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

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V.
Vater, m., ‘father,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vater, OHG. fater; common to Teut. and Aryan in the same sense; comp. Goth. (rare) fadar (usually atta), OIc. faðer, AS. fœder, E. father, Du. vader, vaar, OSax. fadar. Teut. fadêr, from Aryan patḗr; comp. Lat. pater, Gr. πατήρ, Sans. pitṛ (for patṛ), ‘father.’ Aryan pa-tḗr has been derived from the Sans. root pâ, ‘to guard, protect,’ so that Vater would mean lit. ‘protector.’ An English preacher of the 12th cent. connected the word in a similar way with AS. fêdan, E. to feed (see füttern); hence Vater, lit. ‘nourisher.’ Neither interpretation is historically certain, since Aryan pa-ter is probably based on an instinctive sound (comp. Gr. dial. πᾶ, ‘father,’ πάππα); comp. Mutter, Bruder, and ​Schwester. For a derivative of Vater see under Vetter, Baas, and Base.
Veilchen, n., ‘violet’ (plant), dimin. of earlier ModHG. Veil, from MidHG. vîel, older viôl, n., vîole, f. Borrowed in the early MidHG. period from Lat. viola (with v equal to f, as in Vers, Käfig, Brief, and Vogt). Comp. Ital. viola, dimin. violetta, Fr. violette; also to Du. viool, E. violet.
Veitsbohne, f., ‘kidney-bean,’ ModHG. only; it is so called because it begins to bloom on St. Vitus's day (June 15). —
Veitstanz, m., ‘St. Vitus's dance’ (ModHG. only), MidLat. chorea sancti Vîti, thus named because the help of St. Vitus was implored.
ver-, pref.; in its most frequent significations it is derived from MidHG. ver-, OHG. fir- (far-), which are probably a combination of several other unaccented forms. Comp. the unaccented prefixes Goth. faír-, fra-, faúr- (see also fressen), which appeared in OHG. as fir- (far-). Goth. faír, fra, and faur appear to correspond respectively to Gr. περί, πρό, and παρα, though their meanings do not coincide. Comp. Sans. pári, ‘round about,’ párâ, ‘away,’ purâ, ‘before,’ prá, ‘before, away.’ — Most of the compounds with ver- (E. for-) are based on Goth. fra-, which denoted ‘the opposite, deterioration, change.’
verblüffen, vb., ‘to disconcert, confuse,’ ModHG. only, from Du. verbluffen, ‘to stun, dishearten.’ Early history obscure. —
verbrämen, vb., ‘to border, fringe,’ from late MidHG. brëm, verbrëmen, n., ‘border, trimming,’ older ModHG. Brame, ‘border, skirts of a wood,’ E. brim (AS. brimme).
verdammen, vb., ‘to condemn, anathematise,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verdamnen, OHG. firdamnôn; borrowed, like other ecclesias. terms in the OHG. period, from Lat. damnâre (comp. Fr. damner, Ital. damnare), with the prefix ver- to give a bad sense to the word. —
verdauen, vb., ‘to digest,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verdöuwen (verdöun), verdouwen, with the simple forms döuwen, douwen, OHG. douwen (dęwen), firdouwen, ‘to digest’; comp. Du. verduwen. The assumed Teut. þaujan, ‘to digest,’ is probably connected with tauen (lit. ‘to dissolve’). —
verderben, str. vb., ‘to spoil, destroy, corrupt,’ from MidHG. verdërben, str. vb., ‘to come to nought, perish, die,’ with which the corresponding causative MidHG. verdęrben, ‘to ruin, kill,’ was confused in ModHG. OHG. *dërban, Goth. *þaírban, str. vb., ‘to perish, die,’ is wanting. The meaning of the MidHG. words points to a connection with sterben, so that we must assume a double root, Aryan terbh, sterbh (comp. Stier and Drossel (2) ); in that case neither derb, with its divergent meaning, nor dürfen can be allied. —
Verderben, n., ‘destruction,’ from MidHG. verdërben, n., properly an infinitive used as a subst. —
verdrießen, vb., ‘to grieve, vex, trouble,’ from MidHG. verdrieȥen, str. vb., ‘to excite anger, produce weariness’; also the equiv. MidHG. be-, erdrieȥen, from OHG. bi-, irdrioȥan, str. vb. Comp. Goth. usþriutan, ‘to molest, revile,’ AS. þreátian (E. to threaten), with â-þreótan, ‘to be disgusted,’ Du. droten, ‘to threaten,’ with verdrieten, ‘to vex,’ OIc. þrjóta, ‘to want, fail’ (þrot, ‘want,’ þraut, ‘hard task, trouble.’ The great development of the str. verbal root, Teut. þrū̆t, makes it difficult to find undoubted cognates in non-Teut.; OSlov. trudŭ, ‘pain, trouble,’ truzdą, ‘to torment,’ Lat. trûdo, ‘to crowd, push,’ point to an Aryan root trū̆d. —
ModHG. Verdruß, m., ‘vexation, annoyance’; in MidHG. usually urdruȥ, urdrütze, verdrieȥ. —
verdutzt, adj., ‘disconcerted, abashed,’ from MidHG. vertutzt, a partic. of MidHG. vertutzen, vertuȥȥen, ‘to be deafened, become silent’; remoter history obscure. See vertuschen.
vergällen, vb., ‘to embitter,’ from MidHG. vergellen, wk. vb., ‘to make as bitter as gall, embitter’; allied to Galle. —
verganten, see Gant. —
vergattern, vb., ‘to enclose with trellis-work, assemble (soldiers) by beat of drum,’ from late MidHG. (LRhen.) vergatern, ‘to assemble.’ Properly a LG. word; comp. Du. vergaderen, to which the cognates of E. to gather (see Gatte) are connected. —
vergebens, adv., ‘in vain, to no purpose,’ from MidHG. vergëbene (-gëbenes), ‘gratis, in vain’; allied to vergëben (OHG. firgëban), ‘useless, to no purpose,’ lit. ‘given away,’ a partic. used as an adj. —
vergessen, vb., ‘to forget,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vergëȥȥen, OHG. firgëȥȥan, str. vb.; a West Teut. word; comp. Du. vergeten, AS. forgitan, E. to forget. Also the equiv. OHG. irgëzzan, MidHG. ergëȥȥen. The compound verb is the relic of a strong verbal root get, ‘to reach, attain,’ whence E. to get; comp. Goth. bigitan, ‘to find, OIc. ‘to reach, attain,’ In non-Teut., Lat. prae-hendere, ‘to group,’ Gr. χανδάνω (Aryan root ghed, ​ghend), are connected with the root get. Hence vergessen means lit. ‘to get beyond one's reach, lose possession of.’ —
vergeuden, vb., ‘to squander, dissipate,’ from MidHG. giuden (übergiuden), wk. vb., ‘to boast, make a parade, squander with ostentation’; unknown to OHG. Goth. *giwiþa might refer to OHG. gëwôn, ‘to open one's mouth wide’ (see gähnen).
Vergnügen, n ‘pleasure, enjoyment, amusement,’ ModHG. only, from late MidHG. vernüegen and genüegen, ‘to content, satisfy.’
verheeren, vb., ‘to ravage, devastate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verhęrn (verhęrgen), OHG. firhęrjôn; lit. ‘to destroy by war.’ See Heer.
verlangen, vb., ‘to claim, demand,’ from MidHG. (rare) verlangen, ‘to desire ardently,’ usually MidHG. belangen, ‘to desire, long for.’ OSax. langôn, Du. verlangen, AS. lǫngian, E. to long, show the correspondence of the Teut. languages. The word is usually regarded as an old derivative of lang, but this is opposed by the meaning; it might be rather compared with the cognates of gelingen, the primary meaning of which is ‘to aim, strive.’ —
verletzen, vb., ‘to hurt, injure,’ from MidHG. verlętzten, ‘to check, injure, wound’; allied to letzen. —
verläumden, vb., ‘to calumniate, slander,’ from MidHG. verliumden; see Leumund. —
verlieren, vb., ‘to lose,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verliesen, OHG. virliosan; a common Teut. str. vb., to which the equiv. Goth. fraliusan, AS. forleósan, Du. verliezen correspond. Gr. λύω, ‘to loosen’ (ἀλεύω, ‘to avoid, keep far away’?), Lat. solvo (partic. so-lû-tus), ‘to loosen’ (Sans. lû, ‘to tear to pieces’), and Goth. luns, ‘ransom,’ which point to an Aryan lū̆, are closely connected with the Teut. root lus, to which los and lösen are also related. —
Verlies, n., ‘subterranean cave, dungeon, ModHG. only, lit. ‘place where one is lost’ (comp. MidHG. verliesen, ‘to kill’?). —
verloben, vb. ‘to engage, affiance, betroth,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verloben; lit. ‘to promise,’ in which sense MidHG. geloben also occurs; see geloben and Lob. —
Verlust, m., ‘loss, damage, injury,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verlust, OHG. virlust, f.; a verbal abstract of verlieren (comp. Frost with frieren).
vermählen, vb., ‘to marry, unite,’ from late MidHG. vermęhelen, usually męhelen, mahelen, lit. ‘to give in marriage to a man,’ also ‘to take to wife,’ whence generally ‘to affiance, betroth.’ The word is usually based on OHG. mahal, ‘hall of justice’ (see Mahl and Gemahl); it is better to proceed from the equiv. MidHG. gemahelen, OHG. gimahalen, which are derivatives of OHG. gimahala, ‘spouse.’ For other details concerning its early history see Gemahl. —
vermessen, adj., ‘daring, presumptuous,’ from MidHG. vermëȥȥen, OHG. firmëȥȥan, ‘daring, bold’; a partic. of MidHG. veṛmëȥȥąn, OHG. firmëȥȥan, refl. ‘to estimate one's strength too high, have an overweening opinion of oneself.’ —
Vermögen, n., ‘ability, power, wealth,’ from MidHG. vermügen, n., ‘power, might, capability,’ An infinit. used as a subst., MidHG. vermägen, vermugen, ‘to be in a position, have power,’ OHG. furimugan; allied to mögen, Macht. The prep. vermöge, ‘in virtue of’ (ModHG. only), is based on MidHG. vermüge, f., ‘might, power,’ and is developed like kraft.
vernichten, vb. ‘to annihilate, annul,’ from MidHG. vernihten, ‘to annihilate, think lightly of’; allied to nicht. —
Vernunft, f., ‘reason, understanding,’ from MidHG. vernunft, OHG. firnunft, f., ‘activity of perception, sensual perception, comprehension, insight, understanding’; abstract of vernehmen, ‘to hear, perceive, understand,’ MidHG. vernëmen, OHG. firnëman, ‘to perceive, hear, experience, grasp, seize, understand.’ These figurative meanings are based on some such meaning as in Goth. franiman, ‘to take possession of, seize.’ For a similar evolution see vergessen (with different senses attached to the prefix); begreifen has been similarly developed in its figurative senses.
verplämpern, vb., ‘to spill, waste foolishly,’ ModHG. only, properly a LG. word, of onomatopoetic origin. —
verpönen, vb., ‘to forbid (under penalties), proscribe,’ ModHG. only, from Lat. poena (whence also Pein).
verquicken, vb., ‘to amalgamate (with),’ ModHG. only, lit. perhaps ‘to combine with quicksilver’; allied to Quecksilber (see also erquicken). —
verquisten, vb., ‘to spend foolishly,’ ModHG. only, from Du. kwisten, verkwisten, ‘to squander, lavish’; comp. Goth. fraqistjan, ‘to destroy, annihilate’ (usqistjan, ‘to kill’). Early history obscure.
verraten, vb., ‘to. betray, reveal,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verrâten, OHG. firrâtan; lit. ‘to lead astray by wrong advice.’ —
verrecken, vb., ‘to die’ (of cattle), from ​MidHG. (rare) verrecken, ‘to stretch out the limbs rigidly in death’; allied to recken. —
verrucht, adj., ‘infamous, atrocious,’ from MidHG. verruochet, ‘heedless, careless,’ allied to MidHG. verruochen, ‘to pay no heed, forget.’ The meaning of the ModHG. adj., like that of the cognate ruchlos, is under the influence of anrüchig, berüchtigt, Gerücht, ruchbar. —
verrückt, adj., ‘mad, crazy,’ ModHG. only; allied to MidHG. verrücken, ‘to move from the spot, confuse, disconcert.’
Vers, m., ‘verse, couplet,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. vërs, fërs, m. and n., which was adopted in the OHG. period (as early as the 9th cent.) from Lat. versus, perhaps contemporaneously with Schule and Meister. Comp. Käfig, Brief, and Vesper for the representation of Lat. v by HG. f (comp. AS. fers, and Du. vers).
verschieden, adj., ‘different, distinct, various,’ ModHG. only; not from verscheiden, which even in MidHG. (verscheiden) signifies specially ‘to die,’ but from a LG. word; comp. Du. verscheiden (for which underscheiden is found in MidHG.). —
verschlagen, adj., ‘cunning, crafty, sly,’ properly a partic. of MidHG. verslahen, which also means ‘to cheat.’ —
verschmitzt, adj., see schmitzen. —
verschroben, adj., ‘distorted, perverse, intricate,’ lit. ‘screwed the wrong way’; an inorganic partic. of schrauben; see Schraube. —
verschwenden, vb., ‘to squander, waste,’ from MidHG. verswęnden, ‘to break to pieces, annihilate, consume,’ which as a factitive of MidHG. verswinden, ModHG. verschwinden, ‘to disappear,’ signifies lit. ‘to cause something to disappear.’
versehren, vb., ‘to wound, injure, damage,’ from the equiv. MidHG. sêren, lit. ‘to cause pain’; allied to MidHG. and OHG. sêr, ‘pain’; see sehr. —
versiegen, vb., ‘to dry up,’ ModHG. only; allied to MidHG. sîgen, OHG. sîgan, str. vb., ‘to fall, sink, flow, trickle’ (see seihen, sickern); versiegen, lit. ‘to flow out or away.’ —
versöhnen (same as versühnen), vb., ‘to reconcile, atone for,’ from the equiv. MidHG. versüenen; allied to Sühne. The accented vowel is derived either from LG. or probably from OBav. and OSwab., in which, late in the Middle Ages, œ appears before n., instead of üe (grön for grün; tön for tün).
Verstand, m., ‘understanding, intelligence, sense,’ from MidHG. verstant (d), which is used only rarely (in the sense of ‘explanation, information’); comp. MidHG. verstantnisse, ‘intelligence, insight, understanding,’ to which MidHG. verstęndic, ‘intelligent,’ is allied. In OHG. too firstantnissi is most frequently used. To this word is allied ModHG. verstehen, vb., ‘to understand, comprehend,’ from MidHG. verstân, OHG. firstân (firstantan), ‘to perceive, see into, notice, understand’; comp. Du. verstaan, AS. forstǫndan (in E. to understand). How the meaning can be derived from the root of stehen is not clear; it is usually referred to Gr. ἐπίσταμαι, ‘to understand,’ compared with the root στα, ‘to stand.’ —
verstümmeln, vb., ‘to mutilate,’ from late MidHG. verstümbelen; see Stummel.
verteidigen, vb., ‘to defend, maintain, justify,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verteidingen, vertagedingen (usually tagedingen), wk. vb., of which the most frequent meaning is ‘to plead before a tribunal, settle and adjust by agreement.’ Allied to MidHG. tagedinc, teidinc (g), ‘a lawsuit fixed for a certain date, court-day, negotiation, assembly’ (with the meaning ‘gossip, talk,’ comp. Teiding). OHG. tagading, ‘legal summons, negotiations,’ is based on tag in the sense of ‘fixed period,’ and ding, ‘judicial proceedings,’ Comp. Du. verdedigen.
vertrackt, adj., ‘distorted, twisted, odd, strange,’ properly a partic. of vertrecken, ‘to confuse.’ —
vertragen, vb., ‘to carry away, wear out, tolerate,’ from MidHG. vertregen, str. vb., ‘to tolerate, endure, be indulgent’; hence late MidHG. vertrac, ModHG. Vertrag, m., ‘agreement, treaty.’ —
vertuschen, vb., ‘to hush up,’ from MidHG. vertuschen, ‘to cover, conceal, keep secret, reduce to silence’ (to which verdutzt, lit. ‘stunned,’ is allied’); an onomatopoetic term.
verwahrlost, adj., ‘neglected, spoilt,’ properly a partic. of MidHG. verwárlôsen, ‘to treat negligently,’ based on OHG. waralôs, ‘careless, negligent’ (MidHG. warlœse, ‘carelessness, negligence’). For the first part of the compound comp. wahrnehmen. —
verwandt, adj., ‘related, allied, cognate,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. (rare) verwant, which is a partic. of MidHG. verwęnden (with the rare signification ‘to marry’); the usual term in MidHG. was sippe (OHG. sippi), adj. Comp. also MidHG. and OHG. mâc, m., ‘relative, kinsman.’ —
verwegen, adj., ‘bold, daring, rash,’ from MidHG. verwëgen, ‘quick and decided,’ a partic. of verwëgen, ‘to decide quickly.’
​ Verweis, m., ‘reprimand, censure,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. verwîȥ, m.; allied to verweisen, from MidHG. verwîȥen, OHG. firwîȥan, str. vb., ‘to reprimand, censure.’ Comp. Du. verwijt, n., ‘reprimand,’ and verwijten, ‘to reproach, upbraid,’ Goth. fraweitan, ‘to revenge. The meaning ‘to punish ‘also belonged to the simple stem, as is shown by OSax. wîti, OHG. wîȥȥi (wîzzi), MidHG. wîȥe (wîtze), n., ‘punishment, tortures of hell.’ The Teut. root wī̆t, ‘to punish,’ is based on the common Aryan root wid, ‘to see,’ on which are based Lat. videre, Gr. ἰδεῖν (for further cognates of this root see wissen); comp. Goth. faírweitjan, ‘to look around,’ and witan, ‘to observe.’ The development of meaning is usually compared with that of Lat. animadvertere, ‘to perceive, punish.’ Hence Verweis is not directly connected with weisen; to the latter verweisen, ‘to misdirect’ (obsolete), is allied. —
verwesen, vb., ‘to decay, rot,’ from MidHG. verwësen (OHG. *firwësan), str. vb., ‘to come to nothing, pass away, destroy.’ Comp. Goth. frawisan, ‘to consume, waste, squander’ (note frawaírþan, ‘to be destroyed’). However clearly these seem to point to a connection with Wesen (root wës, ‘to be’), yet OHG. wësanên, ‘to get dry, rotten,’ OIc. visenn, ‘faded, decayed,’ and AS. weornían, ‘to destroy,’ suggest a Teut. and Aryan root wī̆s, ‘to decay,’ from which Gr. ἰός, Lat. virus (for *visus), Sans. viša, ‘poison,’ are derived. —
Verweser, m., ‘administrator, manager,’ cannot of course be derived from the preceding word; it belongs to MidHG. verwësen, ‘to manage, provide, look after’; Goth. *faúrawisan, ‘to manage,’ recalls Goth. *faúragaggja, ‘steward’ (lit. ‘predecessor’); thus the prefixes ver- of the two MidHG. words verwësen are of different origin.
verwichen, partic., ‘past, late, former,’ from verweichen.
verwirren, see wirr.
verwittern, vb., ‘to decompose, decay,’ ModHG. only. Allied to E. ‘to wither,’ from MidE. widren, ‘to wither, vanish’; also primitively to Lith. výstu (výsti), ‘to wither,’ pavaitínti, ‘to cause to wither.’
verzeihen, vb., ‘to pardon, excuse,’ from the equiv. MidHG. verzîhen, which usually means ‘to deny, refuse,’ then ‘to renounce, abandon.’ To this Verzicht and verzichten are allied.
Vesper, f., ‘vespers, evening,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vësper, OHG. vëspera, f., which was adopted contemporaneously with monastic institutions (comp. Mette and None), from Lat. vespera (whence also Ital. vespro, Fr. vêpre). The primit. kinship of the Lat. with the MidHG. and OHG. word is inconceivable, because the correspondence of Lat. v with OHG. v (f) is found only in OHG. loan-words (see Vogt and Käfig).
Vettel, f., ‘slut,’ from late MidHG. vëtel, f.; formed from the equiv. Lat. vetula.
Vetter, m., ‘cousin,’ from MidHG. vęter, vętere, m., ‘father's brother, brother's son,’ OHG. fętiro, faterro, fatureo, m., ‘uncle’; for the change of meanings comp. Neffe and Oheim. The earlier meaning is ‘father's brother,’ as is indicated by the clear connection with Vater, by AS. fœdera, ‘uncle’ (with faðu, ‘aunt’), and also by the non-Teut. correspondences which point to Aryan paturyo-, patrwyo-, ‘uncle on the father's side.’ Comp. Lat. patruus, Gr. πάτρως (from *πάτραος), Sans. pîtṛvya, Zend tûirya (from *ptûrya), ‘fathers brother.’ In ModHG. dialects Vetter has acquired the signification of Pfetter, ‘sponsor, godfather’ (MidHG. pfętter, equiv. to Ital. patrino, see Pate), perhaps by connecting it with Gevatter.
Vieh, n., ‘cattle, beast,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vihe, vëhe (with the dial. variant vich, ModHG. Viech), OHG. fihu, fëhu, n. The word is common to Teut. and Aryan; comp. Goth. faíhu, AS. feoh, Du. vee, ‘cattle.’ Corresponding to the equiv. Sans. paçu, Lat. pecu, pecus, which point to Aryan péku, ‘cattle.’ The word was probably applied originally only to domestic cattle (comp. also Tier, Mann), for Sans. paçu has the special sense ‘flock,’ and Lat. pecus, ‘small cattle, sheep.’ Hence it is easily explicable how the word acquired in several groups the meanings ‘goods, possession, money’ (concerning the system of barter comp. also Schaf); comp. Lat. pecûlium, ‘property,’ pecûnia, ‘property, money,’ Goth. faíhu, ‘money,’ AS. feoh, ‘cattle, money,’ E. fee.
viel, adv. and adj., ‘much,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vil, vile, OHG. filu, subst. and adv.; properly the neut. of a pre-Teut. adj. felu-, of which, however, the OTeut. dialects have preserved only scanty relics; comp. Goth. filu (and the gen. filaus, adv., ‘by much’), AS. feolu (feala), Du. veel, OSax. filu, ‘much.’ The Teut. adj. ​filu, from *fëlu-, is based on Aryan adj. pelu (polú-), from which Sans. purú, OPers. paru, Gr. πολύ-, OIr. il, ‘much,’ are derived; so too Lat. pollere, ‘to be strong.’ The root of these cognates is the same as in voll, which see. The disappearance of the old adj. felu- was due chiefly to the cognates of mancher (Goth. manags); yet the other Aryan languages use the adj. only sparingly. —
Vielfraß, m., ‘glutton, Ursus gulo,’ ModHG. only, a corruption of Scand. fjallfress, m., ‘mountain bear.’ —
vielleicht, adv., from MidHG. vil lîhte, lit. ‘very easy,’ then ‘probably,’ finally ‘perhaps.’
vier, num., ‘four,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vier, OHG. fior; corresponding to OSax. fiwar, Du. vier, AS. feower, feówer, E. four; the AS. variant fyðer- (in compounds) points, like the corresponding Goth. fidwôr ( fidur-), to a primary form detwor, petur, for qetwor, qetur. The latter forms show that Teut. vier is connected with Lat. quattuor, Gr. τέσσαρες (πίσυρες), Sans. catur, OSlov. četyri, ‘four.’ The common Aryan qetur-, ktru-, is also indicated by ModHG. Raute (from hrûdô-, equiv. to krû-tā́, lit. ‘quaternity.’ —
Vierteil, n., ‘quarter’; for the suffix, see Teil.
Visier, n. ‘visor,’ borrowed in the 15th cent. from the equiv. Ital. visiera, Fr. visière.
Vizdom, m., ‘viceregent,’ from MidHG. viztuom, m., ‘governor, administrator’; formed from vicedominus, whence also Fr. vidame.
Vließ, see Flies.
Vogel, m., ‘bird, fowl,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vogel, OHG. fogal, m.; a common Teut. term; comp. Goth. fugls, AS. fugol. E. fowl, Du. vogel, OSax. fugal, m., ‘bird.’ This specifically Teut. word has no exact correspondence in non-Teut. Teut. fugla- is perhaps derived from the Teut. root flug, ‘to fly,’ thus connecting the word with Geflügel (for which gevügele occurs, however, in MidHG.) as the collective of Vogel. Others prefer to connect it with Fuchs, which is regarded as ‘the animal with a tail.’ There is no term in Teut. corresponding to Lat. avis, Sans. vi, ‘bird.’
Vogt, m., ‘overseer, steward, bailiff,’ from MidHG. vogt, voget, OHG. fógat (*fogā́t), m.; from MidLat. vocâtus, with the pronunciation of the Lat. v like f, as in Vers, Vesper (comp. Käfig). The MidLat. term is for advocatus (whence OHG. pfogát); comp. Fr. avoué, ‘defender of a church or abbey, attorney.’ MidLat. advocatus signified lit. ‘legal assistant,’ whence the meanings ‘guardian’ (MidHG. and ModHG. dial.) and ‘patron, protector.’ MidHG. voget denotes also ‘the protector of the Romish Church, King or Emperor of Rome, king and ruler (generally),’ and further ‘governor, legal official.’
Volk, n., ‘people, nation, soldiery, troops,’ from the equiv. MidHG. volc (k), OHG. folc, n. (rarely m.); corresponding to OSax. folk, Du. volk, AS. folc, E. folk; OIc. fólk, ‘people, troops, detachment.’ The latter seems to be the primary meaning, from which Lith. pulkas, ‘heap, crowd,’ and OSlov. plŭkŭ, ‘troops,’ are borrowed. The connection of the word with Lat. vulgus is uncertain, for it is very dubious whether the Lat. word and the Teut. cognates can be based on a primary form, qelgos, qolgos.
voll, adj., ‘full, complete, entire,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vol (ll), OHG. fol (ll); a common Teut. adj., corresponding to the equiv. Goth. fulls, AS. and E. full, Du. vol, and OSax. full. Allied to füllen, which see. The other Aryan languages also preserve a corresponding plno- (ln becomes Teut. ll); comp. Sans. pûrṇá, Zend parena, Lith. pìlnas, OSlov. plŭnŭ, OIr. lán (for plôno-), Lat. plênus, ‘full’ (manipulus, ‘handful’). The Lat. adj. is a partic. in no-, from the root plê, ‘to till’ (Lat. complêre, implêre; Gr. πίμπλημι, from the root πλη), which appears in Sans. as pur, prâ, ‘to fill.’ The cognates of viel belong to the similar root pel. —
vollkommen, adj., ‘perfect, complete,’ from MidHG. volkumen, ‘accomplished, grown up, complete’; properly a partic. of MidHG. volkumen, ‘to reach the end or goal.’
von, prep., ‘of, from, concerning,’ from the equiv. MidHG. von, vone (dial. van), OHG. fona (fana); corresponding to OSax. fon, fan, fana, ‘of,’ Du. van. The pre-Teut. pana, on which the word is based, is rightly regarded as an extension of the shortened Aryan form apo, which is discussed under ab.
vor, adv. and prep., ‘before,’ from MidHG. vor, vore, OHG. fora; corresponding to Goth. faúr and faúra, ‘before,’ OSax. for, fora, Du. vor, AS. and E. for. In non-Teut. are found the correspondences Sans. purâ and purás, ‘before,’ with pra, Gr. πάρος with πρό; ModHG. für, as well as Lat. pro, are more remotely allied.
​ vorder, adj., ‘front, anterior, foremost,’ from MidHG. vorder, OHG. fordar, adj., ‘standing at the head of, former, anterior'; an old comparative with the Aryan suffix tero- (Gr. -τερο-; comp. ander from anþero-). Goth. *faúrþara- is wanting; the connection with the root of Goth. faúra (see vor) is apparent; comp. Sans. pûrva, ‘being before or in front,’ with purás, purâ, ‘before.’ Fürst, fordern, and fördern (comp. also Altvordern) are also allied.
vorhanden, adv., ‘at hand, extant,’ from vor Handen, lit. ‘before the hands’; comp. abhanden (and behende).
Vormund, m., ‘guardian, tutor,’ from MidHG. vormunt (d), also vormunde, vormünde, m., ‘intercessor, protector, guardian,’ OHG. foramunto, m., ‘intercessor.’ Allied to Mund (2), under which another equiv. word is mentioned (comp. also Vogt).
vorn, adv., ‘in front, before,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vorn, vorne (vornen, vornân); in OHG. the equiv. forna is used only in dialects as an adv. of place. A derivative of Teut. for-, appearing in vor and für.
vornehm, adj., ‘distinguished, aristocratic,’ from MidHG. vürnœme, ‘preferable, distinguished’; comp. angenehm.