# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/G (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
G.
Gabe, f., ‘gift,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gâbe, f.; OHG. *gâba and Goth. *gêba are wanting; instead OHG. gëba (MidHG. gëbe with the dial. variant gippe), f., occurs, OSax. gëba, AS. gifu, OIc. gjǫf, Goth. giba, f., ‘gift.’ The forms corresponding to the assumed Goth. *gêba are seen in Du. gaaf and OSwed. gáfa.
gäbe, adj., ‘acceptable, in vogue, stylish,’ from MidHG. gœbe (OHG. *gâbi), adj., ‘acceptable, dear, good’; Goth. *gêbi- is related to giban (see geben), just as nêms is to niman (see gänge, angenehm); comp. OIc. gœ̂fr, ‘salutary,’ Du. gaaf, ‘suitable.’
Gabel, f., ‘fork, shafts (of a vehicle),’ from the equiv. MidHG. gabele, gabel, OHG. gabala, gabal, f.; corresponding to Du. gaffel (hence ModIc. gaffall, ‘fork’), AS. rarely, geaful, m., ‘fork’ (for which, even in the AS. period, forc, E. fork occurs). Gabel seems to be related by gradation to Giebel, and in that case the oldest shape of the fork must have been a sort of acute angle like a gable. Yet the supposition that the word was borrowed is not to be rejected, especially since ‘the form of an acute angle’ can hardly be the prim. meaning of Giebel. Note the correspondence with Kelt. words; OIr. gabul, ‘fork,’ gabhla, ‘shears,’ W. gebel, ‘tongs,’ Lat. gabalus ‘(gable-shaped) gallows’; to these also OInd. gábhasti, ‘fork, shaft,’ may be allied, in which case it would follow that the West Teut. Gabel is perhaps primit. allied to the Kelt. class.
gackern, gacksen, vb., ‘to cackle, chatter,’ simply ModHG.; imitative forms like MidHG. gâgen, ‘to cackle like a goose.’ akin to Du. gagelen, ‘to gabble,’ and even in OHG. gackizôn, ‘to mutter,’ gagizôn, gackazzen, ‘to bawl,’ MidHG. gagzen, ‘to cluck like a hen laying.’ Comp. Scand. gagga, ‘to howl like a fox,’ gagl, ‘wild goose,’ E. to gaggle.
Gaden, Gadem, m. and n., ‘room, cottage, storey,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. gaden, gadem, n., ‘house containing one room only,’ then generally ‘apartment, chamber,’ OHG. gadum, gadaum, n.; orig. a merely UpG. word, which found its way, however, even into LG. Akin to Goth. *gatm (from ga- and tmo-, the latter related to Gr. δόμος, μεσό-δμη, and HG. Zimmer)?. Less probably allied to AS. geat, E. gate (comp. Du. gat, ‘opening,’ under Gasse). At all events, the connection with Gr. χιτών, ‘garment,’ is impossible.
gaffen, vb., ‘to gape at,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (MidG.) gaffen, OHG. *gaffên (deduced from OHG. geffida, f., ‘contemplation’); Goth. *gapan is wanting. The ordinary MidHG. and OHG. words for the modern gaffen are kapfen and chapfên (Goth. *kappan, vb., is wanting). Hence, according to the sounds, the two words are radically different; in the ModHG. period, MidHG. kapfen has given way to gaffen. The latter signifies lit. ‘to look on with open mouth;’ comp. Du. gapen and the equiv. E. to gape, OIc. gapa, ‘to open the mouth wide,’ gap, ‘chaos.’ The Teut. root gap, ‘to gape,’ is allied to Sans. root jabh, ‘to snap’?.
gähe, see jäh.
gähnen, vb., ‘to yawn, gape,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ginen (genen, geinen), OHG. ginên (geinôn); ModHG. ae for ĕ. Goth. *gi- nai-, from the root gī̆, ‘to gape’; comp. AS. ginian, gânian, ‘to gape.’ OIc. and AS. possess a str. vb. formed from the root gī̆, and n orig. a suffix of the present stem — OIc. gína, AS. tôgînan, ‘to bark’; comp. also OIc. gin, n., ‘jaw of animals.’ OHG. gîên, ‘to gape,’ is formed without the suffix n; so too with a derivative w, OHG. giwên, gëwôn, MidHG. giwen, gëwen, ‘to open the mouth wide.’ The Teut. root gī̆, from pre-Teut. ghī̆, is widely diffused, especially in West Teut. Comp. Lat. hiare (for Lat. h, representing Teut. g, see Gerste and Gast), OSlov. zijati, ‘to gape, bark,’ Lith. żióti, ‘tó ‘to open the mouth wide’; OIr. gin, ‘mouth’ (OIc. gin); Lat. hisco; Gr. χειά, ‘hole,’ for χειϝά?.
Galgant, m., ‘galangal,’ from the equiv. MidHG. galgan, galgân, galgant, m.; comp. MidE. galingale, E. galangal; a medicinal herb of the Middle Ages, known under the same name to Rom. (comp. Ital. galanga, Fr. galanga — MidLat. galanga; also Mid ​Gr. γαλάγγα). The origin of the term has probably been rightly ascribed to the East; some etymologists compare it with Arab galang.
Galgen, m., ‘gallows, gibbet, crossbeam,’ from MidHG. galge, OHG. galgo, m., ‘gallows (also applied to the cross of Christ), frame over a well from which the bucket is hung to draw water.’ It corresponds to OSax. galgo, Du. galg, AS. gealga, E. gallows (the plur. used as a sing., yet comp. gallow-tree), OIc. galge, ‘gallows,’ Goth. galga, m. (applied to the cross of Christ, as also in all the other OTeut. dialects); a common Teut. word, Teut. galgan-, pre-Teut. ghalgha-; comp. Lith. żalga, f., ‘pole.’ Note the double sense of the MidHG. and OHG. word. Probably some such idea as a ‘long pliable rod’ is the starting-point of the various meanings of the cognates.
Gallapfel, m., ‘gall, gall-nut,’ first occurs in early ModHG., from Lat. galla, whence also, probably, the equiv. AS. galloc; comp. E. oak-gall (galloak). See Galle (2.).
Galle (1.), f., ‘gall, bile,’ from the equiv. MidHG. galle, OHG. galla, f.; common to Teut. in the same sense (only in Goth. is the weak neu. *gallô not recorded); comp. OSax. galla, Du. gal, AS. gealla, OIc. gall, n. Like a great number of terms relating to the body (see Fuß, Herz, Niere, Nase, Ohr), Galle too has numerous correspondences in the cognate languages, which points to the antiquity of the Aryan term (Goth. *gallin- or *galzin-, from pre-Teut. ghal-); comp. Gr. χολή, χόλος, Lat. fel, fellis, n., ‘gall.’ Many etymologists connect the word with gelb (OHG. gëlo), as if gall was named from its colour; OSlov. žlŭčĭ, ‘gall’ (from *gĭlkĭ), is certainly allied to Russ. želknutĭ, ‘to turn yellow.’
Galle (2.), f., ‘barbel,’ from MidHG. galle, f., ‘swelling above the knee on the hind-leg of a horse’; comp. E. gall (swelling, sore spot, gall-nut); it is questionable whether Gall-Apfel is allied to the word. Also in Romance, Ital. galla and Span. agulla, signify ‘swelling, tumour, gall-nut.’ Hence the Lat.-Rom. galla, ‘gall-nut,’ was perhaps the source of the Teut. terms. Yet it is possible that the foreign word has been confused with a Teut. word similar in sound, especially since Swed. dialects also have a term gräsgaller, ‘swelling on the hoof of a horse.’
Gallerte, f., ‘jelly, from MidHG. galhert, galhart, galreide, f., ‘jelly of animal and vegetable matter.’ MidLat. galatina, ‘jelly,’ as well as Fr. gelée (from Lat. gelare), cannot, for phonetic reasons, serve as the source of the MidHG. word; the origin is still obscure.
Galmei, m., ‘calamine,’ first occurs in early ModHG., with the older variant Kalmei; once in MidHG. kalemîne; from MidLat. and Rom.; comp. MidLat. lapis calaminaris, Fr. calamine; earlier Lat. cadmia, Gr. καδμεία, ‘calamine.’
Galopp, m., ‘gallop,’ borrowed from Fr. galop, even in the MidHG. period, as is proved by MidHG. galopieren, of which the variant walopieren occurs (comp. MidHG. walap, ‘galop,’ E. wallop). The Rom. words on which they are based are derived by some etymologists from a Teut. source, though it cannot be assigned to any satisfactory root; some assume a Goth-Teut. *walh-hlaup, which is supposed to denote a Kelt. method of trotting.
Gamander, m., ‘germander,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gamandrê; from MidLat. chamandreus, gamandraea, which is based upon Gr. χαμαίδρυς, χαμαίδρυον, ‘germander.’
Ganerbe, m., ‘joint-heir, co-proprietor,’ from MidHG. ganerbe (from ge-an-erbe), m., ‘next co-heir, especially a co-heir with the right of obtaining the property of his fellow-inheritors at their death,’ OHG. ganarbo, ‘co-heir’ (Goth. *gaána-arbja, m.). The prefix ga, representing Lat. con-, ‘together with,’ was current in OTeut. See Genoß, Geselle.
Gang, m., ‘going, movement, gait, passage,’ M the equiv. MidHG. ganc(g), OHG. gang, m., ‘gait, walking’; corresponding to OSax. gang, Du. gang, AS. gong, m., ‘walking, gait’ (comp. E. gang, gangway, and gangweek), OIc. gangr, n., ‘gait, walking,’ Goth. gaggs, ‘lane.’ Also in older Teut. a str. vb. gangan, ‘to go,’ of which only the pret. ging and the partic. gegangen are still current in ModHG. In East Teut., in which gehen is wanting, ganga (OIc.) and gaggan (Goth.) have a wider range; yet comp. OSwed. and ODan. ga, ‘to go.’ In West Teut. part of gehen has been lost; in E., differing in this respect from G., the older gangan has become entirely obsolete. Teut. root gang, pre-Teut. ghangh. The only correspondences in other Aryan languages are Sans. jáṅghâ, f., ‘leg, foot,’ Lith. żengiù (żèngti), ‘to step,’ akin to Lith. prażanga, ‘trespass.’
gänge, adj., ‘current, in vogue, ​customary,’ from MidHG. gęnge, OHG. gęngi, ‘ordinary, scattered,’ orig. ‘capable of going, or rather of circulating’; a verbal adj. from the root gang (see the preceding word), formed like gäbe, angenehm, flügge.
Gans, f., ‘goose,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gans, OHG. gans, f.; a common Teut. term for ‘goose,’ unrecorded in Goth. only, in which *gans, f. (plur. *gans) may have been the form (comp. Span. ganso, adopted from it). To this correspond AS. gôs (ô from an before s), plur. gês (owing to the i mutation), f., E. goose, plur. geese; OIc. gás, f., from pre-Teut. ghans-; Du. gans; one of the few names of birds to be ascribed to a primit. Aryan origin, since it recurs in most of the languages of the Aryan group; Sans. haṅsá-s, m., haṅsî, f., ‘goose,’ ModPers. yâz, Lith. żąsìs (OSlov. gąsĭ is borrowed from Teut.), Gr. χήν, Lat. anser (for *hanser), OIr. géis, ‘swan’ (from ghansi). The s of Aryan ghans- seems to be a suffix (comp. Fuchs, Monat); at least Teut. words of cognate stem point to ghan- as the more primitive form; comp. OHG. ganaȥȥo, MidHG. ganze, genz, m., ‘gander,’ Du. gent, ‘gander,’ AS. ganot, E. gannet (‘swan’); AS. gandra, E. gander. Pliny informs us that large flocks of geese were kept in Germania, and that the birds or their feathers were sent even to Rome; one species was said to be called gantae by the Teutons; a similar term is known in Rom. (Prov. ganta, OFr. gante, ‘wild goose’), which borrowed it from Teut. To the Teut. ganta, from pre-Teut. ganda, the OIr. géd, ‘goose’ (Lith. gàndras, ‘stork’), is primit. allied.
Gänserich, m., ‘gander, wild tansy,’ ModHG. simply, formed like Enterich, from an earlier Ganser (still found in many of the UpG. dialects; in Alsat. gunšter, MidG. gánsert), MidHG. ganȥer, also ganȥe, ganze, m., ‘gander.’ Comp. LG. gante, Scand. gasse for gásse, ‘gander’; see Gans. The plant Genserich is a corruption of an earlier Grenserich; comp. Fr. bec d'oie, Ital. piè d oca. The MidHG. and OHG. term is gręnsinc (even cęnsing also in OHG.).
Gant, f., ‘auction, bankruptcy,’ an UpG. word (unknown to the Suab. dial.), from MidHG. gant, f., ‘sale to the highest bidders, auction.’ Not from Fr. gant, ‘glove.’ It is not true that “affixing a glove (in a symbolical way) has given rise to the terms Gant and Vergantung, denoting a distress on real property.” The term is more-probably derived from Prov. l'encant, ModFr. l'encan, ‘auction’ (Ital. incanto, from Lat. in quantum), whence E. cant, ‘auction.’
ganz, adj., ‘whole, complete, entire,’ from MidHG. and OHG. ganz, adj., ‘uninjured, complete, whole, healthy,’ prop. a HG. word simply, which was adopted, however, by the Teut. dialects of MidEurope (Dan. ganske, Du. gansch, OFris. gans; n would not have been retained before s in a native Dan. or Fris. word. The early history of OHG. ganz is obscure; if its primary meaning is ‘encircling,’ it is perhaps connected with Gr. χανδάνω, ‘to comprise’; comp. Gr. χανδός, ‘spacious’?.
gar, adj. (and adv.), ‘finished, ready, done’ (of cooked food), from MidHG. gar (inflect. garwer), adj., gare, adv., OHG. garo (infl. garawêr), adj., garo, garawo, adv., ‘made ready,’ armed, prepared, complete, entire’; corresponding to OSax. garo, AS. gearo (adv., gearwe also), E. yare, Olc. gǫrr (adv. gǫrwa), ‘ready, prepared, made’; Goth. *garwa- is wanting. The adj. was really used as a partic., the suffix wo in Ind., combines with the root pac, ‘to cook,’ forming the partic. pakvâ-s, ‘cooked, done’ (of food). Besides AS. gearo, ‘ready,’ a remarkable form, earo, is found with the same meaning, and in OSax. aru as well as gara; these forms point to Goth. *garwa and *arwa, ‘prepared, made ready.’ Hence some have identified the two classes regarding the g of *garwa- as the remnant of the verbal particle Goth. ga (HG. ge).
Garbe (1.), f., ‘sheaf,’ from the equiv. MidHG. garbe, OHG. garba, f.; Corresponding to OSax. garba, Du. garf, ‘sheaf’; lit. ‘handful, manipulum.’ Hence from the Sans. root gṛbh, ‘to lay hold of, seize,’ grâbhá, ‘handful;’ Lett. grabas, fem. plur., ‘a bundle hastily collected,’ Lith. grĕpti, ‘to seize,’ and grópti, ‘to snatch.’ In the HG. dialects grappen, grapsen, grippen, &c., are also allied to the Aryan root ghṛbh; so too Du. grabbelen, E. to grabble. The cognates found their way into Romance (Fr. gerbe, f., ‘sheaf’).
Garbe (2.), (the same is Schafgarbe, ‘milfoil’), f., ‘millefolium,’ from the equiv. MidHG. garwe, OHG. garwa, garawa, f., ‘millefolium’; corresponding to AS. gearewe, f., E. yarrow, Du. gerw, ‘millefolium.’ Whether it is related to gar (Teut. garwa-) is uncertain.
gären, vb., ‘to ferment, effervesce, bubble,’ a combination as to its form of a str. vb. MidHG. gëren; jësen; OHG. jësan, ​‘to ferment, foam,’ and the corresponding factitive MidHG. *jern (unrecorded, but OHG. jęrian occurs), ‘to cause to ferment’; OHG. jësan is a str. vb., and jęrjan a wk. vb. (comp. ginësan str. vb., and ginęrian, wk. vb.). Noun derivatives of the Teut. root jes retain their s (before t) even as late as ModHG.; see Gischt, under which the cognate nouns from the other OTeut. dialects are brought together. The root jes, yes, occurs also in Ind. and Gr.; comp. Gr. ζεσ-τός, ‘boiled,’ ζέσ-μα, hence also ζέω for *ζέσω (perf. ξεσ-μαὸ), ‘to boil, bubble’ (ζ for earlier j, y as in ζυγόν, see Joch), Sans. root yas, ‘to seethe, boil.’ Considering this agreement of forms with initial j and y, ModHG. gären with g is remarkable; so too OIc. gerþ, ‘yeast’ (but E. yeast).
Garn, n., ‘yarn, thread, net, snare,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. garn; corresponding to AS. gearn, E. yarn, OIc. garn, n., Du. garen; the common Teut. term for ‘yarn’ (Goth. *garn, n.); the meaning ‘net’ was attached to Garn, even in the OHG. and MidHG. period, but it never obtained in E. and Scand. We might assume a root gar with some such meaning as ‘to turn,’ but it is not authenticated. Earlier Teut. has a series of terms corresponding in sound with Garn and meaning ‘entrails’; comp. OIc. gǫrn (plur. garner), f., ‘gut, intestines, entrails,’ OHG. mittigarni, mittilagarni, n., ‘fat found in the middle of the entrails, arvina,’ AS. micgern (cg for dg; comp. AS. orceard, E. orchard, for ortgeard), ‘arvina’ These words have been connected with Lith. żarnà, f., ‘gut,’ and Sans. hirâ, f., ‘gut,’ though the latter may be allied to Lat. hîra, f., ‘gut,’ and hilla for hirla; likewise Lat. haru- in haru-spex, ‘one who examines the entrails, soothsayer,’ and hariolus, ‘soothsayer,’ contain the Aryan root ghar. Perhaps — and nothing further can be sail — all the words discussed above are based on a Teut. root ghar, ‘to turn.’
garstig, adj., ‘filthy, foul, obscene,’ an extended form of the late MidHG. garst, adj., ‘rancid, tasting “high”’; comp. Du. garstig, ‘insipid, rank, rotten’; akin to OIc. gerstr, ‘morose’ (in appearance). Allied to Lat. fastidium, ‘disgust, aversion’?. The latter probably represented *farstidium, like tostus for *torstus, from torreo; Lat. f initially corresponds to Teut. g. See under Galle (Lat. fel). But it might perhaps be also connected with Lat. horridus for *ghorsidus.
Garten, m., from the equiv. MidHG. garte, OHG. garto, m., ‘garden’; corresponding to OSax. gardo, OFris. garda, m., ‘garden’; Goth. garda, m., ‘stable.’ Akin to the strong nouns — Goth. gards, m., ‘court, house, family’; OIc. garðr, m., ‘enclosure, hedge, house, farm,’ OHG. gart, m., ‘circle, choral dance,’ AS. geard (E. yard), ‘enclosure, garden’ (E. garden was borrowed in MidE. from OFr. gardin, jardin, which is of Ger. origin). ‘Enclosing,’ and ‘the enclosed space’ are the fundamental ideas of the whole class, which might thus be connected with gürten, Teut. root gerd, if the correspondences in the cognate languages did not prove that ‘Garten’ is a pre-Teut., perhaps a common West Aryan form, which cannot belong to a specifically Teut. root. But HG. Garten is most closely connected with Lat. hortus, ‘garden,’ Gr. χόρτος, ‘enclosure, yard, farmyard, pasture, hay, grass,’ OIr. gort, ‘cornfield,’ also Lat. co-hors, -tis, f., ‘courtyard for cattle and fowls’; if the Teut. word is allied to these, the d of the Goth. and Sax. words is derived from Aryan t, i.e. Goth. garda is based on Aryan ghortó- (not ghórto- from χόρτο-). On the other hand, Garten may be connected with Slav. and Lith. words, which, however, assume that Goth. and Sax. d originated in Aryan dh; OSluv. gradŭ, m., ‘enclosure, citadel, town’ (as an enclosed place; Lith. gàrdas, ‘fold’). It is possible that in the Teut. class two words, different in sound but allied in meaning, have been combined; but the Slav. words were more probably borrowed from Teut. Comp. Zaun.
Gas, n., ‘gas,’ a word coined by the Du. chemist, Von Helmont, of Brussels (died 1644 A.D.); comp. Du. gas.
Gasse, f., ‘lane, road, row,’ from MidHG. gaȥȥe, OHG. gaȥȥa, f., prop. (as even yet in UpG.) ‘street’; corresponding to Goth. gatwô, f., ‘lane, street,’ OIc. gata (accus. gǫtu), ‘way, street, path.’ From the Scand. word E. gate, ‘way,’ is derived. Properly speaking, the word is unknown to the LG. languages. Whether Gasse is allied to AS. geat, E. (Scotch), gate, gait (see Gatter), OSax. and Du. gat, n., ‘hole, cavern,’ OIc. gat, n., ‘hole,’ and is derived from a prim. meaning, ‘inlet, opening’ — Gasse, lit. ‘furnished with an entrance, a gate,’ on account of the suffix -wân? — cannot be definitely decided; in any case, it is impossible to connect Gasse with gehen, since ​the latter is based upon a root i (Lat. ire, Gr. ἰέναι).
Gast, m., ‘guest, visitor; wight; sailor,’ from MidHG. and OHG. gast (plur. gęste, gęsti), m., ‘stranger, guest’; common, in the same sense, to Teut.; comp. Goth. gasts (plur. gasteis), m. (comp. gastigôds, ‘hospitable’), OIc. gestr, ‘guest (uninvited),’ AS. gyst, giest, m., E. guest, Du. and OSax. gast. Teut. gastiz, m., ‘stranger, unbidden or chance guest from some foreign part,’ from pre-Teut. ghostis, which left derivatives in Lat. and Slav.; Lat. hostis, ‘enemy,’ prop. ‘foreigner, stranger,’ OSlov. qostĭ, m., ‘guest'; with Lat. hostis, ‘foreigner,’ hospes (prop. *hosti-potis, ‘host’?), might also be connected. It is more than questionable whether West Aryan ghosti-s, ‘stranger,’ is prop. ‘eater, devourer,’ and belongs to the Sans. root ghas, ‘to eat.’ It is worthy of notice in how many ways Teutons and Romans have transformed the idea underlying the old inherited word for ‘stranger'; the Roman regards him as an enemy, among the Teutons he enjoys the greatest privileges — a fine confirmation of Tacitus' account in the Germania. This evolution of meaning would be still more remarkable if the view were correct that Lat. hostis, ‘stranger,’ is related to Lat. hostia, ‘victim’ (stranger = ‘one to be sacrificed’?); this collocation is alluring, but very uncertain.
gäten, jäten, vb., ‘to weed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. jëten, gëten, OHG. jëtan, gëtan; akin to OHG. jetto, m., ‘weed, darnel.’ Perhaps Gr. ζητέω, ‘I seek,’ is allied, if the Aryan root is yē̆t.
gätlich, adj., ‘suitable, convenient,’ an essentially MidG. and LG. word; derived from a parallel Goth. form *gada-, to which OHG. gi-gát, adj., ‘suitable, agreeing with,’ also points; comp. Gatte, gut; so too OSlov. godŭ, ‘favourable time,’ Lith. gadas, ‘stipulation,’ and Du. gadelijk, ‘reconcilable.’
Gatte, m., ‘spouse, consort, husband,’ from MidHG. gate (also gegate), m., ‘equal associate, one's equals, husband'; comp. Du. gade, ‘husband.’ The last meaning is rare in the MidHG. period, and first prevailed over the others in the last century; it is a specialisation of the idea ‘belonging to one another'; comp. OSax. gigado, ‘one's equals,’ AS. gegada, ‘companion’; also Goth. gadiliggs, ‘relative,’ AS. gœdeling, ‘member of the same tribe,’ OHG. gatuling, ‘cousin,’ OSax. gaduling, ‘countryman, member of the same tribe.’ ModHG. gatten (sich gatten), vb., is from MidHG. gaten, ‘to come together, agree'; MidHG. (essentially MidG.) gater, ‘together,’ Du. te gader, AS. geador and tôgœdere. E. together; AS. gadrian, E. to gather (Du. vergaderen, ‘to assemble’); OHG. gęti-lôs, MidHG. gęte-lôs, adj., ‘wanton, dissolute,’ lit. ‘free from the restraining bond.’ The ideas of ‘belonging to one another' and of ‘suiting’ are seen in all the cognates of gut.
Gatter, n., ‘railing, lattice, rudder,’ from MidHG. gater, m., n., ‘railing, lattice’ (as a gate or fence), OHG. gataro, m., ‘railing.’ If the latter represents Teut. ga-doro, the word would be a compound of ga (see ge) and Thor (Goth. datir). On the other hand, it is possibly allied to AS. geat, E. gate.
Gau, m., from the equiv. MidHG. göu, gou, n., OHG. gęwi, gouwi, n., ‘district.’ According to Goth. gawi (gaujis), n., ‘scenery, country,’ we might have expected OHG. gęwi (gouwes), MidHG. göu (gouwes), since j after au becomes w without producing modification (comp. Frau). Even now Gäu, neu., is found in Bav., Suab., and Swiss, but in the sense of ‘country’ opposed to town. The word is unknown to Scand., and also to Sax. and E., in which Gau, as the second part of a compound name applied to a district, is met with only in the very earliest period; comp. e.g. AS. œ́lge, ‘district of eels,’ OLG. Pathergô, ‘Pader district’ (around Paderborn). The ModHG. word first obtained currency again in the last century as a result of the study of OGer. (see Hort). No tenable root has yet been found.
Gauch, m., ‘simpleton, gawk, crow, owl, cuckoo’ (as stupid birds), from MidHG. gouch, m., ‘dolt, fool, simpleton,’ prop. ‘cuckoo,’ OHG. gouh, ‘cuckoo'; corresponding to AS. geác, OIc. gaukr (whence Scotch gowk), ‘cuckoo.’ Is k a suffix as in AS. hafoc, ‘hawk,’ and Goth. ahaks, ‘pigeon’? OHG. gouh, Goth. *gauks, cannot, however, be allied to Lat. cuculus, Sans. kôkila-s, ‘cuckoo,’ since Teut. g initially cannot represent Lat. and Sans. k. Further Gauch is the OTeut. word for the later term Kuckuck.
Gaudieb, m., formed from the equiv. LG. gaudeef, Du. gaauwdicf, prop. ‘sharp, cunning thief’ (from gaauw, ‘quick, cunning,’ see jähe), then generally ‘sharper.’
​ Gaukler, m., ‘buffoon, juggler, impostor,’ from MidHG. goukelœre, OHG. goukalâri, gouggalâri (k from gg, see Hake), ‘magician, conjuror’; from MidHG. goukeln, OHG. goukolôn, gouggolôn, ‘to deal in magic, play the fool.’ Apparently allied to OHG. gougarôn, MidHG. gougern, ‘to roam about,’ also to MidHG. gogeln, ‘to act without restraint, flutter about,’ gogel, adj., ‘unrestrained, exuberant,’ giege, m., ‘fool, dupe’; Du. goochelaar, ‘buffoon.’ The cognates point to a Teut. root gug, geug, gaug, ‘to move here and there in a curious fashion like a clown or conjuror’?. Considering the numerous correspondences, it cannot be maintained that Gaukler was derived from Lat. joculari, or from Gr. καυκίον, ‘small dish or bowl’; both these explanations are opposed by the phonetic relations of the words; in the case of the Gr. term there is the further difficulty that we do not know how it was borrowed, and also the fact that no verb ‘to juggle’ occurs in Gr.
Gaul, m., ‘steed, nag,’ from MidHG. gûl, m., ‘boar, male animal (generally)’; only at a late period and rarely ‘nag,’ which meaning becomes prominent in the 15th cent.; for a ‘sorry jade’ runzît is used in MidHG.; Du. guil, f., ‘a mare that does not yet bear.’ The word is not known to the other dialects; its origin is obscure.
Gaumen, m., ‘palate, taste,’ from MidHG. goume, guome, OHG. goumo (giumo?), guomo, m., ‘palate, throat, jaw’; corresponding to AS. gôma, m., ‘palate,’ E. gums (probably from AS. *gumma, since, moreover, there are numerous forms in earlier ModHG. which point to an OHG. *gummo, ‘palate’); OIc. gómr, m., ‘palate’; Goth. *gaumô, *gômô, n., are wanting. Allied to Lith. gomyris, ‘palate.’ The relation of the vowels of the stem (OHG. and MidHG. ou and uo, AS. and Scand. ô) is obscure; see Bude. Some etymologists connect the word with a Teut. root gau (Gr. χαν (in χαῦνος, ‘gasping, loose,’ χάος, ‘chasm,’ for χάϝος).
Gauner, earlier Jauner, m., ‘sharper, knave,’ does not occur till the beginning of the last century; in the 15th and 16th cents. the professional swindlers at cards were called Joner, from the slang jonen, ‘to play,’ the ultimate source of which is said to be Hebr. jânâ, ‘to cheat.’
ge-, a proclitic prefix, from MidHG. ge-, OHG. gi, ga- (an accented prefix ga- in noun compounds is very rare in OHG. and MidHG.); the prim. idea is ‘collectivity, completeness’; comp. Goth. ga-, AS. ge- (in E. i only in handiwork, handicraft, AS. hondgeweorc, hondgecrœft; comp. also E. enough, from AS. genôh, under genug). The prefix is probably allied to Lat. con-; cum; comp. gehen, glauben, gleich, Glied, &c.
gebären, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. gëbern, OHG. gibëran, vb., ‘to give birth to’; corresponding to Goth. gubaíran (also baíran), ‘to give birth to, produce,’ AS. gebëran, bëran, str. vb., ‘to give birth to,’ E. to bear; in Scand. the compounds with ga- are wanting, the simple vb. bera, ‘to give birth to’ being used. See Bahre; where proofs are given of the antiquity of the verbal stem ber, pre-Teut. bher, within the Aryan group; in Ind. the root bhṛ, bhar, may mean ‘to bear offspring’ as well as ‘to bear’ generally; comp. Lat. fertilis, from Lat. fero; in OIr. the substantives combairt and brith, corresponding to Geburt, ‘birth,’ manifest the same specialisation. See Geburt.
Gebärde, Geberde, f., ‘bearing, gesture,’ from MidHG. gebœrde, f., ‘conduct, appearance, manner,’ OHG. gibârida, f., from MidHG. gebâren, OHG. gibârên, -ôn; corresponding to AS. gebœ̂ran, ‘to conduct oneself,’ gebœ̂re, gebœ̂rn, ‘conduct’; from the root ber in Bahre, gebären.
geben, vb., ‘to give, present, render, yield,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gëben, OHG. gëban; common to Teut. in the same sense; comp. Goth. giban, AS. gifan, E. to give, Du. geren, OIc. gefa. Comp. Gabe, Gift. Akin to OIr. gabim, ‘I take,’ Lith. gabénti, ‘to bring, convey to,’ gobinti, ‘to cause to bring’?.
Gebet, n., ‘prayer,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gebët, OHG. gibët, n. (AS. and OSax. gebëd, n., ‘prayer’); allied to beten, bitten.
Gebiet, n., ‘dominion, jurisdiction, territory, sphere,’ from MidHG. gebiet, n., ‘territory, jurisdiction, order’; allied to gebieten, bieten.
Gebirge, n., from the equiv. MidHG. gebirge, OHG. gibirgi, n., ‘range (of mountains),’ a specifically HG. collective form allied to Berg.
Gebresten, n., ‘defect, infirmity, grief,’ an inf. used as a noun; from MidHG. ge-brësten. See bersten.
Gebühr, Gebür, f., ‘duty, propriety, dues, fees,’ allied to gebühren, MidHG. ​gebürn, OHG. giburien, wk. vb., ‘to occur, happen, fall to one's lot, devolve on by law, be due’; corresponding to OSax. giburian, AS. gebyrian, OIc. byrja, ‘to be suitable, becoming, fit’; Goth. *gabaúrjan, wk. vb., may be inferred from gabaurjaba, adv., ‘willingly’ (lit. ‘in a fitting manner’?), and gabaurjôþus, m., ‘pleasure.’ The whole class is probably connected with the root ber ‘to carry’; comp. LG. bühren, ‘to raise aloft,’ see empor; hence OHG. buri dik, ‘go (thou)’, lit. ‘raise thyself,’ giburita, ‘pervenit’; burien, büren, also ‘to come to pass.’ See Bahre, Börde.
Geburt, f., from the equiv. MidHG. geburt, OHG. giburt, f., ‘birth.’ Comp. Goth. gabaurpþs, f., ‘birth,’ also ‘lineage, native town,’ OSax. giburd, f., AS. gebyrd, f., ‘birth, rank, dignity,’ E. birth, OIc. burþr, m., ‘birth, embryo’; in form it points to Aryan and Sans. bhṛtí-s, and both in form and meaning it corresponds to OIr. brith, ‘birth’; Sans. bhṛtí-s, f., ‘bearing, nursing, maintenance’ With the simple Teut. beran, ‘to give birth to,’ is connected an OTeut. neut. subst. barna-, ‘child’ (lit. ‘that which is born’), formed from the old no-partic. Comp. OIc. barn, AS. bearn, OSax., OHG., and MHG. barn, ‘child, son.’
Geck, m., ‘fool, fop, buffoon,’ orig. MidG. (and LG.), in which gëc, gëcke, m., ‘silly fellow, fool, droll fellow,’ occurs even in the MidHG. period; not allied to MidHG. giege, ‘fool,’ mentioned under gaufeln. Comp. Du. gek, m., Dan. gjœk, ‘fool,’ Ic. gikkr, ‘crafty, coarse person.’
Gedächtnis, n., ‘memory, recollection, memorial,’ allied to gedenken, denken.—
Gedanke, m., ‘thought, idea,’ from MidHG. gedanc(k), OHG. gedank, m., OSax. githanko, m., ‘thought,’ AS. geþonc; allied to denken.
gedeihen, vb., ‘to thrive, prosper,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gedîhen, OHG. gidîhan, str. vb.; Goth. gaþeilan, AS. geþeón (contracted from geþîhan), ‘to thrive’; the old AS. form points to the fact that the verbal stem was orig. nasalised; ñ before h is everywhere suppressed in Teut., thus þîhan for þiñhan. The corresponding factitive *þhangjan remained in OSax., where thengian means ‘to complete’; on the suppression of the nasal the e gradation passed into the î gradation in Goth. an HG. The simple form þeihan, ‘to thrive,’ is still known in Goth. On account of its meaning, gedeihen (root þenh, pre-Teut. tenk, tek, in Lith. tenkù, -tèkti, ‘I have enough,’ as well as in Ir. tocad, W. tynged, ‘fortune,’ from the prim. form tongeto-) cannot be be connected with the root τεκ in τέκνον (see Degen).—
gediegen, adj., ‘solid, pure, concise, pithy,’ from MidHG. gedigen, adj., ‘adult, firm, hard, clear, pure,’ OHG. gidigan, adj., ‘aged, advanced in years, earnest, pure, chaste’; prop. a partic. of gidihan (g by a grammatical change is the necessary form of h in the partic.); AS. preserves the older participial form of the e-gradation, geþungen, ‘complete,’ so too OSax. thungan.
Geduld, f., ‘patience, forbearance,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gedult, OHG. gedult, f.; allied to dulden.
gedunsen, adj., ‘bloated, puffed up,’ partic. of a lost str. vb. which is retained in ModHG. dialects (Hess. dinsen, ‘to draw ‘); comp. MidHG. dinsen, ‘to draw, tear, extend,’ OHG. dinsan; also Goth. *þinsan, atþinsan, ‘to draw.’ The Teut. root þens, pre-Teut. tens, corresponds to the Sans. root tans, ‘to draw,’ Lith. tęsti, ‘to draw, stretch.’ The root tens seems an extension of the root ten appearing in dehnen.
Gefahr, f., ‘danger, risk, jeopardy,’ ModHG. only, for MidHG. vâre, OHG. fâra, f., ‘ambush, deceit, hazard, danger’; AS. fœ̂r, f., ‘ambush, unforeseen danger, fright,’ E. fear, OSax. fâr, ‘ambush’; Goth. *fêra, ‘ambush,’ follows from férja, m., ‘waylayer.’ Scand. fâr, n., has a somewhat different meaning, ‘misfortune, distemper.’ Allied to the root fē̆́r, Aryan pē̆́r, which in Lat. periculum, Gr. πεῖρα, ‘trial, cunning, deception,’ furnishes cognate meanings.
Gefährte, m, ‘companion, partner, mate,’ from MidHG. gevęrte, OHG. gifęrto (*gafartjo), ‘escort,’ lit. ‘fellow-traveller'; allied to Fahrt.
gefallen, vb., ‘to suit, please,’ from MidHG. gevallen, OHG. gifallan, str. vb. ‘to happen, fall to one's lot, please,’ in MidHG. always with the complement ‘wohl’ (well) or ‘übel’ (ill); probably an expression derived from the OTeut. warlike custom of dividing booty (comp. Hund) by means of dice; es gefällt mir wohl, ‘I am well pleased with it,’ lit. das Los fällt gut für mich, ‘that was a lucky throw for me’ (a similar history is also connected with ModHG. schenken, which furnishes evidence respecting the Teut. drinking customs). Note too that in ModHG. terms relating to card-playing have been similarly used, ​Comp. Sau (lit. ‘ace (of cards)’ then generally ‘good fortune’) and Hund.
Gefängnis, n., ‘prison,’ from MidHG. gevencnisse, f., n., ‘imprisonment’; allied to fangen.
Gefäß, n., ‘vessel, receptacle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gevœȥe, n. (OHG. givâȥȥi, m., ‘transport’). Goth. *gafêti, n., is wanting; it would probably be connected with Goth. fêtjan, ‘to adorn’ (AS. fœted, partic., ‘adorned’), and also more remotely with Faß.
Gefieder, n., ‘feathers, plumage, fowls,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gevidere, OHG. gefidari, n.; collective of Feder.
Gefilde, n., ‘fields, plain,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gevilde, OHG. gefildi, n.; collective of Feld.
geflissen, partic. of a lost vb. fleißen, ‘assiduous, busy,’ See Fleiß.
gegen, prep., ‘against, opposite to, in presence of, in comparison with,’ from MidHG. gęgen, OHG. gęgin, gagan, ‘against’ (in OHG. and MidHG. almost always with a dat.); allied to the MidHG. adv. gęgene, OHG. gęgini, gagani, ‘towards’; corresponding to AS. geán, ongeán, ‘against,’ E. again; OSax. gęgin and OIc. gagn, ‘against,’ appear only in compounds; in Goth. a corresponding word is wanting. Of obscure origin. —
Gegend, ‘region, neighbourhood,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (post-classical) gęgenôte, gęgende, f., which, with the variant gęgene, f., are imitations of Fr. contrée (Ital. contrada), ‘country,’ allied to Lat. contra. —
Gegenwart, ‘presence, present time,’ from MidHG. gęgenwart, OHG. gęginmwarti, f., abstract of OHG. gaganwart, ‘present,’ whence MidHG. gęgenwertec, MulHG. gegenwärtig, ‘present.’ See the adj. suffix -wärts.
gehaben, vb. in sich gehaben, ‘to fare, be (in health), behave,’ from MidHG. sich gehaben, OG. sih gihabên, ‘to hold, be (in health)’; allied to haben.
Gehege, n., ‘hedge, enclosure, precinct,’ from MidHG. gehege, n., ‘enclosure’; allied to Hag, hegen.
geheim, adj., ‘private, secret, hidden, mysterious,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. geheim, which, with heimlich, means lit. ‘belonging to the house.’
gehen, vb., ‘to go, walk, go on well, succeed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gên, gân (some of the inflected forms supplied by the stem gang; see Gang); comp. AS. gân (stem gâ-, from gai), E. to go, OSwed. and ODan. ga, ‘to go.’ The assumed root ghai-, meaning ‘to go,’ cannot be positively authenticated beyond the Teut. group (yet comp. Lett. gâju, ‘I went’?). The remarkable facts that this Teut. gai, ‘to go,’ has no primit. noun derivatives in Teut., that it has supplanted the root i, which is widely diffused in Aryan, but almost obsolete in Teut. (retained, however, in the Goth. aorist iddja, AS. eóde), and that like the latter it is conjugated like verbs in mi — all these lead to the supposition that the assumed Goth. *guim, *gais, *gaiþ are contracted from the verbal particle ga (see ge-) and the old inherited îmi, îsi, îti (comp. Gr. εἶμι, Sans. êmi, êši, êti), ‘to go.’ From this explanation it follows that gehen is fundamentally identical with Lat. îre, Gr. ἰέναι, Sans. root i, Lith. eíti. OSlov. iti, ‘to go’ (see eilen). For a similar blending of a verbal particle and an old vb. comp. folgen, fressen.
geheuer, adj., ‘secure against anything uncanny,’ from MidHG. gehiure, ‘gentle, graceful, free from anything uncanny’; comp. OHG. and OSax. unhiuri, ‘dreadful, terrible,’ AS. hŷre (heóre), ‘friendly, mild,’ OIc. hýrr, ‘mild.’ Indubitable cognates in the non-Teut. languages are wanting; perhaps Sans. çakrá, ‘strong’ (of deities) is allied, so that OHG. -hiuri would represent hegwro- (Aryan keqró-).
Gehren, m. (dial.), ‘lap,’ from MidHG. gêre, yêro, m., ‘wedge-shaped piece of stuff or land, lap’; corresponding to AS. gâra, ‘piece of stuff,’ E. gore, OIc. geire, in the same sense; a deriv. of Ger. For the evolution of meaning comp. Franse, Schoß. — From the OG. word the Rom. cognates, Fr. giron and Ital. gherone, ‘lap, train (of a dress),’ are derived.
Geier, m., ‘vulture, carrion kite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gîr, m., akin to LG. gier. On account of the early appearance of the G. word we cannot assume that it was borrowed from the Rom. cognates, Ital. girfalco, Fr. gerfaut (whence MidHG. gir-valke is derived), or from Lat. Gr. gyrare, ‘to wheel round.’ The connection between OHG. gîr with OHG. gī̆ri, MidHG. gîre (geier still occurs in ModHG. dials.), ‘greedy, covetous,’ and the Teut. root gī̆r, ‘to covet,’ presents no difficulty. Geier is lit. ‘the greedy bird.’ See gern, Gier.
Geifer, m., ‘slaver, drivel, wrath,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. geifer, m. (15th cent.), whence also geifern, ModHG. geifern. Origin obscure.
​ Geige, f., ‘fiddle, violin,’ from the equiv. early MidHG. gîge, f.; corresponding to MidDu. ghighe, OIc. gígja; in OHG. fidula, E. fiddle; see Fiedel. The Teut. word, like Harfe, found its way into Rom.; comp. Ital. giga, Fr. gigue (whence further E. jig). There is no suspicion that MidHG. gîge was borrowed; it is, however, scarcely allied primit. (pre-Teut. ghîkă) to OSlov. žica, ‘thread’ (akin to Lith. gijá, ‘thread’?).
geil, adj., ‘rank, wanton, obscene, lewd,’ from MidHG. and OHG. geil, ‘of savage strength, wanton, exuberant, merry, joyous’; for the change of meaning on the transition from MidHG. to ModHG. comp. Schimpf. The primary meaning. ‘unrestrained, joyous,’ follows from Goth. gailjan, ‘to rejoice’; comp. OSax. gêl, Du. geil, AS. gâl. To the Teut. cognates Lith. gailùs, ‘passionate, furious, sharp, painful, sympathetic,’ and gailěti-s, ‘to injure’; OSlov. zělu (from gailo), ‘violent,’ adv. zėlo, ‘very’ In the compound Biebergeil appears the MidHG. noun geil, geile, ‘testicle.’
Geisel (1.), m. and f., ‘hostage,’ from MidHG. gisel, OHG. gisal, m., n., ‘prisoner of war, person held in security’; corresponding to AS. gîsel, OIc. gîsl, m. To connect it with Geisel (2.), f., as if ‘hostage’ were lit. ‘one who is scourged,’ is impossible. It is, probably, most closely allied to the equiv. OIr. giall (for *gísal).
Geisel (2.) f., ‘scourge, whip,’ from the equiv. MidHG. geisel), OHG. geisala, geisla, f.; akin to OIc. geisl, geisle, m., ‘pole used by persons walking in snow-shoes.’ The stem gais- is connected with the OTeut. term gaiza-, ‘spear’ (see Ger). Hence ‘pole, staff,’ must be accepted as the prim. meaning; the second component is Goth. walus, ‘staff,’ so that OHG. geis-ala stands for *geis-wala, just as OHG. wurzala for AS. wyrt-walu (see under Wurzel).
Geist, m., ‘spirit, genius, spectre,’ from MidHG. and OHG. geist, m., ‘spirit (in contrast to body), supernatural being’; corresponding to OSax. gêst, Du. geist, AS. gâst (gœ̂st), E. ghost; common to Teut. in the same sense, but in Goth. ahma (see achten). The prim. meaning of the word (‘agitation’?) is not quite certain; yet Ic. geisa, ‘to rage’ (of fire, passion), and Goth. us-gaisjan, ‘to enrage,’ seem to be allied. Respecting the dental suffix of the Teut. Geist (pre-Teut. ghaisdos), note the Sans. root hîḍ (from hizd), ‘to get angry,’ hêḍas, n., ‘anger,’ to which E. aghast also corresponds.
Geiß, f., ‘goat, roe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. geiȥ, f,; corresponding to Goth. gaits, OIc. geit, AS. gât, E. goat, Du. geit; also a dimin. Goth. gaitein, AS. gœ̂ten, OHG. geizzîn, n., ‘kid’ (see Schwein). Primit. allied to Lat. haedus from older ghaido-s (see Ritze and Ziege). In common with Slav., OTeut. has a different word for Ziege; comp. MidDu. hoekijn, AS. hêcen, ‘kid,’ akin to OSlov. koza, ‘goat.’
Geiz, m., ‘avarice,’ allied to geizen, MidHG. gîtsen (gîzen), beside which MidHG. gîten, ‘to be greedy, covetous, or avaricious’ occurs; comp. AS. gîtsian, ‘to be covetous.’ The term for Geiz in MidHG. and OHG. was gît, ‘greediness, covetousness, avarice,’ for geizig, MidHG. gîtec, OHG. gîtag, ‘greedy, covetous, avaricious’; respecting the derivation of Geiz from geizen, see Ärger, handeln. Akin to Goth. gaidw, n., ‘want.’ With the Teut. root gaid, gī̆d (Aryan ghaidh), are connected Lith. geidżiù (geísti), ‘to desire,’ OSlov. židą, žĭdati, ‘to expect.’
Gekröse, n., ‘giblets; frill, ruffle,’ from MidHG. gekrœse, n., ‘the small intestine,’ also the variant krœse, OHG. *chrôsi; akin to Du. kroes, kroost, ‘giblets of ducks and geese.’ All the cognates are probably connected with kraus.
Gelage, n., ‘feast, banquet, drinking bout,’ first occurs in early ModHG., allied to legen. Scarcely derived from the ancient Gelage (banquets); but just as Goth. gabaur is lit. ‘that which is laid together,’ and then ‘picnic, feasting’ (from baíran, ‘to carry,’ see Bahre), so Gelage is lit. ‘that which is laid together,’ and then ‘feasting’; comp. zechen.
Geländer, n. ‘railing, banister, from the equiv. late MidHG. gelender (15th cent.), allied to MidHG. lander, ‘stake, fence,’ which may be regarded as a nasalised variant of Latte (Teut. laþ-).
Gelaß, m. and n., ‘relics, heritage,’ from MidHG. gelœȥe, n., ‘settlement, mode of settlement,’ allied to gelâȥen, ‘to settle.’
gelb, adj., ‘yellow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gël, OHG. gëlo (gen. gëlwes); corresponding to OSax. gëlo, Du. geel, AS. geolo, E. yellow (OIc. gulr). The common West Teut. gelwa-, from pre-Teut. ghelwo-, is primit. allied to Lat. helvus, ‘greyish yellow’; the Aryan root ghel appears also in ​Gr. χλω-ρός, χλᾶ-ρός, ‘green, yellow,’ χλόη, ‘green objects,’ OSlov. zelenŭ, ‘yellow, green,’ Lith. żálias, ‘green’ (żėlti, ‘to grow green’), Sans. hari, ‘yellowish.’ Akin also to Galle and Gold.
Geld, n., ‘money, coin, cash,’ from MidHG. and OHG. gëlt (t; the d first occurs in ModHG.), n., m., ‘recompense, compensation, revenue, income, paying, payment, money,’ Du. geld, ‘money.’ ‘Means for paying, coin,’ is the latest sense of the words quoted (comp. Goth. gild, ‘tax, interest’); it is wanting in the corresponding words of the other dialects; in Goth. the term is faihu (see Vieh), and skatts (see Schatz), AS. feoh, E. money. On the other hand, AS. gild signifies ‘recompense, compensation, sacrifice.’ See gelten.
gelegen, adj., ‘situated, opportune, seasonable,’ and adv.; from MidHG. gelëgen, adj., ‘neighbouring, at hand, suitable,’ OHG. gilëgan, ‘nearest, related’; partic. of giligan, MidHG. geligen. —
Gelegenheit, f., ‘opportunity, occasion,’ from MidHG. gelëgenheit, ‘situation of an affair, condition or nature of things.’ —
gelegentlich, adj., ‘occasional, incidental’ (and adv.), from MidHG. gelëgenlich, with an inserted t.
Gelenk, n., ‘joint, articulation, wrist, link,’ from MidHG. gelęnke, n., ‘waist, bend, bow,’ akin to ModHG. gelenk, gelenkig, adj. formed from MidHG. gelęnke, ‘pliant, skilful’ (see lenken). While the MidHG. gelenke, as a collective of MidHG. lanke, signifies the ‘pliable narrow part of the body between the hips and breast,’ and hence, as it were, the joint of the entire body, the word in ModHG. is applied to each limb; akin to OHG. lancha, hlancha, ‘hip, loins’ (whence also the Romance cognates — Ital. fianco, from which ModHG. Flanke is borrowed), likewise OIc. hlekkr, ‘link of a chain.’
Gelichter, n., ‘likeness, cast, stamp,’ lit. ‘class of people of like manners’; in this sense glihter and its derivatives occur even in late MidHG. (MidG.); derived from MidHG. gelich, gleich (see the latter). Yet the UpG. form glifter points to a blending with another word, Goth. *gahliftrja, ‘thief's accomplice’ (akin to Goth. hlifan, ‘to steal,’ primit. allied to Gr. κλέπτω). For HG. ft, equiv. to LG. ht, see sacht, ruchbar, Gerücht.
gelingen, vb., ‘to prove succeesful, from MidHG. gelingen, OHG. gilingan, str. vb., ‘to be successful, proper’; MidHG. also lingen, ‘to proper, advance, get on.’ Allied to AS. lungre, ‘quickly,’ from pre-Teut. lughró-, to which the equiv. Gr. ἐλαφρός also points; the Aryan root lengh (lngh) appears also in Sans. lañgh, ram̃h, to spring, get on.’ See leicht.
gellen, vb., ‘to yell,’ from MidHG. gëllen, OHG. gëllan, str. vb., ‘to sound loud, cry’; corresponding to Du. gillen, AS. gillan, OIc. gjalla, ‘to resound’; allied to the Teut. root gel, gal, ‘to resound.’ Comp. Nachtigall.
geloben, vb. ‘to promise, vow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. geloben, OHG. gilobôn (akin to loben); lit. ‘to assent, applaud.’
gelt (1.), particle. See gelten.
gelt (2.), adj., ‘giving no milk, barren,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. galt; corresponding to OIc. geldr, OSwed. galder, which have the same sense. They are connected perhaps with OHG. galza, MidHG. galze, OIc. gǫltr, ‘gelded pig’ (E. dial., gilt, ilt). The stem on which it is based, gald, galt (from pre-Teut. ghalt, ghaltn-), perhaps meant orig. ‘to castrate’; comp. E. to geld, OIc. gelda, ‘to geld’; akin to Goth. gilþa, ‘sickle’?.
Gelte, f., ‘pail, bucket, vessel,’ from MidHG. gęlte, OHG. gęllita, f., ‘vessel for liquids’; adopted in the OHG. period from MidLat. galêta, with which are also connected the Romance cognates — Fr. jale, ‘pail,’ Ital. galea, galeotta, Fr. galiasse, galion, applied to different kinds of ships. The ultimate source of the cognates is obscure.
gelten, vb., ‘to be worth, pass current, prove effectual,’ from MidHG. gëlten, OHG. gëltan, str. vb., ‘to repay, pay, cost, be worth, requite, compensate’; comp. Goth. us-, fra-gildan, ‘to requite’ (akin to Goth. gild and gilstr, n., ‘tax’), OIc. gjalda (OSwed., also gialla, from Teut. gelþan), ‘to pay,’ AS. gildan, E. to yield, Du. gelden, ‘to be worth, cost,’ OSax. geldan. The common Teut. stem gelþ, the þ of which is proved by OSwed. from pre-Teut. ghel-t, points to the fact that OSlov. žlědą, ‘I pay, atone for,’ was borrowed. The prim. meaning of the Teut. cognates is ‘to make good, pay over something’; it seems to be specially applied to religious sacrifices; comp. AS. gild, OSax. gëld, ‘sacrifice’ (akin to Gr. τέλθος, ‘duty’?). See Geld, Gilde. — The particle gelt, which first occurs in early ModHG., is properly the subj. pres. of the vb. gelten.
Gelze, f., ‘gelded sow,’ from the equiv. ​MidHG. gęlze (galze), OHG. gęlza (galza). See gelt.
Gemach, n., ‘chamber, apartment; comfort, rest,’ from MidHG. gemach, m., n., ‘rest, comfort, case, nursing, place where one is nursed, room,’ OHG. gimah(hh), ‘ease, advantage’; the ModHG. meaning is not found until the classical period of MidHG.; the ModHG. adj. gemach, ‘comfortable,’ preserves the earlier meaning, MidHG. gemach, OHG. gimah(hh), ‘comfortable, suitable’; prop., ‘suitable to one another’ (comp. OIc. makr, ‘suitable’; see machen). Akin to gemächlich, MidHG. gemechlîch, OHG. gimahlîhho, adv.
Gemächt, n., ‘genitals; handiwork,’ from MidHG. gemaht (plur., gemęhte), OHG. gimaht, f., ‘testicles’; akin to ModHG. Macht (comp. Du. gemacht).
Gemahl, m. and n., ‘consort, spouse,’ from MidHG. gemahele, m., ‘betrothed, husband,’ and gemahele, f. (very rarely n., which is first found in Luther specially), ‘betrothed, wife’ (the fem. form Gemahlin is wanting in MidHG.); OHG. gimahalo, m., ‘betrothed, husband,’ gimahala (gimâla), ‘betrothed, wife.’ Simply a G. form from a common Teut. subst. maþla- (whence mahla-), ‘public assembly, negotiation’; comp. Goth. maþl, ‘assembly, market’ (akin to maþljan, ‘to make a speech’), OIc., mál, ‘speech’ (mœ̂la, ‘to make a speech), AS. meðel, ‘assembly’ (maðolian, mœ̂lan, ‘to make a speech’), OHG. mahal, ‘assembly, contract, marriage contract.’ Hence the subst. upon which the word is based has assumed in G. only, the special reference to the act of betrothal in the public assembly before the community.
gemäß, adv., ‘conformably, proportionally, suitably,’ from MidHG. gemœȥe, OHG. gimâȥȥi, adj., ‘adapted’; akin to messen.
gemein, adj., ‘common, public; mean, vulgar,’ from MidHG. gemeine, OHG. gimeini, ‘belonging to one another, in common, universal, belonging to the great body’; an adj. common to Teut.; comp. Goth. gamains, ‘in common, joint, general, unholy,’ AS. gemœ̂ne, E. mean, Du. gemeen. The common Teut. ga-maini-s is primit. allied to the equiv. Lat. com-mûnis (for com-moini-s); comp. Lat. ûnus with Goth. ains, Aryan oino-s. Since ‘in common’ is the primary meaning of the class, Meineid (which see) cannot be very closely allied to its OTeut. cognates.
Gemse, f., ‘chamois,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gęmeȥe, gamȥ, OHG. *gamuȥ (gamȥ), m.; although a corresponding word is wanting in the other Teut. languages, there is no sufficient reason for regarding OHG. *gamiȥa, f., as borrowed (formed like OHG. hiruȥ, see Hirsch; AS. ganot, ‘waterfowl’; MidHG. krebeȥ, see Krebs). The Romance cognates (Ital. camozza, Fr. chamois) which are equiv. in sound tell rather in favour of their own foreign origin than that of the G. word (in Lat. the term was rupicapra). Perhaps Span. and Port. gamo, ‘stag,’ is based upon a Goth. *gama, allied to Gemse (E. game has probably no connection with the word?).
Gemüll, see malmen; Gemüse, see Mus; gemut and Gemüt, see Mut.
gen, prep., ‘against, towards,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gên, a variant of gein, gęgen. See gegen.
genau, ‘accurate, precise, strict, parsimonious,’ from late MidHG. (MidG.) nouwe, ‘careful, exact,’ akin to nouwe, genouwe, adv., ‘scarcely’; comp. Du. naauw, ‘narrow, exact, punctual.’ Probably these cognates, in their Goth. form *ga-nêws, are to be connected with Goth. nêhws, HG. nahe. Others refer them to a root nau, ‘to narrow,’ in Not and its cognates.
genehm, see angenehm.
genesen, vb., ‘to get well, recover,’ from MidHG. genësen, OHG. ginësan, str. vb., ‘to be left alive, be healed, escape alive,’ also ‘to be delivered of a child’; corresponding to Goth. ganisan, ‘to recover health, be rescued, saved,’ AS. genësan, OSax. ginësan, ‘to be rescued, be left alive’; also Du. genezen, ‘to heal, cure.’ The Teut. root nes, with which nähren and its cognates are connected as factitives, corresponds to the Sans. root nas, ‘to approach in an affectionate manner, join,’ and especially to Gr. νέομαι (root νεσ-), ‘to come back,’ and νόσ-τος, ‘return home.’ From Teut. are derived OSlov. gonĭząti (goneznąti), ‘to be redeemed,’ and gonoziti, ‘to redeem,’ allied to gonoziteljĭ, ‘Saviour.’ See nähren.
Genick, m., ‘back of the neck, nape,’ from the equiv. MidHG. genic, genicke, n.; akin to Nacken, AS. hnëcca.
genießen, vb., ‘to enjoy, partake of,’ from the equiv. MidHG. genieȥen, OHG. ginioȥan, str. vb., with the variants MidHG. nieȥen, OHG. nioȥan; corresponding to Goth. niutan, ‘to take part in something,’ ganiutan, ‘to catch’ (nuta, ‘captor, ​fisher’). OIc. njóta, ‘to enjoy, derive joy from, have the use of,’ AS. neótan, ‘to take, use, enjoy,’ Du. genieten, OSax. niotan, ‘to enjoy.’ The primary meaning of the Teut. root nut, found in str. verbs, was ‘to get something for one's own use,’ then ‘to use or enjoy something, have the use of.’ See Nuß, Nießnutz. Akin to the primit. allied Lith. naudà, ‘use, produce,’ pa-nústu, -nūdau, -nūsti, ‘to long, yearn for.’ —
Genosse, m., ‘comrade, companion, mate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. genôȥ, OHG. ginôȥ, m.; corresponding to OSax. genôt, AS. geneát, Du. genoot; lit. ‘one who partakes of something with another,’ comp. Geselle and Gesinde. —
Genossame, f., from the equiv. MidHG. genôȥ-same, f., ‘fellowship,’ OHG. ginôȥ-samî, abstract of OHG. ginoȥsam, MidHG. genôȥ-sam, ‘of equal birth or worth.’
genug, adj., ‘enough, sufficient,’ from the corresponding MidHG. genuoc(g), OHG. ginuog; a common Teut. adj. with the ModHG. meaning; comp. Goth. ganôhs, AS. genôh, E. enough, Du. genoeg, OSax. ginôg; a deriv. of an OTeut. pret.-pres. Goth. ganah, OHG. ginah, ‘it suffices’; comp. Goth. ganaúha, ‘sufficiency,’ OHG. ginuht, MidHG. genuht, ‘sufficiency.’ On MidHG. genuhtsam, OHG. ginuhtsam, ‘abundant, sufficient,’ is based ModHG. genugsam. To the Teut. root nō̆h (Aryan nū̆k) preserved in these words some refer the Sans. root naç, ‘to attain,’ and Lat. nancisci.
Ger, m., ‘spear,’ formed from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gêr, m.; corresponding to OSax. gêr, AS. gâr, OIc. geirr. The r in the latter word must be based upon an s, otherwise the Scand. form would be *gárr. Goth. *gaiza may be inferred too from old proper names, such as Hariogaisus. The terms γαῖσος, γαῖσον, are also mentioned by Polybius, Diodorus, &c., as applied to the spear by the North Europ. barbarians. The word is genuinely Teut. (yet comp. also OIr. gai, from *gaiso, ‘spear’), and has the approximate meaning, as the allied Geisel shows, of ‘shaft, rod (as a missile),’ for which reason Gr. χαῖος, ‘shepherd's staff,’ and Sans. hêšas, n., ‘missile,’ are perhaps cognate. The root is Sans. hi, ‘to urge on,’ with which AS. gâd and E. goad (from Aryan *ghai-tã) are also connected. The OTeut. term was first used again in ModHG. as a borrowed word, though it continued to exist in the proper names Gerbert (OHG. Gêr-braht, lit. ‘glittering with spears’), Gerhard (OHG. Gérhart, ‘spear-bold’), Gertrud (OHG. Gêrtrût). Comp. Gehren and Geisel.
gerad (1.), adv., ‘even’ (of numbers), from the equiv. MidHG. gerat, OHG. girad, ‘even’; prop. ‘equal in reckoning’; akin to Goth. raþjô, ‘number,’ garaþjan, ‘to count.’
gerade (2.), adj., ‘going in one direction, straight, upright, from MidHG. gerat, ‘alert, quick, skilful, recently grown up, straight and therefore long’; the primary meaning is ‘nimble, rapid’; comp. OHG. rado (and rato, hrato), ‘quick,’ AS. rœðe (also hrœde), ‘quick,’ Goth. raþs, ‘easy.’ Perhaps primit. allied to Rad, Lat. rota.
Gerät, n., ‘tools, furniture, utensils, from MidHG. gerœte, OHG. girâti, n., ‘equipment,’ lit. ‘consultation, precaution’; collective of Rat.
geraum, geräumig, see Raum.
Geräusch, n., ‘entrails of slaughtered animals,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. ingeriusche; origin obscure.
gerben, vb., ‘to tan, curry, polish,’ from MidHG. gęrwen (garwen), wk. vb., ‘to make ready, prepare. equip, dress, tan’; a deriv. of gar (see gar); OHG. gariwen (garawen), from *garwjan, ‘to make ready,’ lëdergarawo, ‘tanner.’
gerecht, adj., ‘righteous, just, fit,’ from MidHG. gerëht, ‘straight, right, dexterous, skilful, fit, upright, innocent, just,’ OHG. girëht (grëht), ‘rectus, directus’ (not yer ‘justus’); corresponding to garaihts, ‘upright’; in AS. rihtwîs (OHG. rëhtwis), ‘justus.’ E. righteous. See recht.
Gerfalke, Gierfalke, m., ‘gerfalcon,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gir-, gërfalke; from Rom. See Geier.
Gericht, n., ‘judgment, tribunal, court, jurisdiction,’ in its double sense even in MidHG. gerihte, n., ‘tribunal, sentence, jurisdiction,’ and ‘prepared food’; OHG. girihti, n., only in the first sense; akin to recht.
gering, adj., ‘petty, trifling,’ prop. ‘insignificant, easy,’ from MidHG. geringe, ‘light and quick, nimble,’ ringe, ‘easy, light, convenient, insignificant, slight, small,’ OHG. ringi, giringi, ‘light’; a specifically G. adj., wanting in the other Teut. dialects; origin obscure. The development of meaning from ‘light’ to ‘slight’ through the medium of ‘easy’ is similar to that of klein.
gern, adv., ‘gladly, willingly, fain,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gërne, OHG. gërno, adv., ​from the MidHG. and OHG. adj. gërn; to the latter correspond Goth. gairns in faihugairns, ‘avaricious’ (comp. Goth. gairnjan, ‘to desire, long for, demand’), OIc. gjarn, ‘eager,’ AS. georn, ‘zealous,’ Du. gaarne, OSax. gern. Akin to OHG. and MidHG. gër (without the partic. suffix n), ‘desiring, demanding,’ as well as to begehren, Gier. The Teut. root ger (from Aryan gher, ‘to demand violently,’ was confused with a derivative form in r from a root gĭ (ghĭ), allied in meaning; see Gier, Geier. Whether the Sans. root har-y, ‘to be fond of,’ or Gr. χαίρω, or Oscan heriest, ‘he will be willing,’ is connected with the Aryan root gher is uncertain.
Gerste, f., ‘barley,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gërste, OHG. gërsta, f.; akin to Du. gerst; a specifically G. word, unknown to the other dialects; OSax. and AS. grîst, E. grist, are not connected with it, but with OTeut. grindan, ‘to grind’ (equiv. to Lat. frendere, ‘to gnash’?). In the remaining Teut. dialects the terms for Gerste are Goth. baris, OIc. bygg (and barr), AS. bęre, E. barley. OHG. gërsta, from pre-Teut. ghérzdâ-, corresponds only to the equiv. Lat. hordeum (from *horsdeum, prim. form *ghṛzdéyo-); Gr. κριθή, ‘barley,’ is scarcely a cognate. From an Aryan root ghrs, ‘to stiffen’ (Lat. horrere for *horsere, Sans. hṛš, ‘to bristle up’), some have inferred Gerste to mean orig. ‘the prickly plant’ (on account of the prickly ears).
Gerte, f., from the equiv. MidHG. gęrte, OHG. gartia, f., ‘rod, twig, staff’; a derivative of OHG. and MidHG. gart, ‘rod, staff, stick.’ To the latter correspond Goth. gazds (comp. Hort, equiv. to Goth. huzds), ‘stick,’ and OIc. gaddr (E. goad and its equiv. AS. gâd are not allied; see Ger). Probably Teut. gazda- (OHG. gęrta would be *gazdjô) is primit. allied to Lat. hasta (from Aryan gazdhâ), ‘spear.’
Geruch, m., from the equiv. MidHG. geruch, m., ‘scent, odour, fame’; akin to riechen.
Gerücht, n., ‘rumour, report, reputation,’ from MidHG. gerüofte (geruofte), n., ‘calling, cry’; cht instead of ft (see rufen) is due to LG. influence, as in sacht and berüchtigt.
geruhen, vb., ‘to deign, condescend, be pleased,’ corrupted by connection with Ruhe from the earlier ModHG. geruochen, MidHG. geruochen, OHG. geruochan, ‘to care for, take into consideration’ (MidHG. also ‘to approve, grant’). Corresponding to ASax. rôkian, AS. rêcan (and rĕccan, whence E. to reck), OIc. rœ́kja, ‘to take care of.’ The Teut. root. rak, rôk, appears also in OHG. rahha, ‘account, speech;’ so too in rechnen. In the non-Teut. languages no root rā̆g in a cognate sense has yet been found.
Gerüst, n., ‘scaffold,’ from MidHG. gerüste, n., ‘contrivance, preparation, erection, frame, scaffold,’ OHG. girusti; akin to rüsten, rusten, hrustjan.
gesamt, adj., ‘joint, collective,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gesament, gesamnet, OHG. gisamanôt; partic. of OHG. samanôn. See sammeln.
Geschäft, n., ‘business, affair, occupation,’ from MidHG. geschefte, gescheffede, n., ‘creature, work, figure, occupation, business, affair’; abstract of schaffen.
geschehen, vb., ‘to happen, occur, befall,’ from the equiv. MidHG. geschëhen, OHG. giscëhan; a specifically G. word (MidDu. geschien, Du. geschieden), as well as the corresponding factitive schicken. It is uncertain whether the word is connected with Goth. skêwjan, ‘to go,’ and the Teut. root skeh (*kē̆hw, skē̆w), from skek, or OSlov. skokŭ, ‘leap,’ and OIr. *scuchim, ‘I go or pass away.’ See Geschichte and schicken.’
gescheit, ‘sensible, judicious, discreet,’ corrupted into gescheut, from MidHG. geschîde, adj., ‘sensible, sly’; akin to schîden, a variant of scheiden. See scheiden.
Geschichte, f., ‘occurrence, narration, tale, history,’ from MidHG. geschiht, OHG. gisciht, f., ‘event, occurrence, cause of an event, dispensation’ (MidHG. also ‘affair, manner, stratum'; see Schicht); abstract of geschehen. Similarly ModHG. Geschick, ‘fate, destiny, dexterity,’ is based upon MidHG. geschicke, n., ‘event, order, formation, figure,’ as the abstract of ModHG. schicken. —
geschickt, ‘apt, skilful, adroit,’ prop. a partic., MidHG. geschicket, ‘arranged, prepared, ready, suitable,’ from MidHG. schicken, ‘to arrange, set in order.’
Geschirr, n., ‘gear, trappings, implements, ware,’ from MidHG. geschirre, OHG. giscirri, n., ‘dishes, vessel, instrument, utensils.’ The more general meaning, ‘instrument of every kind,’ is also seen, especially in anschirren (ModHG. simply), ‘to harness a horse.’ The origin of the stem, which does not appear elsewhere in Teut., is obscure.
geschlacht, adj., ‘of good quality, soft, tender, shapely,’ from MidHG. geslaht, ​OHG. gislaht, ‘well brought up, noble, well behaved’; ungeschlacht, ‘uncouth, unwieldy, boorish,’ even in MidHG. ungeslaht, OHG. ungislaht, ‘ignoble, base.’ Allied to ModHG. Geschlecht, n., ‘species, race, extraction, family,’ from MidHG. geslehte, n., ‘race, tribe, family, quality,’ OHG. gislahti; comp. OHG. slahta, f., ‘race, family,’ MidHG. slahta, ‘manner, relation’; akin also to Schlag (e.g. Menschenschlag, ‘race of men’), not found in OHG. and MidHG. It is difficult to determine the relation of these cognates to schlagen; even in OHG. slahan itself means ‘to take after, resemble’ (e.g. nâh dên fordôrôn slahan, ‘to resemble one's ancestors’), for which in late MidHG. nâch-slahen occurs, ModHG. nachschlagen. Probably the str. vb. in OTeut. once had the meaning ‘to beget,’ which cannot now be authenticated; of this vb. OHG. gislaht, ‘of good quality,’ would be an old partic. in to (see falt, traut, laut), with a development of meaning similar to that of König. Comp. Fr. gentil, equiv. to Lat. gentilis.
Geschmeide, n., ‘ornaments, trinkets, jewels,’ from MidHG. gesmîde, n., ‘metal, metal utensils or weapons, ornaments,’ OHG. gismîdi, n., ‘metal,’ and the variant smîda, f.; from the root smī̆, widely diffused in Teut., ‘to work in metal,’ with which OHG. smeidar, ‘artificer in metals,’ and the cognates discussed under Schmied, are connected. So too geschmeidig, ‘pliant, flexible, tractable, smooth,’ from MidHG. gesmîdec, ‘easy to work, plastic.’
Geschmeiß, n., ‘fly-blows, eggs (of insects), vermin,’ from MidHG. gesmeiȥe, n., ‘excrement’; akin to schmeißen.
Geschoß, n., ‘shot, missile, dart,’ even MidHG. geschoȥ, OHG. giscoȥ, n., akin to schießen. So too Geschütz, ‘artillery, ordnance,’ even in MidHG. geschütze, n., ‘arms, weapons for shooting,’ occurs as a collective of Geschoß.
geschweige, conj. with a subj. to be supplied, ‘much less, to say nothing of, I am silent about it,’ &c. —
geschweigen, ‘to pass by in silence, omit mentioning,’ a factitive of schweigen, from MidHG. gesweigen, OHG. gisweigen, ‘to reduce to silence.’ See schweigen.
geschwind, adj. and adv., ‘swift(ly), rapid(ly), quick(ly),’ from geswinde, adj. and adv., ‘quick(ly), vehement(ly)'; in earlier ModHG. schwinde, MidHG. swinde (swint), ‘powerful, strong, quick.’ In OHG. the adj. is wanting (yet the proper names Amalswind and Adalswind are recorded). The prim. meaning is ‘strong’; the development of meaning to ‘quick’ is similar to that of bald; Goth. swinþs, ‘strong, powerful, healthy,’ OIc. svinnr, ‘intelligent,’ AS. swið, ‘strong, violent,’ show various aspects of the primary meaning. The origin of the cognates is obscure; its relation to gesund is dubious.
Geschwister, plur. (prop. neut. sing.), from the equiv. MidHG. geswister (geswisterde), neut. plur., ‘brothers and sisters,’ OHG. giswistar, plur.; akin to Schwester.
Geschwulst, f., ‘swelling, tumour,’ from the equiv. MidHG. geswër, MidHG. geswulst, akin to schwellen.
Geschwür, n., from the equiv. MidHG. geswër, n. ‘abscess,’ akin to schwären.
Geselle, m., ‘comrade, apprentice, journeyman,’ from MidHG. gesęlle, OHG. gisęllo, lit. ‘fellow-occupant or lodger,’ then generally ‘companion, friend’ (in late MidHG. ‘journeyman’ also); akin to Saal. Hence the derivatives, MidHG. gesęllec, ‘associate, combined,’ ModHG. gesellig; MidHG. gesęllecheit, ‘relation as a comrade’; MidHG. gesęllen, ‘to unite, combine,’ ModHG. Gesellen, ‘to associate.’ For the meaning of ge- in Geselle, comp. Gesinde.
Gesetz, n., ‘law, decree, statute,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gesętze, of which the variant gesętzede occurs in the same sense, OHG. gisęzzida, f.; akin to setzen, whence also Satzung.
Gesicht, n., ‘sight, countenance,’ from MidHG. gesiht, OHG. gisiht, f., ‘seeing, view, dream, sense of sight,’ akin to sehen.
Gesims, see Sims.
Gesinde, n., ‘domestics, servants,’ from MidHG. gesinde, OHG. gisindi, n., ‘suite, followers in war’; collective of MidHG. gesint(d), OHG. gisind, ‘follower,’ lit. ‘one who joins in a sind,’ from OHG. sind, m., ‘journey, expedition’; corresponding to AS. sîð, ‘journey,’ whence gesîð, ‘companion, fellow-traveller,’ Goth. sinþs, ‘journey’ (gasinþa, ‘fellow-traveller’). To the OTeut. sinþa- (from pre-Teut. sénto-) corresponds OIr. sét, ‘way.’ See senden and sinnen. — ModHG. Gesindel, ‘rabble, mob, vagabonds,’ dimin. of Gesinde, also used in a contemptuous sense, so even in late MidHG. gesindelœhe, gesindelach (with a collective suffix). —
Gespan, m., ‘companion,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gespan; lit. perhaps ‘one who is yoked along with another.’ Comp. Goth. gajukô, ‘comrade,’ lit. ‘yoke-fellow.’
Gespenst, n., ‘spectre, ghost,’ from Mid ​HG. gespęnste, n. (gespęnst, gespanst, f.), ‘enticement, allurement, infernal illusion, ghost,’ OHG. gispanst, f., ‘enticement’; the latter meaning is the original one, since Gespenst (see also ab-, widerspenstig), according to its form, is a verbal abstract of an OTeut. spanan, ‘to entice.’ Comp. OSax. and OHG. spanan, ‘to entice, charm,’ MidHG. spanen (comp. Gr. σπάω).
Gest, see Gischt.
Gestade, n., from the equiv. MidHG. gestat(d), n., ‘bank, shore.’ Comp. Staden,
gestalt, adj., ‘having form or shape,’ in wohlgestalt, ungestalt; comp. MidHG. ungestalt, OHG. ungistalt, ‘disfigured, ugly,’ MidHG. wolgestalt (wol ges'ęllet); a partic. of MidHG. stęllen, which may also mean ‘to shape, make, accomplish, set in order.’ To this is allied Gestalt, f., ‘external appearance, shape, figure, mien,’ MidHG. gestalt, f., ‘shape, appearance, nature,’ OHG. *gistalt. Considering the comparatively late appearance of the word (not until the end of the 13th cent.), Gestalt may have been derived from the old compound, OHG. ungistalt, MidHG. ungestalt, adj., ‘disfigured.’
gestatten, vb., ‘to allow, admit, grant,’ from MidHG. gestaten, wk. vb., ‘to grant, permit,’ OHG. gistatôn; probably connected most closely with OHG. stata, f., ‘favourable opportunity’ (for details see Statt). —
gestehen, vb., ‘to acknowledge, confess,’ from MidHG. gestên, gestân, OHG. gistân, str. vb., ‘to stand still, assist, own, confess’; derivatives, ModHG. geständig, Geständnis, See stehen.
gestern, adv., ‘yesterday,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gëstern (gëster), OHG. gëstaron (gëstre), adv.; also, with a divergent meaning, OHG. êgëstern, ‘the day after to-morrow’ (and ‘the day before yesterday’); corresponding to Goth. gistradagis, ‘to-morrow,’ OIc. ìgœr, ‘to-morrow, yesterday.’ It is evident that the primary word was used in the double sense of ‘to-morrow’ and ‘yesterday’ (lit. ‘on the second day from this’); comp. also AS. geostra, gistrandœg, E. yesterday, Du. gisteren, ‘yesterday.’ The form and the idea are Aryan; comp. Sans. hyás, ‘yesterday,’ Gr. χθές, Lat. heri (for hjiesi?); ghyés is the primit. form, whence with the suffix tro-, ghistro-, ghyestro- (Goth. gistra). For heute, ‘to-day,’ and morgen, ‘to-morrow’ (Lat. cras, Sans. çrás), an equally diffused form is wanting.
Gestirn, see Stern. —
Gestöber, see stöbern. —
Gesträuch, see Strauch. —
Gestrüpp, see struppig. —
Gestüppe, see Staub. —
Gestüt, see Stute.
gesund, adj., ‘sound, healthy, wholesome,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gesunt(d), OHG. gisunt(t); also MidHG. gesunt, OHG. gisunt, m, ‘health’; comp. AS. gesund and sund, E. sound, Du. gezond, OFris. sund. To East Teut. the word is unknown. Its connection with Lat. sânus, ‘healthy,’ is as feasible phonetically as its connection with geschwind, or with the Teut. root sinþ, ‘to go,’ in Gesinde.
Getreide, n., ‘grain, corn,’ from MidHG. getręgede, n., ‘everything that is carried, clothing, luggage; what the soil bears (flowers, grass), corn,’ even in late OHG. (11th cent.), gitręgidi, n., ‘revenue, possesion.’ The ModHG. sense is first found in 14th cent.
getreu, see treu. —
getrost, see frösten.
Gevatter, m.. ‘godfather, sponsor, gossip,’ from MidHG. gevatere, OHG. gifataro, ‘spiritual co-father, godfather’; an imitation of eccles. Lat. compater. From this was also formed OHG. gifatara, MidHG. gevatere, f., ‘godmother.’ Comp. also Vetter and Pate.
gewahr, adj., ‘aware,’ from MidHG. gewar, OHG. and OSax. giwar, ‘heedful, attentive, mindful’; hence gewahr werden is lit. ‘to grow careful, mindful’; thus even in MidHG. gewar wërden, OHG. giwar wërdan, OSax. giwar wërdan; comp. Du. gewaar, E. aware. Allied to MidHG. gewar, f., ‘oversight, headship,’ gewarsame, ‘oversight, certainty,’ ModHG. Gewahrsam, m., ‘surety, custody.’ —
gewahren, vb., ‘to be aware of, perceive, discover,’ from late MidHG. gewarn, ‘to become aware’; derived from the adj. See wahrnehmen, wahren.
gewähren, vb., ‘to be surety for, guarantee, attest,’ from MidHG. gewërn, OHG. giwërên, ‘to grant, confess, perform, pay, give security,’ also the equiv. MidHG. wern OHG. wërên; corresponding to OFris. wera, ‘to give security.’ From the OHG. partic. wërênto, ‘guarantor,’ were adopted the Romance cognates, Ital. guarento and Fr. garant, ‘bondsman’ (allied to Fr. garantir, Ital. guarentire, ‘to give security,’ whence ModHG. Garantie, E. warrant). The connecting link between the OTeut. wk. verbal stem werai-, ‘to confess,’ and non-Teut. words has not yet been found; perhaps Ir. feraim, ‘I give,’ is allied.
​ Gewalt, f., ‘power, authority, force,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gewalt, m., f., OHG. giwalt, m., f.; allied to walten.
Gewand, n., ‘garment, dress, garb,’ from MidHG. gewant(d), n., ‘clothing, armour, dress stuff, material’ (with the last meaning ModHG. Gewandhaus is connected); OHG. only in the late recorded compound, badagiwant(t), ‘vestis mutatoria.’ The older word for ‘Gewand’ was MidHG. gewœte, OHG. giwâti, also OHG. and MidHG. wât. OHG. giwant, appears as ‘turning, winding,’ and upon this sense (‘enveloping’) the meaning ‘clothing’ is based; comp. Lat. toga, from tegere, ‘to cover.’ See winden. —
gewandt, ‘skilled, proficient, adroit,’ partic. of wenden.
gewärtig, adj., ‘expectant, attentive,’ from MidHG. gewęrtec, ‘careful, obliging’; allied to MidHG. gewarten, ‘to hold oneself ready, watch with observant eyes in order to be ready, for a service, or to admit visitors,’ &c. See warten.
Gewehr, n., ‘weapon of defence, gun, musket,’ from MidHG. gewęr, f. n., ‘guard, defence, bulwark, weapon; even in OHG. giwęr, n., ‘weapon, goad,’ węri, ‘rampart, means of defence.’ Allied to wehren.
Geweih, n., ‘horns, antlers,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gewîge (hirzgewîge), n.; in OHG. the corresponding word is wanting; comp. Du. gewicht, n., ‘stag's antlers,’ whence a G. variant Gewicht. The cognates have most frequently been connected with the OTeut. root wī̆g, ‘to fight’ (see Weigand); Geweih would then be regarded as the weapon of the stag.
Gewerbe, n., ‘mode of acquisition, trade, craft, from MidHG. gewërbe, n., ‘activity, business’; allied to werben.
Gewicht, n., ‘antlers,’ see Geweih. — Gewicht, n.. ‘weight,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gewiht, gewihte, n.; OHG. *giwiht; verbal abstract of wiegen; corresponding to AS. gewiht, E. weight, Du. gewigt, OIc. vœtt.
gewiegt, adj., ModHG. only, prop. a partic. of wiegen, ‘to rock,’ hence in etwas gewiegt, ‘rocked into something,’ i.e. ‘trained up, grown proficient in something.’
gewinnen, vb., ‘to win, acquire, prevail on, conquer,’ from MidHG. gewinnen, OHG. giwinnan, ‘to attain by work, effort, victory, earn something, conquer, get,’ besides which are found MidHG. winnen, OHG. winnan, ‘to toil hard, contend’; corresponding to Goth. winnan (gawinnan), ‘to suffer, feel pain, torment oneself’ (allied to wunns and winnô, f., ‘suffering,’ OHG. winna, ‘strife, MidHG. winne, ‘pain’), OIc. vinna, ‘to work, perform, win,’ AS. winnan, ‘to contend, exert oneself, E. to win, Du. gewinnen. The primary meaning of the Teut. root winn is ‘to toil hard’ (especially used of toiling in fight). Whether OHG. wini, AS. wine, ‘friend,’ and ModHG. Wenne also belong to the same root is doubtful; yet the primit. allied Sans. root van signifies ‘to procure for oneself, obtain, assist in obtaining, conquer,’ and ‘to be fond of, favourable to.’
Gewissen, n.,‘conscience,’ from MidHG. gewiȥȥen, f. n., ‘knowledge, information, privity, inner consciousness, conscience,’ even in OHG. giwiȥȥanî, f., ‘conscience’ (Du. geweten); probably an imitation of Lat. conscientia (G. ge equiv. to Lat. con, as in Gevatter), comp. also barmherzig; in Goth. midwissei. OHG. giwiȥȥanî is most closely connected with wissen, THG. infin wiȥȥan.
gewiß, adj. and adv., ‘sure(ly), certain(ly), confident(ly),’ from the equiv. MidHG. gewis(ss), adj., gewisse, adv., OHG. gewis(ss), adj., gewisso, adv., ‘certain, sure, reliable’; corresponding to Du. wis, gewis; Goth only in unwisa- (misspelt for *unwissa), ‘uncertain.’ The OTeut. wissa (gawissa-) is an old partic. of the Goth. pret.-pres. witan, OHG. wiȥȥan (see wissen), from witta-, widto- (allied to the Aryan root vid). With regard to the pregnant meaning, ‘what is certainly known,’ for ‘what is known,’ comp. laut, lit. ‘what is heard.’
Gewitter, n., ‘thunder-storm,’ from MidHG. gewitere, OHG. giwitiri, ‘bad weather’; collective of Wetter; corresponding to OSax. giwidiri, Goth. *gawidri, n. The ModHG. meaning is wanting in OHG. and MidHG. OHG. giwitiri may also mean ‘hail.’
gewogen, adj., ‘favourably inclined,’ from MidHG. gewëgen, ‘important, inclined’; prop. a partic. of MidHG. gewëgen, ‘to be weighty, adequate, help.’ See wägen.
gewöhnen, vb., ‘to accustom, inure, habituate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gewęnen, OHG. giwęnnan (pret. giwenita); corresponding to Du. gewennen, AS. gewęnnan, OIc. venja, Goth. wanjan, ‘to accustom’; derived from an old adj. or rather partic. wana-, ‘accustomed’ (OIc. vanr); for this word a parallel form was chiefly used, the ​latest derivative of which is gewohnt, ‘accustomed,’ OHG. giwon, MidHG. gewon, whence, with a dental suffix (see Mond and Habicht), ModHG. gewohnt (yet without t, Gewohnheit and gewöhnlich); allied to OHG. giwona, MidHG. gewone (gewan), ‘custom.’ For details see wohnen.
Gicht, f. and n., ‘gout, mouth of a furnace,’ from the equiv. MidHG. giht, n. E. (chiefly in the collective form gegihte, n.), ‘gout, convulsions, spasms.’ OHG. *gihido may be inferred from AS. gihða, m., ‘paralysis’; this dental suffix is frequent in old names of diseases. The root gih is not found elsewhere, and its prim. meaning is obscure. Gehen cannot in any case be allied, since it presumes a root gai (from ga and a root ī̆; nor could we from this comparison infer the prim. meaning of Gicht.
gicksen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. giksen (gëksen), ‘to sigh,’ OHG. gicchaȥȥen; from an onomatopoetic root gik, with a frequentative suffix sen (OHG. aȥȥen, azzen, Goth. atjan).
Giebel, m., ‘gable, summit,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gibel, OHG. gibil, m.; corresponding to Du. gevel, OIc. gafl, ‘gable,’ Goth. gibla, m., ‘spire.’ The OHG. word significs ‘front side’ (e.g., of the ark of the covenant), as well as ‘nap’ (of velvet, &c.), so that ‘extreme end’ is probably the prim. meaning. It may be assumed, however, that the word was used in a figurative sense, MidHG. gëbel, OHG. gëbal, m., ‘skull, head,’ OHG. gibilla, f., ‘skull’; primit. allied to Gr. κεφαλή, ‘head’ (Aryan ghebhalâ, the type of this word and of Giebel); hence Giebel is lit. ‘head.’
Giebel, Gieben, m., ‘crucian’; like the equiv. Fr. gibel, of obscure origin.
Gienmuschel, f., ‘a species of tellina,’ allied to MidHG. ginen (gienen), ‘to gape, open the mouth wide,’ OHG. ginên; the latter is derived from an OTeut. root gī̆ (Aryan ghī̆), ‘to bark, gape, open the mouth wide.’ See gähnen.
Gier, f., ‘eagerness, inordinate desire,’ from MidHG. gir (gër), f., ‘longing, craving, greediness,’ OHG. girî, f.; abstract of an adj., OHG. gër and giri, MidHG. gër, gir, ‘craving, longing,’ which is connected with the root ger (Aryan gher), discussed under gern. Another abstract form allied to this is ModHG. Gierde (-Begierde), from MidHG. girde, OHG. girida, f. (Du. begeerte). For the older adj. MidHG. gir, gër, only gierig is now used, from MidHG. girec, OHG. girîg, ‘desirous.’
gießen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. gieȥen, OHG. gioȥan, ‘to pour, cast metal, form, pour out, spill, stream’; corresponding to Goth. giutan, ‘to pour’ (OIc. gjóta, ‘to throw young, blink with the eyes’), AS. geótan, Du. gieten; a strong verbal root common to Teut., from pre-Teut. ghud, whence also the Lat. root fud in fundo, ‘I pour.’ This root is probably connected with the equiv. root ghu (Gr. χυ-, in χέω, χῦμα, Sans. root hu, ‘to sacrifice’). See also Götze.
Gift in Mitgift, Brautgift, f., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gift, f., ‘gift, present’; a verbal noun from geben (Goth. gifts, E. gift). — Gift, n., meaning ‘poison,’ is the same word (for the evolution of meaning comp. Fr. poison, from Lat. potio, potionem, ‘drink’); even in MidHG. and OHG. gift, f. (always neut. in this sense in ModHG.), Du. gift; in Goth. lubja, ‘poison’ (OHG. luppi, MidHG. lüppe, ‘poison’). The common Aryan term for ‘poison’ (Sans. viša-, Lat. virus, Gr. ίος) has not been preserved in Teut. See verwesen.
Gilbe, f., ‘yellow colour or substance,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gilwe, OHG. giliwî (gëlawî), f.; an abstract of gelb (Goth. *gilwei, akin to *gilwa-). — To this gilben, ‘to colour yellow,’ is allied.
Gilde, f., ‘guild, corporation,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Du. gild; corresponding to OIc. gilde, ‘guild’ (from the middle of the 11th cent.), MidE. gilde, E. guild. The prim. meaning of the word, which first appears in Scand., is ‘sacrifice, sacrificial feast, festive gathering, club’; allied to gelten (in the sense of ‘to sacrifice,’ in OSax. geldan, and in AS. gildan).
Gimpel, m. ‘bullfinch,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. gümpel; in ModHG. figuratively ‘simpleton.’ MidHG. gümpel is connected with gumpel, ‘leaping, jest,’ and further with gumpen, ‘to hop’; hence MidHG. gumpelmann (plur. gumpelliute), and gumpęlknëht, ‘tumbler, buffoon, fool.’
Ginst, Ginster, m., ‘broom (plant),’ first occurs in ModHG., from Lat. gentista, whence also the Romance cognate, Fr. genêt; the genuine Teut. term is preserved in E. broom, Du. bręm. See Brombeere.
Gipfel, m., ‘summit, top, climax,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. gipfel, m., the prim. word cannot be discovered; Gipfel is scarcely an intensive form of Giebel; MidHG. gupf, gupfe, ‘point, summit,’ is ​still less closely allied, and is rather a variant of Kuppe.
Gips, m., ‘gypsum, plaster of Paris,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and late OHG. gips, which again is derived from MidLat.-Gr. gypsum (γύψος, MidGr. and ModGr. ν being pronounced like i, see Kirche), whence also Fr. gypse, Du. gips.
girren, vb., ‘to coo,’ allied to MidHG. gërren, gurren, garren, which are used for various kinds of sounds.
Gischt, older Gäscht, m., ‘yeast, foam,’ formed from the equiv. MidHG. jëst, gëst, m., corresponding to E. yest, yeast, Du. gest, ‘yeast.’ Allied to gischen (MidHG. gischen), older gäschen (MidHG. geschen, a variant of jësen). See gären, a factitive of MidHG. jësen.
Gitter, n., ‘trellice, lattice, railing,’ from the equiv. MidHG. geter, n., a variant of gater, Gatter; even in late MidHG. gegitter.
Glanz, m., ‘lustre, splendour,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glanz (wanting in OHG.), with which is connected the OHG. and MidHG. adj. glanz, ‘bright, shining’; ModHG. glänzen, from the equiv. OHG. and MidHG. glęnzen; to the same class belong MidHG. glander, ‘splendour, shining,’ and glanst, ‘splendour,’ further glinster, ‘splendour,’ and the very rare str. vb. glinzen. A stem glint- is wanting in the rest of the Teut. dialects unless the cognates of glatt (Goth. *glada-) are allied.
Glas, n., ‘glass, tumbler,’ from the equiv. OHG. and MidHG. glas, n.; a common Teut. word unknown to the other Aryan groups; comp. OSax. gles, Du. glas, AS. glæs, E. glass; allied to OIc. gler, n., ‘glass,’ with the change of s to r, which proves the word to be primit. Teut. (*glaza- and *glasa- in Goth.). Hence it is not very probable that the Teut. word was borrowed, although glass itself was imported by the Phœnicians. The OTeut. term for amber (Lat. glêsum) is likewise primit. allied; comp. AS. glæ̂re, ‘resin of trees.’ See the following word.
Glast, m., ‘splendour,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glast. It is uncertain whether it belongs, like the cognates discussed under the preceding word, to a Teut. root glas, ‘to shine.’
glatt, adj., ‘smooth, polished, slippery, bald,’ from MidHG. and OHG. glat, ‘smooth, shining’; corresponding to OSax. gladmôd, ‘gladsome,’ Du. glad, ‘smooth,’ AS. glǣ̆d, ‘shining, joyous,’ E. glad, OIc. glaðr, ‘joyous, shining.’ Goth. *glada- for pre-Teut. ghladho- is primit. allied to OSlov. gladŭkŭ, ‘smooth,’ Lat. glaber (for *ghladhro-), ‘smooth;’ hence not ‘shining’ but ‘smooth’ is the prim. meaning of the Teut. cognates. The connection with Lith. glodùs, ‘fitting smoothly’ (from the root glud, ‘to cling to’?), is uncertain. Comp. also the following word, as well as glänzen and gleiten.
Glatze, f., from the equiv. MidHG. glatz, ‘bald pate, bald spot, surface of the head’; Goth. *glatta- for pre-Teut. ghladhno, allied to glatt (pre-Teut. ghladho-); hence Glätte is lit. ‘smooth spot.’
Glaube, m., ‘belief, credit, creed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. geloube (by syncope gloube), OHG. giloubo, m.; an abstract common to West Teut.; corresponding to OSax. gilôƀo, Du. geloof, AS. geleáfa (E. belief). With this glauben is connected earlier (in Luther) gleuben, from the equiv. MidHG. gelouben (glöuben), OHG. gilouben, gilouppen; comp. OSax. gilôbian, Du. gelooven, AS. gelŷfan, E. to believe, Goth. galaubjan, ‘to believe.’ The prim. meaning is ‘to approve.’ To the same root lub belong erlauben, lieb, loben, and Urlaub.
gleich, adj., ‘like, similar, equal, direct,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gelîch, OHG. gilîh(hh); common to Teut. in the same sense; comp. Goth. galeiks, OIc. glíkr, AS. gelîc, E. like, Du. gelijk, OSax. gilîk. This specifically Teut. adj. is compounded of the particle ge-, Goth. ga-, and a subst. lîka-, ‘body,’ whose cognates are discussed under Leiche; the compound meant lit. ‘having a symmetrical body.’ The word lîk, ModHG. -lich, as the second component, is always used in the same sense; e.g., weiblich, lit. ‘having a woman's body’ (it is preserved also in the prons. welcher, solcher, lit. ‘having what kind of body? having a body of that kind’; yet see these words). —
Gleichen, in expressions like meines gleichen, is also based upon the adj. gleich, which is here declined in the weak form; comp. MidHG. mîn gelîche, OHG. mîn gilîhho, ‘my equals.’ —
Gleichnis, n., ‘similitude, allegory, parable,’ from MidHG. gelîchnisse, |. ni., OHG. gilîhnissa, f., ‘copy, model, parable.’ —
gleichsam, adv., ‘as it were, as though,’ a combination of gleich and sam for gleich wie, ‘just as if’; comp. MidHG. sam, same, adv., ‘thus, just as, even as’ (OHG. sama, from a pronom. stem sama-, ‘the very same’; comp. E. same, ​Gr. ὁμός, Sans. sama-, ‘the same, equal’). — See Gleißner.
Gleise, n., for Geleise (like glauben, gleich, &c., from ge-l), ‘track (of a wheel) rut,’ allied to MidHG. geleis (rare), f., ‘trodden way,’ usually MidHG. leis, leise, f., ‘trace, track,’ OHG. *leisa in waganleisa, f., ‘track of a waggon’; formed from the OTeut. root lais, ‘to go,’ discussed under leisten; Lat. lîra, de-lîrare, OSlov. lěcha, ‘ridge’ (from *laisâ), Lith. lýsė, ‘garden bed,’ are also allied. Comp. ModHG. Furche and Lat. porca, ‘ridge.’
Gleiß, m., ‘fool's parsley,’ first occurs in ModHG.; allied to the following word.
gleißen, vb., ‘to shine, glitter,’ from MidHG. glîȥen, OHG. glîȥȥan, str. vb., ‘to shine, light, glitter’; corresponding to OSax. glîtan, to which Goth. glitmunjan, OIc. glita, glitra (E. to glitter), ‘to shine.’ The OTeut. root ghlī̆d (pre-Teut. ghlī̆d) appears also in glitzern.
Gleißner, m., ‘hypocrite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gelîchesenœre, allied to older ModHG. gleißen, ‘to dissemble.’ The latter is from MidHG. glîhsen, gelîchesen, OHG. gilîhhisôn, ‘to dissemble’; lit. ‘to be equal to any one’ (from gleich), equiv. to the MidHG. parallel form gelîchsensen. Comp. further Lat. simulare, allied to similis.
gleiten, vb., ‘to glide, slide, slip,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glîten, OHG. glîtan, str. vb.; corresponding to OSax. glîdan, Du. glijden, glijen, AS. glîdan, E. to glide. Although the roots of gleiten (Aryan ghlī̆-t) and glatt (Aryan ghladh) are as indubitably allied as those of Glanz and gleißen, it is impossible to determine the relation between them more definitely.
Gletscher, m., ‘glacier,’ first occurs in early ModHG., adopted from a Swiss word, which was again obtained from Fr. glacier. Comp. Firne, Fohn, Lawine.
Glied, n., from the equiv. MidHG. gelit(d), n. and m., OHG. gilid, n., ‘limb, joint’ (in MidHG. ‘member’ also); likewise in the same sense, mostly without ge-, MidHG., lit(d), OHG. lid, n., n.; corresponding to OSax. lith, Du. lid (and gelid), AS. lið, Goth. (liþus, ‘limb.’ The common Teut. stem liþu is ordinarily referred to an OTeut. root lī̆þ, ‘to go’ (see leiden, leiten), which is scarcely possible, because Glied cannot orig. have been confined to the feet. Besides li- must be the root and -þu-) (for Aryan -tu-) the suffix, on account of the equiv. words formed with the suffix m, OIc. li-mr, ‘limb,’ lim, ‘twig,’ AS. lim, E. limb. Also allied perhaps to Lith. lëmǔ, ‘stature, growth’ (as well as lělas, ‘tall, slender’?), Comp. Bild. —
Gliedmaßen, plur., ‘limbs,’ from MidHG. lidemâȥ, gelidemœȥe, ‘limb’; corresponding to OFris. lithmâta, Du. lidmaat, ledemaat. The meaning of the second part of the compound is not clear (MidHG. gelidemâȥe, f., signifies ‘length of body’). Comp. OSwed. liþa-, mót, Ic. liðamǒt, ‘limbs.’
glimmen, vb., ‘to shine dimly, glimmer,’ from MidHG. glimmen, str. vb., ‘to glow, glimmer,’ allied to MidHG. glamme, f., ‘glow,’ glim, ‘spark’ (OHG. *glimman); corresponding to Du. glimmen; also OHG. gleimo, MidHG. gleime, ‘glowworm’ (whence the proper name Gleim), MidHG. glîmen, ‘to light, shine, OSax. glîmo, ‘gleam.’ To the ModHG. and MidHG. glimmern correspondent AS. *glimorian, E. to glimmer, to which E. gleam (AS. glœ̂m) is allied. The OTeut. root glimm, glī̆-m., contained in these cognates, is perhaps lengthened from a root glī̆ (comp. Scand. gljá, ‘to shine’), with which Gr. χλιαρός, ‘warm,’ χλιαένω, ‘to warm,’ as well as Ir. gle (from the prim. form gleivo-), ‘shining, clear,’ may be connected.
Glimpf, m., ‘moderation, lenity,’ from MidHG. glimpf, gelimpf, m., ‘consistent, courteous demeanour generally,’ OHG. gilimpf, ‘fitness’; to these are allied OHG. gilimpflîh, MidHG. gelimpflich, ‘consistent,’ whence the ModHG. adv. glimpflich; akin to OHG. gilimpfan, MidHG. gelimpfen, ‘to be suitable’ (in MidHG. also ‘to make suitable’); comp. AS. gelimpan, ‘to occur.’ The West Teut. root limp in an appropriate sense has not been found in the non-Teut. languages.
glitzern, vb., ‘to glitter, glisten,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glitzern, frequentative of MidHG. glitzen, ‘to shine’; comp. OHG. glizzinôn; allied to gleißen, OHG. gliȥȥan. AS. *glitorian, E. to glitter, OIc. glitra, ‘to shine,’ are similarly formed.
Glocke, f., ‘bell, (public) clock,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glocke, OHG. glocka (never chloccha), f.; corresponding to Du. klok, AS. clugge, clucce, E. clock, OIc. klukka, f., ‘bell’; not orig. a G. word, since OHG. chlocchôn, ‘to knock,’ cannot well be allied. The MidLat. clocca recorded in the 8th cent., from which Fr. cloche (in Ital. campana) is derived, is probably due, like the Teut. cognates, to Kelt. origin; ​comp. W. cloch, f., OIr. cloc, m., ‘bell, clock,’ (primit. Kelt. klukko). It is improbable that the Teut. word is the source of the Rom. and the Kelt. terms, because Teut. itself has usually borrowed the words relating to the Church and its institutions. The OKelt. and Rom. cognates in the form of klukka found their way into Teut.; the HG. forms (Swiss klokke, not χlokχe) may have been first adopted about 800 A.D., from LG. (AS.).
glosten, vb., ‘to glimmer,’ from MidHG. glosten (a variant of glosen), ‘to glow, shine’; allied to E. gloss, Scand. glossi; derived from the root glas appearing in Glas?.
glotzen, vb., ‘to stare,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glotzen; OHG. *glozzôn, Goth. *gluttôn are wanting; comp. E. to gloat, OIc. glotta, ‘to sneer’; perhaps primit. allied to OSlov. ględati, ‘to look, see.’
Glück, n., ‘luck, fortune, success, happiness,’ from MidHG. gelücke (by syncope glücke), n., ‘luck, accident’; OHG. *gilucchi is wanting; a specifically G. word which in the 14th cent. passed in the form into Scand. (Swed. lycka, Dan. lykke), and as luck into E. (from Du. geluk, ‘fortune’). On account of its meaning its connection with locken is dubious.
Glucke, f., ‘clucking-hen,’ with the variant Klucke (LG. Klukse), from the equiv. MidHG. klucke. Comp. MidHG. glucken, klucken, ‘to cluck’; allied to Du. klokken, E. to cluck (AS. cloccian); apparently an onomatopoeic class which is found with corresponding sounds in Rom.; comp. Ital. chiocciare, Fr. glousser (Lat. glocire), ‘to cluck,’ Ital. chioccia, Span. clueca, ‘clucking-hen.’
Glufe, Guffe, f. (UpG. word), ‘pin,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. glufe, guffe, f.; origin obscure.
glühen, vb., ‘to glow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. glüen, glüejen, OHG. gluoen, wk. vb.; corresponding to AS. glôwan, E. to glow, Du. gloeijen, OIc. glóa, ‘to glow.’ From the Teut. root glô, glê, are also derived ModHG. Glut, MidHG. and OHG. gluot, f., to which Du. gloed, AS. gléd (Goth. *glô-di-), E. dial. gleed correspond, likewise AS. glôma, glômung, ‘twilight,’ E. gloom, OIc. glámr, ‘moon.’ With the Teut. root gló, glê (from pre-Teut. ghlū̆), Lith. zlejà, ‘twilight,’ is also connected.
Gnade, f., ‘grace, favour, mercy, pardon,’ from MidHG. gnâde, genâde, f., ‘bliss, rest, condescension, support, favour, mercy,’ OHG. ginâda, f., ‘condescension, sympathy, compassion, mercy’; corresponding to OSax. ginâtha, nâtha, ‘favour, help,’ Du. genade, OIc. náð, f. (in the plur.), ‘rest.’ The meanings ‘favour, help,’ &c., are attested by the Goth. vb. niþan, ‘to support.’ To the Teut. root nē̆́þ (from Aryan nē̆́th) some assign the prim. meaning ‘to incline, decline,’ in order to elucidate ‘rest’ (in Scand.; comp. MidHG. diu sunne gienc ze gnâden, ‘zur Ruhe,’ i.e. ‘the sun set’). Comp. the cognates, Sans. root nâth, ‘to beg,’ nâthá, ‘help, refuge.’
Gnenn, m., ‘father’ (dial.). See Knän.
Gold, n., ‘gold,’ from the equiv. MidHG. golt(d), OHG. gold, n.; a common Teut. word; comp. OSax. gold, Du. goud, AS. and E. gold, OIc. goll, gull (for golþ-), Goth. gulþ, n., ‘gold,’ from pre-Teut. ghlto-, to which OSlov. zlato, Russ. zoloto (from zolto) are primit. allied; the word Silber is also common to Teut. and Slav. The primary sense of the root ghel, of which Gelt is a partic. derivative, is ‘to be yellow’; akin to Sans. hiraṇya, ‘gold,’ from hári, ‘gold yellow’; hence probably ModHG. gelb and glühen, with their cognates, are also primit. allied. In any case, Gr. χρῦσός has no connection with the Teut. word.
Golf, m., ‘gulf,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. golfe; the latter, like E. gulf, is derived from Fr. golfe, which, with its Rom. cognate (Ital. golfo), is based upon Gr. κόλφος (late κόλπος).
gönnen, vb., ‘to grant, not to begrudge, wish well to,’ from MidHG. gunnen, OHG. giunnan, ‘to grant willingly, bestow, allow’; OHG. and OSax. mostly unnan, in the same sense (in OHG. and MidHG. pret.-pres.); comp. Du. gunnen, AS. unnan, OIc. unna, The root is an; whether this is allied to Lat. amare, ‘to love,’ or to Gr. ὀνίνημι, ‘I use,’ or to the cognates of ahnden, is uncertain on account of its meaning; most probably Gr. προσ-ηνής, ‘inclined,’ and ἀπηνής ‘disaffected,’ are allied primitively. Comp. Gunst.
Gosse, f., ‘sink,’ first occurs in ModHG.; akin to gießen; it corresponds to LG. gote, Du. goot.
Gote, f., ‘godmother,’ from MidHG. gote, gotte, f., ‘‘godmother’ OHG. gota; besides these MidHG. göte, götte, m., godfather,’ occur. Probably OHG. *goto and gota are pet terms (comp. Base) for the co pounds gotfater, gotmuoter, gotsunu, ' ​gottohtar; comp. the equiv. AS. godfœder, godsunu, goddohter, which are equal to E. godfather, godson, and goddaughter; also Swed. gubbe, ‘old man,’ gumma, ‘old woman’ (dial. ‘godmother’), are pet names for guðfaðer, guðmóðer. As may be seen under Gevatter and Pate, the godfather is pater spiritualis, the child baptized filius or filia spiritualis; comp. Vetter also.
Gott, m., ‘God,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. got, m., a term common to Teut., unknown to the rest of the Aryan group; comp. OSax., Du., AS. and E. god, OIc. guð, goð, Goth. guþ, ‘God.’ The form of the Goth. and Scand. words is neuter (comp. Abgott), but the gender is masculine. OIc. goð, n., is mostly used in the plur. Goth. guda- and guþa-, n., ‘God,’ are based upon Aryan ghu-to-m., in which -to- is the partic. suffix discussed under falt, laut, and traut. The Aryan root ghu- is Sans. hû, ‘to invoke the gods’ (partic. hū̆tá-). Gott in the orig. neuter form is the ‘invoked being’; in the Vedas the epithet puruhûta, ‘oft-invoked,’ is usually applied to Indra. The word Gott being specifically Teut., there is no term common to this group and one of the allied languages (yet comp. OIc. tíve, ‘deity,’ with Sans. dêva, Lat. deus?) Göttin, the fem. of Gott, is from the equiv. MidHG. gotinne, götinne, gutinne, OHG. gutin (Goth. *gudini, AS. gyden, Du. godin).
Götze, ‘idols, false god,’ from MidHG. götze, m., ‘statue for ecclesiastical purposes’; lit. ‘cast (image),’ (allied to gießen, MidHG. gieȥen?). Perhaps, however, Götze is a short form of Götterbild, just as Götz is pet name for Gottfried; comp. Spatz and Sperling.
Grab, n., from the equiv. MidHG. grap(b), OHG. grab, n., ‘grave’; like Graben; m., ‘ditch, trench, sewer,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grabe, OHG. grabo, m.; allied to ModHG. graben, ‘to dig, engrave,’ from the equiv: MidHG. graben, OHG. graban, str. vb.; a common Teut. str. vb., corresponding to Goth. graban, AS. grafan, E. to grave, Du. graven (graf, ‘grave’); from a common Teut. root grab (pre-Teut. ghrabh), which is primit. allied to OSlov. grebą, ‘I dig, row,’ and grobŭ, ‘grave’; Gr. γράφω, ‘I scratch, write,’ has probably no connection with the word, Comp. Griffel, Grube, Gruft, grübeln.
Grad, m., ‘degree, step, stage, rank,’ from MidHG. grât (t and d), ‘grade, degree,’ even in late OHG. grâd; from Lat. gradus, whence also Fr. gré (OIr. grád).
Graf, m., ‘count, earl,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grâve (with the variant grœve, chiefly in the plur.), OHG. grâvo, grâvio (upon the old j form is based the ModHG. proper name Gräf, a parallel form of Graf). OHG. grâvio assumes a Goth. *grêfja (‘commander’), which is the term for the agent from the verbal noun gagrêfts, ‘command, order,’ preserved in Goth. The AS. term gerêfa (AS. scîrgerêfa, E. sheriff), which is similar in meaning, is yet radically different, since it points to a Goth. *ga-rôfja; its orig. sense is probably ‘head of a troop,’ allied to *rôf, OHG. ruova, OIc. róf (stafróf), ‘number.’ OIc. (MidE.), greife, ‘count,’ is derived from MidLG. grêve (from OLG. *grâfio). All explanations of Graf which do not originate in a Teut. root grêf, ‘to command,’ conflict with the laws relating to the change of sound and meaning. Note the signification of Graf in Du. pluimgraaf, ‘one who minds the fowls,’ Salzgraf, ‘manager of a saltwork,’ Deichgraf, &c.
gram, adj., ‘adverse, hostile, vexed, angry,’ from MidHG. and OHG. gram, ‘angry, peevish, irritated, enraged’; corresponding to the equiv. OSax. gram, Du. gram, AS. gram, OIc. gramr. To Goth. *grama- (from pre-Teut. ghromo-), Gr. χρόμαδος, ‘gnashing’ (and χρεμέθω, Lat. fremo, ‘I gnash’?), seem allied. From the Teut. adj. is derived the Romance cognate, Ital. gramo, ‘gloomy.’ — Gram, m., as a subst. even in MidHG. gram. From the same root. grimm is derived. See the latter word.
Gran, m., ‘grain,’ first occurs in ModHG. from Lat. granum, ‘grain.’ From the same source ModHG. Grän is also derived through the medium of Fr. grain.
Granal, m., Granele, f., ‘shrimp,’ from the Du., in which the modern form is garnaal, formerly granaal, graneel, in the same sense.
Grand, m., ‘gravel,’ first occurs in ModHG. from LG.; just as Mulm (which see) is allied to mahlen, so Grand is probably connected with an OTeut. root meaning ‘to grind’; comp. AS. grindan, E. to grind (from pre-Teut. root ghrendh, whence also Lat. frendo, ‘to gnash’).
Granne, f., ‘bristle (of swine), awn,’ from MidHG. gran, grane, f., ‘point of hair, moustache, fish-bone’ (in the latter sense Granne is also used dial.), OHG. grana, ‘moustache’; corresponding to AS. ​grǫnu, OIc. grǫn, ‘moustache.’ To the Goth grana, recorded by Isidore, are due Span. greña, ‘tousled hair,’ and OFr. grenon, ‘moustache and whiskers.’ The Teut. cognates are primit. allied to OIr. grend, Gael. greann, ‘moustache’ and ‘shaggy hair.’ See Grat.
Grans, m., ‘ship's beak,’ from MidHG. grans, m., ‘bird's beak, ship's beak,’ OHG. grans, granso, ‘ship's beak’; a corresponding word is wanting in the other Teut. languages. Origin obscure.
grapsen, vb., ‘to grasp, snatch,’ simply ModHG.; probably allied primit. to ModHG. Garbe, and E. to grab, to grasp, Sans. gṛbh, ‘to seize,’ Lith. grópti, ‘to snatch, grasp.’
Gras, n., ‘grass,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gras, n.; corresponding to OSax. and Du. gras, AS. grœs (gœrs), E. grass, Goth. gras, n., ‘herb’; common to Teut. but unknown to the other Aryan languages. Allied to MidHG. gruose (Goth. *grôsa), ‘young shoot, green of plants’; probably the s in these words is a suffix, so that the Teut. root is grâ-; comp. Gr. χόρτος, ‘grass.’ An Aryan root ghra- is also attested by Lat. grâmen, as well as by ModHG. grün and its cognates.
gräßlich, adj., ‘horrible, hideous, ghastly,’ formed from early ModHG. graß; the latter is derived from MidHG. graȥ, ‘furious, angry,’ of which OHG. preserves only the adv. graȥȥo, ‘violently, very’; Goth. *grata-, as well as correspondences in the remaining dialects, is wanting. Goth. grêtan, ‘to weep’ (MidHG. grâȥen), is scarcely allied.
Grat, m., and Gräte, f., ‘point, ridge, fish-bone,’ from MidHG. grât, m., ‘fish-bone, awn, back-bone, mountain ridge’; in ModHG. the word has assumed two forms, according to the meanings. Since Graune, ‘awn,’ has also the dial. sense ‘fish-bone,’ both words may perhaps be traced back to a common root gra-, ‘to be pointed, bristly.’
grau, adj., ‘grey,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grâ (gen. grâwes), OHG. grâo (gen. grâwes); corresponding to Du. graauw, AS. grœ̂g, E. grey, gray, OIc. grár, ‘grey.’ Its origin and further relations cannot be traced; Aryan ghrêw?.
Gräuel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. griul, griuwel, m., ‘terror, horror, abomination’ (Du. gruwel); allied to ModHG. grauen, MidHG. grûwen, ‘to horrify, terrify,’ OHG. ingrûên, ‘to shudder.’ Akin also to ModHG. grausam, from MidHG. grûwesam, ‘exciting terror’; ModHG. gräulich, from MidHG. griuwelich. The root grû, ‘to frighten,’ is wanting in the rest of the OTeut. dialects. See Graus.
Graupe, f., ‘peeled grain or barley,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; in the 15th cent. the compound îs-grûpe, ‘hailstone,’ is recorded. Allied to Swed. grœpe, grjupe, ‘shot,’ as well as Russ. krupa, OSlov. krupa, ‘crumb,’ Serv. krupa, ‘hail, sleet.’ Probably the cognates are native to Slavonic.
Graus, n., ‘horror, dread,’ from MidHG. grûs, m., ‘dread, terror’; allied to ModHG. grausen, MidHG. grûsen, griusen, OHG. grûwisôn, grûsôn, ‘to be terrified’; formed from the suffix -isôn and the root grû. See Gräuel, where grausam is also discussed.
Grauß, m., ‘gravel,’ from MidHG., grûȥ. See Grieß.
Greif, m., ‘griffin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grîf, grîfe, OHG. grîf, grîfo, m. Whether the word was adopted from Greek through an Eastern source before the 8th cent. (hence the change of p into f) is questionable; in any case, Gr. γρύψ, ‘griffin’ (stem γρῦπ; ν in the Byzantine and modern pronunciation equal to î; comp. Leier), must be regarded as the final source of Greif; see also Drache. Chiefly through the legends concerning Duke Ernst the griffin became popular in Germany, though not among the other Teutons. In Romance too the bird is similarly named — Ital. griffo, griffone, Fr. griffon (E. griffin). Hence OHG. grîfo and its Romance correspondences are probably to be traced back to a MidLat. grîphus, derived from the Greek word; comp. also OIr. gríf. Since, moreover, the belief in fabulous birds that carry off men is genuinely Teut., a Teut. form *grîpo, ‘snatcher’ (allied to greifen), may have been combined with γρῦπ-.
greifen, vb., ‘to grasp, seize,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grîfen, OHG. grîfan, str. vb.; corresponding to OSax. grîpan, Du. grijpen, AS. grîpan, E. to gripe, Goth. greipan, ‘to seize, lay hold of’; a common Teut. vb., whence Fr. gripper, ‘to clutch,’ and griffe, ‘claw.’ In the non-Teut. languages there exists an allied Aryan root ghrī̆b, in Lith. greibiu, greibti, ‘to seize,’ and Lett. griba, ‘will,’ gribêt, ‘to wish.’
greinen, vb., ‘to whine, grin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grînen, OHG. grînan, str. vb., ‘to distort the mouth with laughing or crying, grumble, snarl,’ allied to ​MidHG. grinnen, ‘to gnash,’ E. to grin, to groan, (AS. grânian), also grinsen; from the OG. cognates Ital. digrignare, ‘to grin,’ is derived. The root grī̆, pre-Teut. ghrī̆, is not found elsewhere (Sans. hrî, ‘to be ashamed’?).
greis, adj., ‘grizzled, hoary, aged,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grîs, OHG. grîs (grîsil); comp. OSax. grîs, ‘hoary’; allied to Greis from MidHG. grîse, ‘old man.’ From this OG. word, unknown to the other Teut. dialects and obscure in its origin, are derived the Romance cognates, Ital. griso, grigio, Fr. gris, ‘grey’ (Ital. grigio, from Goth. *greisja-?. Comp. MidLat. griseus, ‘grey’).
grell, adj., ‘shrill, glaring, dazzling,’ from MidHG. grël(ll), ‘rough, angry,’ allied to MidHG. grëllen, ‘to cry aloud, angrily’; wanting in OHG.; comp.'AS. griellan, ‘to gnash, sound harshly.’ The root and further cognates are unknown; akin to Grille?.
Grempelmarkt, m., ‘frippery, rag-fair,’ allied to MidHG. grempeler, ‘slop-seller, retailer,’ grempen, ‘to keep a retail shop, deal in second-hand goods’; the latter is akin to Ital. comprare (with r transposed crompare), ‘to buy,’ compra, ‘purchase.’
Grensing, m., the plant Potentilla anserina (silver-weed, goose-grass, or wild tansy), from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. grensinc; akin to MidHG. grans, ‘beak.’ See Grans.
Grenze, f., ‘boundary, frontier, limit,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. gręniz, gręnize, f. (appeared in the 13th cent. in the district belonging to the Teutonic Order), which is again derived from Pol. and Russ. granica, Boh. hranice. The native word for Grenze is Warf.
Greuel, see Gräuel.
Griebe (Bav. Greube), f., from the equiv. MidHG. griebe (Bav. griube, Swiss grṻbe), OHG. griobo, griubo, m., ‘greaves’ (in OHG. also, ‘frying-pan’?); corresponding to AS. greófa, E. greaves, Swed. grefwar; g in this word scarcely represents the prefix ga-, ge-, so that the word might be connected with the root of OHG. girouben, ‘to fry.’
Griebs, n., ‘core of fruit,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grobiȥ, grübiȥ (also ‘larynx’), to which the dial. variants MidHG. grütz (gürbsi), ModHG. Gretzen, are akin. OHG. *grobaȥ and *grubiȥ are wanting; in form they are connected with OHG. obaȥ, ‘fruit,’ with MidHG. ebiȥ, ebitz, ‘core of fruit,’ and with ModHG. Butzen, as well as Swiss böki.
Griesgram, m., ‘ill-humour, spleen,’ from MidHG. grisgram, m., ‘gnashing of teeth’; allied to MidHG. grisgramen, -grammen, ‘to gnash with the teeth, snarl,’ OHG. grisgramôn, gristgrimmôn, ‘to gnash,’ AS. gristbîtung, ‘gnashing of teeth.’ The first syllable represents grist-, but that does not make the early history of the word clearer.
Grieß, m. and n., ‘gravel, groats,’ from MidHG. grieȥ (grûȥ), m. and n., ‘grain of sand, sand, gravel’; the ModHG. sense has not yet been found in MidHG. (yet late MidHG. grieȥmël, ‘coarse ground flour’), OHG. grioȥ, m. and n., ‘sand, gravel’; corresponding to OSax. griot, AS. greôt, ‘sand,’ OIc. grjót, ‘stones.’ On the OG. meaning of these cognates are based Ital. greto, ‘stony bed of a river,’ and Fr. grès, ‘sandstone,’ grêle, ‘hail.’ The ModHG. signification is connected with the closely allied cognates of Grüße.
Griffel, m., ‘slate pencil, graving tool, stylus,’ from the equiv. MidHG. griffel, OHG. griffil, m.; related to greifen as Halter to halten?. Yet it is more probably based on a Teut. root grep, ‘to dig’; comp. Swed. urgrœpa, ‘to excavate,’ OSwed. and OIc. grôp, ‘pit,’ LG. Grüppe, ‘gutter.’
Grille, f., ‘cricket, whim, crotchet,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grille, OHG. grillo, m.; corresponding to Ital. grillo (from Gr. γρύλλος, ‘grasshopper’).
grimm, adj., ‘fierce, wrathful, furious,’ from MidHG. grim, grimme, OHG. grim, grimmi, ‘unfriendly, frightful, savage’ (to which ModHG. grimmig, MidHG. grimmec and OHG. grimmig are allied). Corresponding to OSax. and AS. grim(mm), E. grim, Du. grimmig, OIc. grimmr, Goth. *grimma-; allied to ModHG. gram, root grem (by gradation gram). —
Grimm, m., ‘fury, rage, wrath,’ from MidHG. grim (mm), m.; comp. Du. grim.
Grimmen, n., ‘ache, gripe,’ in Bauchgrimmen, from the equiv. MidHG. grimme, m.; to this the simply ModHG. Grimmdarm, ‘colon,’ is akin.
Grind, m., ‘scab, scurf, itch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grint(d), OHG. grint, m.; allied, like Grand, to OTeut. grindan? or to Grund?.
grinsen, vb., ‘to grin, show the teeth,’ with a deriv. s from MidHG. grinnen, ‘to gnash.’ See greinen.
​ Grippe, f. ‘influenza,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Fr. grippe.
grob, adj., ‘coarse, uncouth, rude,’ from MidHG. grop(b), gerop, OHG. gerob, grob, ‘thick, awkward, indelicate’; comp. Du. and MidLG. grof, ‘coarse.’ The explanation of the word is not certain, since it is wanting in the other Teut. languages; it is undecided whether the term is compounded with ge-, Goth. ga-; if Goth. *ga-hruba- were the primit. form, the connection with AS. hreóf, OHG. riob, ‘scabiosus,’ would still remain doubtful.
grollen, vb., ‘to bear ill-will or a grudge; roll (of thunder,)’ allied to MidHG. grüllen, ‘to scorn, ridicule’; comp. AS. gryllan, ‘to gnash,’ MidE. grillen, ‘to vex’?.
Groppe, m. and f., ‘miller's thumb,’ from the equiv. MidHG. groppe; akin to MidLat. carabus?.
Gros, Groß, n., simply ModHG., from the equiv. Fr. grosse, ‘twelve dozen, gross.’
Groschen, m., ‘groschen (11/5d.),’ from the equiv. MidHG. gros, grosse, m.; like Fr. gros, ‘groschen,’ from MidLat. grossus; related to the common Rom. adj., Ital. grosso, ‘thick’ (comp. Fr. gros), just as MidLG. grote (whence E. groat), ‘groschen,’ to groß.
groß, adj., ‘great, large, huge, grand,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. grôȥ; a specifically West Teut. adj. (in Goth. mikils, MidHG. michel, Gr. μεγάλη); comp. OSax. grôt, Du. groot, E. great, AS. greát. The assumed Goth. *grauta- (pre-Teut. ghraudo-) has no correspondences in the non-Teut. languages. On account of the Teut. au especially, Lat. grandis cannot be primit. allied; it is rather connected with Lat. rûdus, raudus, n., ‘lump of bronze, stones broken into small pieces,’ and rudis, ‘raw’ (Aryan root ghrū̆d).
Grotte, see Gruft.
Grotzen, see Griebs.
Grube, f., ‘pit, cavity, quarry, mine, ditch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gruobe, OHG. gruoba, f.; comp. Goth. grôba, f., ‘pit, cavern’ (E. groove); allied to graben. Whether Gruft, f., ‘cave, hollow, sepulchre,’ is connected with it is questionable; MidHG. gruft, OHG. gruft, might well correspond in form to graben, as the vowels of grübeln prove. But the absence of the word in the other OTeut. dialects probably shows that it was borrowed from the Rom. cognates, Ital. grotta, Fr. grotte, ‘grotto’ (whence also Grotte, in ModHG. only), which are based on early MidLat. grupta (Gr. κρύπτη). —
grübeln, vb., ‘to grub, rack one's brains, brood,’ from MidHG. grübelen, OHG. grubilôn, ‘to excavate by boring, investigate closely’; it is certainly connected with the root grab, ‘to dig’ (comp. E. to grub).
Grummet, n., ‘aftermath,’ from MidHG. gruënmât, gruonmât, n., ‘grass mown when it is green, i.e. unripe, aftermath’; the derivation from the root grô (see grün), ‘to grow,’ is less probable (Grümmet, lit. ‘grass mown during its growth’). Comp. Mahd.
grün, adj., ‘green, fresh, vigorous, unripe,’ from MidHG. grüene, OHG. gruoni, ‘green, fresh’; corresponding to OSax. grôni, Du. groen, AS. grêne, E. green, OIc. grœ́nn, Goth. *grô-ni-, ‘green'; allied to a Teut. root grô, ‘to grow, become green.’ Comp. MidHG. grüejen, OHG. gruoan, ‘to grow green’; AS. grôwan, E. to grow, Du. groeijen, ‘to grow, thrive.’ Akin to Gras and its Aryan cognates.
Grund, m., ‘ground, earth, basis, rudiment, reason,’ from the equiv. MidHG. grunt(d), OHG. grunt, m.; corresponding to Du. grond, AS. grund, E. ground, OIc. grund, ‘meadow land,’ grunnr (from grun-þus), ‘bottom of the sea;’ Goth. grundu-waddjus, ‘foundation wall.’ Goth. grundu, from pre-Teut. ghrentu- (with t on account of OIc. grunnr), cannot have originated in the Teut. root grind (pre-Teut. ghrendh) mentioned under Grand. No cognates are found in the non-Teut. languages.
Grünspan, m., ‘verdigris,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. gruënspân, m., formed like the ordinary MidHG. spângrüen, n., ‘verdigris,’ from MidLat. viride Hispanum.
grunzen, vb., ‘to grunt,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. grunzen (OHG. *grunnazzen); corresponding to E. to grunt (MidE. grunten); intensive form of MidHG. grinnen, AS. grunnian, ‘to gnash.’ The stem upon which it is based is probably imitative, as the similarly sounding Lat. grunnire, Gr. γρύζειν, lead us to suppose.
gruseln, vb., ‘to inspire terror,’ ModHG. simply, intensive of grausen.
Gruß, m., ‘greeting, salute,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gruoȥ, m.; corresponding to Du. groet. ‘To this is allied grüßen, from MidHG. grüeȥen (grüetzen), OHG. gruoȥȥen (gruozzen), wk. vb., ‘to address, accost’ (also with hostile intent ‘to ​attack’); corresponding to AS. grêtan, E. to greet, Du. groeten, OSax. grôtian, ‘to address,’ OIc. grœta. The latter is probably the primary meaning of the cognates, which are merely West Teut. Origin obscure.
Grütze, f., ‘groats, grit, brain,’ from MidHG. grütze, ‘water-gruel’; a variant of the equiv. MidHG. griuȥe (griutze?); OHG. gruzzi (whence Ital. gruzzo, ‘pile of collected things’); comp. AS. grŷt and grytt, E. grit and groat (from AS. *grota?), OIc. grautr, Du. grut, gort, ‘groats.’ From OG. the Romance cognates, Fr. gruau, ‘groats,’ are derived. Besides Grieß, MidHG. grûȥ, ‘grain,’ is also allied to Grütze; hence ‘grain’ may be the prim. meaning of the Teut. root grū̆t, with which the primit. cognates Lith. grúdas, ‘grain, kernel,’ and OSlov. gruda, ‘clod,’ are also connected.
gucken, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. gucken, gücken, ‘to peep’; the word is wanting in OHG. and in OTeut. generally. Origin obscure.
Gulden, m., ‘florin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gulden, guldîn, m., ‘the golden coin,’ from MidHG. guldîn, ‘golden.’ The absence of mutation from u to ü is in accordance with the practice of earlier UpG. (Suab. Gülden).
Gülte, f., ‘payment, interest,’ from MidHG. gülte, f., ‘debt, payment, interest, rent.’ Akin to gelten.
Gundelrebe, f., ‘ground-ivy,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gunderëbe; the deviation in meaning in OHG. gundrëba, ‘maple,’ is remarkable. Allied to OHG. gund (gunt), ‘pus, poison,’ AS. gund, Goth. gunds, ‘pus’?. In that case the word would signify ‘poison-vine’ (see Rebe), Ground-ivy was used as a medicinal herb.
Günsel, m., ‘bugle(-plant),’ simply ModHG., transformed from Lat. consolida, “a name applied by the earlier herb-gatherers to all wound-healing plants.”
Gunst, f., ‘favour, partiality, permission,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. gunst, m., and f., ‘benevolence, permission,’ for *geunst, allied to OHG. gi-unnan (see gönnen); in OHG. unst, f. (MidHG. also gund; comp. OIc. ǫfund, ‘disfavour’), Goth. ansts, ‘favour, mercy,’ AS. êst, OHG. anst, ‘favour, mercy.’
Gurgel, f., ‘gullet, throat,’ from MidHG. gurgel, OHG. gurgula, f.; a remarkably early loan-word (comp. Körper) from Lat. gurgulio, which supplanted a genuine Teut. word primit. allied to it — OHG. quërchala, quërcha, ‘gullet,’ allied to OIc. kverk, ‘gullet.’
Gurke, f., ‘cucumber,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; corresponding to Du. agurkje, E. gherkin, Dan. agurke; borrowed from Pol. ogurek, Bohem. okurka; the latter has been derived from late Gr. ἀγγούριον, ‘water-melon,’ and further from Pers. ankhara. In UpG. (also in the Wetter and Hess. dials.) Kukumer is used instead of Gurke.
gürren, vb., ‘to coo,’ from MidHG. gurren, ‘to bray’; allied to MidHG. gërren. See girren.
Gurt, m., ‘girth, girdle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gurt (in compounds über-, umbe-, under-gurt); allied to gürten from the equiv. MidHG. gürten (gurten), OHG. gurten (gurtjan); comp. OSax. gurdian, Du. gorden, AS. gyrdan, E. to gird; in Goth. gairdan, str. vb. ‘to gird.’ With the root gerd contained in these words are connected OIc. garðr, ‘fence round the farm,’ OSlov. gradŭ, ‘wall, town’ (see Garten, and respecting the evolution of meaning see Zaun). —
Gürtel, m., ‘girdle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. gürtel, m. and f., OHG. gurtil, m., gurtila, f. Comp. E. girdle, from AS. gyrdel.
Guß, m., ‘shower, torrent, spout, cast,’ from MidHG. and OHG. guȥ(ȥȥ), ‘cast, shower.’ Allied to gießen.
gut, adj., ‘good, virtuous, skilful,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. guot; a common Teut. term unknown to the non-Teut. languages; comp. Goth. gôds, OIc. gôðr, AS. gôd, E. good, Du. goed. Its connection with Gr. ἀγαθός is phonetically uncertain. Only in Teut. are found reliable cognates which may elucidate the primary meaning of gut (yet comp. OSlov. godŭ, ‘suitable time’?). The cognates of Gatte, with which E. together, to gather, Goth. gadiliggs, ‘relative,’ also seem to be connected, prove that the prim. meaning of gut is ‘belonging to one another, suitable.’ For the comparison of the adj. see baß, besser.