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

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