cognates of Erle, like those of Buche, Birke, &c., are found in the non-Teutonic languages. Compare Old Slovenian jelĭcha, Latin alnus (for *alsnus), ‘alder.’ Compare Ulme.
Ermel, masculine, ‘sleeve,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęrmel. Old High German ęrmilo, armilo, masculine; diminutive of Arm. Compare the diminutive form of Faust, Middle High German viustelinc, ‘mitten,’ also Middle High German vingerlîn, ‘ring (worn on the finger),’ diminutive of Finger, English thimble, diminutive of thumb.
Ernst, masculine, ‘earnestness, seriousness, gravity,’ from Middle High German ërnest, masculine, Old High German ërnust, neuter, feminine, ‘contest, earnest, decision of character’; corresponding to Dutch ernst, Anglo-Saxon eornost, ‘duel, earnest,’ English earnest; the suffix -n-ust as in Dienst; see also Angst. Akin also to Old Icelandic orrosta, ‘battle’; the stem er (erz?, ers?) is not found elsewhere with a similar meaning; the evolution in meaning resembles that of Kampf, Krieg. The cognates in other Aryan languages are uncertain. — The adjective ernst, simply Modern High German, is represented by ërnesthaft in Middle High German and by ërnusthaft and ërnustlîch in Old High German
Ernte, feminine, ‘harvest,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęrne, feminine, like Modern High German Hüfte, from the equivalent Middle High German hüffe, plural of huf; Middle High German erne (Franconian and Alemannian ärn), a plural used as a singular, is related similarly to Old High German aran, ‘harvest,’ which, like Gothic asans, ‘harvest, autumn,’ is connected with a root as, ‘to work in the fields,’ widely diffused in Old Teutonic. Compare Gothic asneis (Old High German ęsni, Anglo-Saxon ęsne), ‘day-labourer,’ Old Icelandic ǫnn (from *aznu), feminine, ‘work, season for tillage’; akin to Old High German arnôn, ‘to harvest’ (Anglo-Saxon earnian, equivalent to English to earn, Old Icelandic árna?), Middle High German asten, ‘to cultivate.’ Probably Latin annôna (for *asnôna), ‘produce of corn,’ belongs to the Teutonic root as.
erobern, verb, ‘to conquer, win,’ from Middle High German er-obern, ‘to excel, conquer,’ allied to ober, über. —
erörtern, verb, ‘to discuss, determine,’ formed from late Middle High German örtern, ortern, ‘to examine thoroughly,’ from Middle High German ort, ‘beginning, end.’ —
erquicken, verb, ‘to revive, refresh,’ from the equivalent Middle High German erquicken, ‘to reanimate, wake from the dead,’ Old High German ir-quicchan; allied to keck, Quecksilber, verquicken. —
erschüttern, see Schutt.
erst, adjective, ‘first,’ from Middle High German êrst, Old High German êrist, ‘the first’; corresponding to Old Saxon êrist, Anglo-Saxon œ̂rest, ‘the first’; superlat. of the comparative form cited under eher. Gothic airis, adverb, formerly,’ airiza, ‘predecessor, ancestor,’ Old High German êriro (êrro), ‘predecessor’; the positive is preserved in Gothic air. adverb, ‘early,’ Anglo-Saxon œ̂r, adjective adverb, ‘early,’ Old Icelandic ár, adverb, ‘early’ (Old High German êr-acchar, ‘‘awake early’). Probably the stem air-, on which the word was based, was used originally like früh, only of the hours of the day. It is connected most probably with Greek ἦρς, ‘early in the morning.’
ersticken, verb, ‘to stifle, choke,’ from Middle High German ersticken, intransitive, ‘to be stifled,’ and erstecken, transitive, ‘to stifle.’
erwähnen, verb, ‘to mention, call to notice,’ formed from the equivalent Middle High German gewęhenen, Old High German giwahinnen, giwahannen (preterite gi-wuog, participle giwaht and giwahinit), allied to Old High German giwaht, ‘mention, fame.’ Gothic *wahnjan belongs to the root wok, wō̆q (Teutonic wah), ‘to speak,’ which is widely diffused in the Aryan languages. Compare Latin vox, ‘voice,’ vocare, ‘to call,’ Greek ὅσσα for ϝόκjα and ὁπ- (for ϝοπ), ‘voice,’ ἔπος (for ϝέπος), ‘word,’ Sanscrit root vac, ‘to say, speak.’ In Teutonic this old root was not so widely developed.
​ Erz, neuter, ‘ore, metal, brass, bronze,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęrze, arze, Old High German ęrizzi, aruzzi, aruz, neuter; an obscure word, which is unknown to the other Teutonic dialects; probably borrowed under the form azuti, arwuti?. In Gothic ais, Anglo-Saxon âr, English ore, Old High German and Middle High German êr, ‘bronze,’ whence the Old High German and Middle High German adjective êrîn, Modern High German ehern; these are primitively cognate with Latin aes, ‘bronze,’ and Sanscrit ayas, ‘metal, iron.’
Erz-, prefix, ‘arch-, chief,’ from Middle High German ęrz-; compare Middle High German ęrz-ęngel, -bischof, -priester; Old High German only in ęrzi-bischof; corresponding to Dutch aarts in aarts-engel, aartsbisschop, Anglo-Saxon arcebiscop, English archbishop, Anglo-Saxon arcęngel, English archangel; from the Latin-Greek prefix archi- (ἀρχι-), much affected in ecclesiastical words. High German and Dutch exhibit the late Latin pronunciation, arci (see Kreuz); Gothic ark-aggilus, ‘archangel,’ from archangelus, like Anglo-Saxon arce-, retain the older sound of the c. Compare also Arzt.
es, pronoun, ‘it,’ from Middle High German ëȥ, neuter singular, and its genitive ës, Old High German ëȥ (genitive ës); formed from the Aryan pronominal stem of the 3rd personal (i-) mentioned under er. See ihn.
Esche, feminine, ‘ash, ash-tree,’ from the equivalent Middle High German asch, Old High German asc, masculine; corresponding to Dutch esch, Anglo-Saxon œsc, English ash, Old Icelandic askr, ‘ash.’ The remoter cognates, Slavonic jasika, Lithuanian ůsís, with the same meaning; Greek ὀξύη, ‘a kind of beech,’ and Latin aesculus, ‘winter oak,’ are not allied.
Esel, masculine, ‘ass,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęsel, Old High German ęsil, masculine; corresponds to Old Saxon ęsil, Dutch ezel, Anglo-Saxon ęsol, eosol, Gothic asilus (whence Old Slovenian osĭlŭ), ‘ass.’ It is self-evident that these cognates are related to Latin asinus. Yet it is remarkable that the Romance languages have not an l, but an n in the suffix; Spanish asno, Old French asne (whence Old Icelandic asne), Modern French âne, Italian asino (the Latin diminutive asellus does not come under consideration, since it is not found in any Romance language; compare further Assel). For the change of n to l in derivatives, see Himmel, Kümmel, Orgel. The abnormal Anglo-Saxon assa (equivalent to English ass) may be traced back to Old Irish assan, borrowed, with the usual change of sound, from the Latin. Consequently all the cognates come from Italy; no primitively word for ‘ass’ can be sound in any language of the Aryan group. — The term Kelleresel is a late imitation of Italian asello; the equivalent Assel appears, however, to be unconnected with it.
Espe, feminine, ‘aspen-tree,’ from the equivalentMiddle High German aspe, Old High German aspa (hence Upper German ašpe). Compare the exactly equivalent Anglo-Saxon œsp, English asp, Old Icelandic ǫsp; scarcely allied to Esche; more probably connected with Latin arbor, ‘tree,’ if the latter represents an originally *asbos.
Esse, feminine (the word seems to be unknown to the Upper German dialects), ‘forge,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęsse, Old High German ęssa, feminine, ‘chimney, hearth of a worker in metals.’ Like Old Swedish œsja, they indicate a Gothic *asjô, which is also assumed by the borrowed term, Finnish ahjo. Whether Esse is allied to Old Icelandic esja, ‘clay,’ and hence means literally ‘what is made of clay,’ remains doubtful. Its assumed connection with Old High German eit, ‘funeral pile,’ Greek αἶθος, ‘glow,’ Sanscrit root idh, ‘to burn,’ is untenable.
essen, verb, ‘to eat, dine, feed on,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ëȥȥen, Old High German ëȥȥan; common to Teutonic, and originally an Old Aryan strong verb; compare Gothic itan, Old Icelandic eta, Anglo-Saxon ëtan, English to eat, Dutch eten, Old Saxon ëtan; see fressen. The verbal root ët, ‘to eat,’ common to Teutonic, to which Old High German and Middle High German âs, Modern High German Aas (compare Latin êsus for *êd-to-, the participle of edere), also belong, is based upon an Aryan root ē̆d; compare the Sanscrit root ad, Greek ἔδομαι, Latin ĕdo, Lithuanian ědmi, ěmi, Old Slovenian jamĭ (from *ědmĭ), ‘I eat.’ —
Essen, neuter, ‘food, meal, dinner,’ even in Middle High German ëȥȥen, Old High German ëȥȥan, neuter, as an equivalent substantive; it is scarcely an infinitive used as a substantive, but rather an independent substantive form like Greek ἐδανόν, ‘food,’ Sanscrit ádana, neuter, ‘provender.’
Essig, masculine (with the normal unaccented g for ch), ‘vinegar,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęȥȥī̆ch (that the i is long is proved by its change into the diphthong ei in late Middle High German ezseich), Old High German ęȥȥîh (hh), masculine. A remarkable loan-word, corresponding to Middle Low German ętik, Old Swedish œtikia, Swedish ättika; also Old Low German ęcid, Anglo-Saxon ęced, which with Gothic akeit(s), ‘vinegar,’ are based upon Latin acêtum. For the High German, Low German, and Swedish words we must assume a form *atêcum, produced by metathesis of the consonants — Old High German ęȥȥîh from atîk for atêko, which, however, is not attested by any Romance form; for such transpositions compare. Romance alenâre from Latin anhelare, Middle High German biever from vieber (see further citations under einzeln, Fieber, Erle, Kabeljau, kitzeln, Ziege). There is a remarkable form in Swiss dialects, achiss, echiss, which is based upon an untransposed form corresponding to Gothic akeit(s). The Latin-Romance acêtum (Italian aceto; but French vinaigre and English vinegar from ​ Latin vinum acre) has also made its way into other countries — Old Slovenian acǐtŭ (from Gothic akeits?), Old Irish acat. — The Upper German verb esseln, ‘to taste of vinegar,’ may perhaps be based upon some such form as Old French aisil (Middle English aisil).
Estrich, masculine, ‘floor, plaster-floor, pavement,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęstrĭch, ęsterĭch, Old High German estirĭh, astrĭ(hh), masculine; compare Middle Low German astrak, esterck, Dutch estrik (these two forms are not recorded). In Middle Germany the word, which was unknown to Luther, is not found. Perhaps it is really native to the valleys of the Rhine and Danube, being introduced by Roman colonists. Compare early Middle Latin astricus, astracus, ‘paving,’ Milanese astregh, Sicilian astracu, Italian lastrico; Old French astre, French âtre, ‘hearth,’ literally ‘pavement.’
etlich, pronoun, ‘some, sundry,’ from Middle High German ëtelich, Old High German ëtalîh, also earlier Modern High German etzlich, from Middle High German ëteslich, Old High German ëtteslîch, ëtteshwëlich, ‘any one’ (plural ‘many a one’). The same first component is seen in etwa, from the equivalent Middle High German ëtwâ (ëteswâ), Old High German ëtteswâr, ‘anywhere’; etwas, from Middle High German and Old High German ëtewaȥ (neuter of Middle High German and Old High German ëtewër, ëteswër, ‘any one’). The origin of this pronominal ëte, ëtes, ëttes, ëddes, ‘any,’ is quite obscure. Some have compared it with Gothic aíþþau, ‘perhaps, nearly’ (see oder), and þishwazuh, ‘every.’
euch, pronoun, ‘you, to you,’ from Middle High German iuch, iuwich, Old High German iuwih, accusative, the dative of which, however, is in in Middle High German and Old High German; compare Anglo-Saxon eów (and eówic), accusative, eow, dative (English you), Gothic izwis, accusative, dative. Is Latin vos, vester, akin? All other references are dubious. —
euer, possessive pronoun of the preceding, ‘your,’ from Middle High German iuwer, Old High German iuwar. Compare Anglo-Saxon eówer, English your, Gothic izwar, ‘your.’
Eule, feminine, ‘owl,’ from the equivalent Middle High German iule, iuwel, Old High German ûwila, feminine. Compare Dutch wil, Anglo-Saxon ûle (from *ûwle), English owl, Old Icelandic ugla, from pre-Teutonic *uwwalô, or rather *uwwilô, ‘owl.’
Eust, Swiss, ‘sheepfold.’ See Schaf.
Euter, masculine and neuter, ‘udder, dug,’ from the equivalent Middle High German iuter, ûter, Old High German ûtar, ûtiro, masculine; a word common to Teutonic and originally a primitively Aryan word, which has the same sense everywhere. Compare Dutch uijer, Anglo-Saxon ûder, English udder; also with gradation eudar in Middle Low German jeder, Old Frisian iader, Old Icelandic júgr. The-resulting Teutonic ûdr-, eudr-, from Aryan ûdhr-, corresponds to the equivalent Sanscrit ûdhar, Greek οὔθαρ (with gradation), Latin ûber; Slavonic vymę (from *vyd-men-), ‘udder,’ is differently derived.
ewig, adjective, ‘eternal, perpetual,’ from the equivalent Middle High German êwic(g), Old High German êwig; corresponding to Old Saxon êwig, Dutch eeuwig, ‘eternal’; derived from an Old Teutonic root meaning ‘eternity.’ Compare Gothic aiws, ‘time, eternity,’ Old High German êwa, ‘eternity,’ which are primitively cognate with Latin aevum, ‘eternity, lifetime,’ and Greek αἰών. Compare je.
extern, verb, ‘to vex, tease,’ a Middle German and Low German word, probably connected with Ekel; allied also to Hessian ickern with the same sense.