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

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​ -a, -ach, a frequent suffix in the formation of the names of brooks and rivers (or rather the places named after them); on the whole, -ach (Urach, Steinach, Salzach, Rotach, Schwarzach) is more UpG., -a more MidG., and LG. (Fulda, Berra, Schwarza); from OHG. aha, ‘running water,’ Goth. ahwa, ‘river' (for details see Au), whence also the names of the rivers Aa (Westph.), Ohe (Hesse).
Aal, m., ‘eel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. OHG. âl, m., a term common to the Teutonic dialects; comp. OIc. âll, AS. œ̂l, E. eel, Du. aal (allied perhaps to Alant i.). No original affinity to the equiv. Lat. anguilla, Gr. ἔγχελυς, is possible, for the sounds of the Teut. words differ too much from it; even from *anglu-, OHG. âl or AS. œ̂l could not be derived. Besides, there is no hereditary stock of names of fishes possessed in common by Teut. and Gr. and Lat. (see Fisch). —
Aalraupe, f., ‘eel-pout' (also called Aalquappe, see Quappe), an eel-like fish, originally called Raupe merely; in MidHG. rū̆ppe, OHG. rûppa; as the MidHG. rutte (the equivalent and parallel form) indicates, the base of the word is probably supplied by the Lat. rubêta, from which, through the Teut. custom of displacing the accent in borrowed words (see Abt), we get rúbeta, and then, by the assimilation of the consonants through syncope of the intermediate e, the forms mentioned; names of fishes borrowed in OHG. from Lat. rarely occur. See Quappe.
Aar, m., from the equiv. MidHG. ar, OHG. aro, m., ‘eagle’; a prim. Teut. word, which has also cognates outside the Teut. group. Comp. Goth. ara, OIc. are, m., ‘eagle'; further OIc. ǫrn, OHG., MidHG. arn (to which is allied ModHG. Arnold, OHG. Aranolt, orig. sense ‘eagle-guardian'), AS. earn, ‘eagle,’ Du. arend, ‘eagle'; primarily cognate with OSlov. orĭlŭ, Lith. erélis, ‘eagle,’ Gr. ὄρνις, ‘bird,’ Corn. and Bret. er. W. eryr, ‘eagle.’ See Adler.
Aas, n., from the equiv. MidHG., OHG. and OLG. âs, n., ‘carcass, carrion'; comp. the equiv. AS. œ̂s; allied to essen.
ab, adv., also a prep. in older ModHG. (hence the modern abhanden, lit. ‘from the hands,’ as well as Swiss patronymics like Ab der Fluh, Ab der Hald), ‘off, away from,’ from MidHG. abe, ab, prep., ‘down from, away from, off,’ adv., ‘down,’ OHG. aba, prep., ‘away from, down from here,’ adv., ‘down.’ Corresponding to Goth. af (ab), prep., ‘down from there, from' (also adv.), MidDu. af, ave, OLG. af, equiv. to AS. of, E. of; orig. cognate with Gr. ἀπό, Sans. ápa, ‘away from.’ Of course phrases like ab Hamburg, do not contain the OG. prep., but are due to incorrect Latinity; since the 17th century commercial language has adopted Latin expressions.
Abend, m., ‘evening,’ from the equiv. MidHG. âbent (âbunt); OHG. âband, m.; corresponding to OSax. âƀand, Du. avond, AS. œ̂fen, ‘evening,’ whence E. eve; also the deriv. AS. œ̂fning, E. evening (comp. morning); OIc. aptann; similarly Goth. andanahti, orig. sense ‘forenight,’ and sagqs, lit. ‘setting.’ The SEurop. term corresponding to Gr. ἕσπερος, Lat. vesper, is non-Teut. (comp. West and Winter). A verb aben (ooben), ‘to grow dusk,’ adduced from the Swiss dialects to explain Abend, can be none other than a later derivative of Abend. Moreover, Abend (base êp-) can scarcely be connected with ab (base apo), as if Abend were the waning period of the day. According to old Teut. notions, the evening was regarded rather as the beginning of the following day. See Sonnabend and Fastnacht.
Abenteuer, n., ‘adventure,’ from ​MidHG. âventiure, f., ‘occurrence, a marvellous, fortunate event, a poem on such a theme, sources of the court poets’; the latter is derived from Fr. aventure (MidLat. adventura, allied to MidLat. and Rom. advenire, ‘to happen’).
aber, adv. and conj., ‘but, however,’ from MidHG. aber (aver), abe (ave), adv. and conj., ‘again, once more, on the contrary, but’; OHG. abur, avar, adv. and conj. with both meanings; to this OHG. avarôn. ‘to repeat,’ ModHG. (UpG.) äfern is allied. Comp. Goth. afar, prep., ‘after,’ adv., ‘afterwards,’ OIc. afar, ‘very,’ in compounds; the word does not occur in Sax. dialects, but its deriv. OSax. aƀaro, AS. eafora, ‘descendant’ (comp. Goth. afar, ‘afterwards’), exists. It is probably related to ab and its cognates; comp. further Sans. ápara, ‘the later,’ aparám, adv., ‘latterly, in future,’ aparī̆, ‘future.’
aber, äber, adj., (UpG.), äfer (Franc), ‘free from snow, laid bare’; from the prim. form *âbar, âbiri (âfiri); orig. cognate with Lat. apricus, ‘sunny.’
Aberglaube, m., ‘superstition,’ first occurs in early ModHG. (15th cent.); since Luther it has made its way into ModHG.; orig. a LG. word (comp. Adebar, Demut), as the vowel-sounds indicate. LG. aber, for over, ober, points to OLG. *oƀar-gilóðo (Du. overgeloof), ‘superstition,’ which is formed after the model of Lat. superstitio; comp. Dan. overtro, Sw. öfvertro, but also in MidLG. bîgelôve, Du. bijgeloof.
abermal, adv., first occurs in ModHG. for the equiv. MidHG. aber, ‘again, once more,’ formed with the suffix mal.
Aberraute, f., ‘southern-wood,’ a corruption of Lat-Gr. abrotonum (Fr. aurone), due to its supposed connection with Raute; see also Ebritz.
Aberwitz, m., ‘false wit, craziness,’ from MidHG. aberwitze, abewitze, ‘want of understanding,’ from MidHG. abe, ‘away from,’ as in MidHG. abegunst, ‘envy, jealousy.’
abgefeimt, see Feim.
Abgott, m., ‘idol,’ from MidHG. and OHG. abgot, n., ‘idol, idolatrous image’; note the retention of the older gender of Gott as late as MidHG.; comp. Goth. afguþs, ‘godless’ (antithesis to gaguþs, ‘pious’); hence Abgott is properly ‘false god’; see Aberwitz.
Abgrund, m., ‘abyss, precipice,’ from MidHG. abgrunt, m., most frequently abgründe, n., OHG. abgrunti, n., ‘abyss,’ properly ‘declivity’; comp. Goth. afgrundiþa, f., ‘abyss.’
ablang, adj., ‘oblong, oval,’ first occurs in ModHG., formed on the model of Lat. oblongus.
Ablats, m., ‘sluice, remission,’ from MidHG. ablâȥ, m., OHG. áblâȥ, n., ‘indulgence, remission, pardon’; comp. Goth. áflêts, m., ‘remission, pardon.’ allied to af-lẽtan, ‘to remit, pardon,’ OHG. ob-lâȥȥan.
abmurksen, see meucheln.
Abseite, f., ‘wing, aisle,’ from MidHG. apsîte, f., ‘the domed recess of a church,’ a corruption of MidLat. and OHG. absida (Gr. ἀψίς), ‘vault,’ due to its supposed connection with sîte, ‘side.’
abspenstig, adj., ‘alienated, disaffected,’ first occurs in ModHG., from OHG. spenstîg, ‘seductive,’ allied to OHG. spanst, ‘allurement’; see under Gespenst and widerspenstig.
Abt, m., ‘abbot,’ from the equiv. MidHG. apt, abbet, abbât, OHG. and MidHG. abbā̆t, m.; comp. Du. abt, AS. abbod (with an abnormal d), and less frequently abbot, E. abbot. Borrowed with a change of accent in OHG. from MidLat. abbât- (nom. sing. abbas), ‘abbot’; comp. Ital. abáte, Fr. abbé, OIr. abb, acc. abbaith. It will be seen under Kreuz that in words borrowed from Lat. the stem of the oblique cases as well as the nomin. often forms the base; with regard to the ecclesiastical terms borrowed in OHG. comp. among others Mönch, Nonne, Papst, Priester, Probst.
Abtei, f., ‘abbey,’ from MidHG. aptei, abbeteie, OHG. abbateia, f., ‘abbey’ (for *abbeia?), formed from MidLat. abbatia, under the influence of OFr. abbaie, and based upon abbā̆t.
abtrünnig, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. abetrünncc (abetrünne), OHG. abatrunnîg, adj., ‘recreant’; orig. sense, ‘he who separates himself from,’ for trennen contains the same stem. Comp. also OHG. anttrunno, ‘fugitive,’ MidHG. trünne, ‘a detached troop.’
Abzucht, f., ‘drain, sewer,’ first occurs in ModHG., germanised from Lat. aquaeductus (whence also Swiss Akten, ‘conduits’). See Andauche.
ach, interj., ‘ah! alas!’ from MidHG. ach, OHG. ah; to this is allied MidHG. and ModHG. Ach, ah, n., ‘woe,’ and its deriv., which first occurs in ModHG., ächzen, ​orig. sense, ‘to utter Ach’ (formed like ihrzen, dutzen).
Achat, m., ‘agate,’ from MidHG. achât, achâtes, equiv. to Gr-Lat. achates.
Ache, Rhen. for Nachen.
Achel, see Ähre.
acheln, Jew., ‘to eat,’ from Heb. âkhàl, ‘to eat.’
Achse, f., ‘axle, axis,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ahse, OHG. ahsa, f.; comp. Du. as, AS. eax, f., E. axle (even in MidE. eaxel-tree occurs, E. axle-tree), with deriv. l, like OIc. öxull, m., ‘axle'; Goth. *ahsa, or rather *ahsuls, is, by chance, not recorded. The stem ahsô-, common to the Teut. languages, from pre-Teut. aksâ, is widely diffused among the Aryan tongues; it is primitively related to Sans. ákša, m., Gr. ἄξων, Lat. axis, OSlov. osĭ, Lith. aszìs, ‘axle'; the supposition that the Teut. cognates were borrowed is quite unfounded; comp. Rad. The orig. sense of Aryan akso- remains obscure; with the root ag, ‘to drive,’ some have connected Lat. ago, Gr. ἄγω. See the following word.
Achsel, f., ‘shoulder,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ahsel, OHG. ahsala, f.; comp. AS. eaxl, OIc. ǫxl, f., ‘shoulder'; Goth. *ahsla, f., is wanting. It is probable that the Teut. word is connected with the O. Aryan Achse; Lat. axilla (Olr. oxal), ‘arm-pit,’ and âla, ‘arm-pit, wing,’ are also cognate with it. In OTeut., Goth. *ahsla (Aryan *akslâ) has a still wider family, since forms with Teut. ô, Aryan â in the stem belong to it; comp. AS. ôxn, ôcusla, ‘arm-pit,’ and OHG. wohsana, MidHG. üehse, wohse, f., ‘arm-pit,'Du. oksel,’ shoulder.’
acht, num., ‘eight,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ahte, OHG. ahto, common to the Teut. and also to the Aryan groups. Comp. Goth. ahtau, AS. eahta, E. eight, Du. acht, OSax. ahto; further, Sans. ašṭáu, Gr. ὀκτώ, Lat. octo, OIr. ocht, Lith. asztu̇nì, prim. Aryan oktô, or rather oktôu, ‘eight.’ Respecting acht Tage see the historical note under Nacht.
Acht, f., ‘outlawry, ban,’ from MidHG. âhte, œhte, f., ‘pursuit, proscription, outlawry, ban’; OHG. âhta (AS. ôht), f., ‘hostile pursuit.’ Goth. *âhtjan. ‘to pursue,’ is wanting. Comp. OSax. âhtian, AS. êhtan (from anhtjan), ‘to pursue.’ Teut. *añhtian, ‘to pursue,’ and *anhtô, ‘pursuit,’ seem to be based on a non-dental root, which is perhaps connected with the cognates of eng (Aryan root angh).
achten, vb., ‘to have regard to, esteem, value,’ from MidHG. ahten, OHG. ahtôn, ‘to heed, ponder, take care’; allied to MidHG. ahte, OHG. ahta, f., ‘heed, paying attention.’ Comp. Du. achten, AS. eahtian, ‘to ponder'; also with deriv. l, OIc. œtla (Goth. *ahtilôn), ‘to suppose, think.’ It is based upon a Teut. root ah, ‘to suppose, think’; comp. Goth. aha, ‘understanding,’ ahjan, ‘to believe,’ ahma, ‘spirit.' The Aryan root ak is widely diffused, yet no other language coincides with the signification of the Teut. cognates.
achter, LowG. for after.
Achterwasser, ‘back-water.’ See under After.
ächzen, vb., see ach.
Acker, m., ‘field, arable land,’ from the equiv. MidHG. acker, OHG. acchar (ahhar), m.; a common Teut. and OAryan word corresponding to Goth. akrs, m., AS. œcer, E. acre (aker), Du. akker, OSax. akkar. Teut. *akra-z, m., from pre-Teut. agro-s; comp. Sans. ájra-s, m., ‘pasture-ground, plain, common,’ Gr. ἀγρός, Lat. ager (stem agro-), ‘field.’ It is certainly connected with the Ind. root aj, ‘to drive' (comp. Trift, allied to treiben), Lat. ago, Gr. ἄγω, to which in OIc. aka, ‘to drive,’ was allied. “Thus âjra- signifies in the widest sense ‘field and common,’ orig. as ‘pasture-land,’ the greatest part of which, when tillage supplanted the rearing of cattle, was used for crops.” The transition in meaning was, probably, completed on the migration of the Western Aryans to Europe; moreover, the root ar, ‘to plough, till,’ is West Aryan; comp. Gr. ἀρόω, Lat. arare, Goth. arjan, OHG. erian, OBulg. orati, ‘to plough.’ See Art.
Adebar, m. (Holland, ooijevaar), a Low G. name for the stork, MidLG. odevare, MidHG. odebar, OHG. odobëro (in Old Ger. times the term was, moreover, prevalent in Germany). No certain explanation of the word can be given; it is most frequently interpreted as ‘bringer of children, of good luck' (comp. Allod). Respecting the LG. vowel-sounds see Aberglaube.
Adel, m., ‘nobility,’ from MidHG. adel, m., n., ‘lineage, noble lineage, noble rank, perfection,’ OHG. adal, n. (and edili, n.), ‘lineage, esp. noble lineage’; corresponding to OSax. aðali, n., ‘body of nobles, notables, nobility,’ Du. adel, AS. œðelu, n. plur., ‘noble birth,’ OIc. aƀal, ‘disposition, talent, lineage.’ In Goth. the stem ​aþ (by gradation ôþ) is wanting; to it belong OHG. uodil, n., ‘patrimony, home’ (ModHG. Ulrich, from OHG. Uodalrîch or Uhland, from Uodal-lant), OSax. ôðil, AS. éðel, m., ‘patrimony, home.’ Hence the fundamental idea of the Teut. root aþ, by gradation ôþ (from Aryan ăt), seems to be ‘by transmission, inheritance.’ The aristocratic tinge evinced by the West Teut. cognates is not remarkable when we consider the early period; only the patrician had a ‘family’; genealogies of nobles (in old documents) reach back to the OTeut. period; the names beginning with Adel are primitive, Alfons, influenced by Rom. from OHG. Adalfuns, Adalheid, Adalberaht, Adolf, from Atha-ulf; also the deriv. OHG. Adalung. See too Adler, edel.
Ader, f., ‘vein,’ from MidHG. âder, OHG. âdara, f., ‘vein, sinew,’ corresponding to MidLG. ader, ‘vein, sinew,’ Du. ader, AS. œ̂dre, f., ‘vein’ (rarely êðr), OSw. aþra, ModSw. ådra; also without the deriv. r, OIc. œ̂ðr (the r is simply a nomin. suffix), f., ‘vein;’ the Goth. cognate êþ is not found. The pre-Teut. êt- has been connected with Gr. ἥτορ, ‘heart,’ ἦτρον, ‘abdomen,’ and here it must be recollected that MidHG. and MidLG. âder in the plur. may signify ‘bowels.’
Adler, m., ‘eagle,’ from MidHG. adel-ar (also adel-arn), m.; prop, a compound, ‘noble bird of prey.’ It is noteworthy that Aar in ModHG. is the nobler term, while Adler serves as the name for the species without any consciousness of its origin from Adel and Aar. OHG. *adal-aro appears by chance not to be recorded. Corresponds to Du. adelaar (besides arend).
äfern, vb., ‘to repeat,’ an UpG. word; MidHG. œferen, OHG. afarôn. See under aber.
-aff, suffix used to form names of rivers (Erlaff, OHG. Eril-affa, Aschaff, OHG. Asc-affa), and of places (esp. in Franc. and Hess., comp. Honeff), allied to which -ep, p (also Westph.), occurs as an unchanged LG. form, e.g. in Lennep. The base *apa is Kelt. (equiv. to Lat. aqua, ‘water,’ Goth. ahwa, ‘river’).
Affe, m., ‘ape, monkey,’ from the equiv. MidHG. affe, OHG. affo, m.; also in OHG. the feminine forms affa, affin, affinna, ‘female ape.’ A word common to the Teut. group, unrecorded by chance in Goth. alone, in which, by inference from OIc. ape, AS. apa, E. ape (whence Ir. and Gael. apa), Du. aap, the form must have been *apa. Facts and not linguistic reasons lead to the conclusion that apan- is a primitive loanword with which ORuss. opica, OBoh. opice, is connected, and through commercial intercourse reached the Teutons by some unknown route. On account of the assonance it is very often referred, without sufficient reason, to Sans. kapi (Gr. κῆπος), ‘ape’; at all events, it is certain that no word for Affe common to the Aryan, or even to the West Aryan, group does exist.
Affolter, m., ‘apple-tree.’ See Apfel.
After, m., ‘buttocks, backside,’ from MidHG. after, OHG. aftaro, m., ‘fundament, anus’; lit. ‘the back part,’ from MidHG. after, OHG. aftar, adj., ‘behind, following’; akin to Goth. aftana, ‘from behind,’ AS. after, E. after (LG. and Du. achter), Goth. aftra, ‘back, again.’ It is certainly allied to Goth. afar, ‘behind,’ and the cognates discussed under aber. — After- in compounds is lit. ‘after,’ whence the idea of ‘counterfeit, baseness’; comp. MidHG. aftersprâche, ‘slander, backbiting,’ afterwort, ‘calumny’; the older meaning, ‘after, behind,’ is preserved in ModHG. Aftermiete, -muse, -rede. Note too Suab. (even in the MidHG. period) aftermontag for ‘Tuesday.’
Aglei, f., from the equiv. MidHG. agleie, OHG. ageleia, f., ‘columbine,’ which is derived from Lat. aquilegia, whence too the equiv. Fr. ancolie, Du. akelei.
Ahle, f., from the equiv. MidHG. âle, OHG. âla, f., ‘cobbler’s awl.’ To this is allied the equiv. OHG. deriv. ălunsa, ălansa, f., (with the same suffix as Sense); prop. alesna (Swiss alesne, alsne), whence the Rom. cognates — Span. alesna, Ital. lesina, Fr. alêne, ‘awl,’ are borrowed; comp. Du. els, ‘awl’ (from *alisna), AS. œ̂l (in the Orkneys alison), OIc. alr, ‘awl.’ The consonance with Sans. ãrâ, f., ‘punch, awl,’ points to an OAryan word; there existed also a widely ramified Aryan root to designate articles of leather. See Saum and Säule.
ahmen, vb., in nachahmen, which is wanting in MidHG. and OHG.; from the equiv. MidHG. âmen, ‘to measure a cask, gauge,’ figuratively ‘to estimate,’ from MidHG. and MidLG. âme, ‘ohm’ (cask = about 40 galls.). See Ohm.
Ahn, m., ‘grandfather, ancestor,’ from MidHG. ane (collateral modified form ene), OHG. ano, m., ‘grandfather’; akin to the ​Alem. dimin. Ähni, ‘grandfather.’ Further ModHG. Ahne, MidHG. ane, OHG. ana, f., ‘grandmother.’ To these are allied ModHG. Urahn, MidHG. urane, urene, OHG. *urano, m., great-grandfather'; in OHG. alt-ano, altar-ano (for the force of ur- in Urahne see ur-). The class is peculiar to G., being foreign to the remaining Teut. dialects; comp. also Enkel — really a dimin. form — which belongs to it. There is no doubt that Lat. ănus, ‘old woman,’ is a primit. cognate. Perhaps the Teut. masculine name OHG. Anelo (AS. Onela, OIc. Ále) is allied to it.
ahnden, vb., ‘to punish,’ from MidHG. anden, OHG. antôn, anadôn, ‘to punish, censure,’ allied to OHG. anto, anado, m , ‘insult, embittered feeling, anger.’ It corresponds to OSax. ando, ‘exasperation, anger,’ AS. anda, oneþa, ‘zeal, vexation, hatred,’ whence andian, ‘to be angry’; moreover, Goth. preserves in uz-anan, ‘to die,’ the root an, ‘to breathe, respire, snort,’ which appears in these words. Comp. OIc. ande, m., ‘breath, spirit,’ ǫnd, f., ‘breath, soul'; and also AS. êðian, ‘to breathe' (implying Goth. *anþjôn), AS. oruþ, ‘breath' (Goth. *uzanþ), orþian, ‘to breathe,’ OIc. ørendi, ‘breathlessness.’ The root an, preserved in all the cognates, is OAryan, and means ‘to breathe’; comp. Lat. animus, anima, Gr. ἄνεμος, connected with the Aryan root an, ‘to breathe, respire.' —
ahnden, vb., ‘to forebode’; see ahnen.
Ahne, f., ‘boon’ (of flax or hemp), from MidHG. âne, older agene, f., ‘chaff'; OHG. agana, f., ‘chaff;’ also AS. *agon, œgne, MidE. awene, E. awns, Goth. ahana, OIc. ǫgn, ‘chaff.’ In these cognates two really different roots seem to have been blended in various ways; the meaning ‘chaff' would be applicable to the one, just as the exact Gr. corresponding ἄχνη, ‘chaff, foam’ (of the sea), likewise points to Aryan aghnâ (comp. besides Gr. ἄχυρον, ‘chaff’). The other is perhaps lit. ‘prickle, awn,’ and belongs to the root ah (Aryan ak); see Ähre.
ahnen, vb., ‘to forebode, suspect,’ from MidHG. anen, ‘to foresee, forebode,’ foreign to the older period and to the rest of the Teut. dialects; it has been connected with the OAryan root an, ‘to breathe, respire,’ so that it may be a primit. cognate of ahnden, under the influence of which it also appears in ModHG. as ahnden. It is better, however, to regard it as a derivative of the prep. an; allied, lit. ‘to befall, seize, attack' (properly said of ghosts or visions).
ähnlich, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. ánelîch, OHG. ánagilîh (*ánalîh), adj., ‘similar.’ It corresponds to Goth. ánaleikô, adv., ‘similarly’; from the OTeut. (Goth.) prep. ana (see an) and the suffix lich; see gleich
Ahorn, m.. ‘maple,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. âhorn, m., the â of which is inferred from the Swiss dial.; comp. Du. ahorn. It is primit. allied to Lat. ăcer, n., ‘maple' (Gr. ἄκαστος) and Gr. ἀκαταλίς ‘juniper berry.’ The G. word, at all events, cannot be regarded as borrowed from Lat. For another old name see under Maßholder.
Ähre, f., ‘ear’ (of corn), from the plur. of MidHG. eher, OHG. ehir, ahir, n., ‘ear’ (of corn); corresponds to Du. aar, AS. eár (from *eahor), E. ear. As the derivative r stands for an older s, Goth. ahs, n. (gen. ahsis) and OIc. ax (also Sw. and Dan.), ‘ear' (of corn), are identical with it; so, too, OHG. ah, ‘ear’ (of corn). Comp. besides OHG. ahii, ModHG. Achel, ‘prickle, spike’ (of corn), (with regard to the ch, comp. Bav. Echer, ‘ear of corn,’ AS. and Northumb. œhher), AS. egle, ‘spikes' (of corn), E. ails, eils ‘beard of wheat or barley,’ LG. (in Brockes) Eide, ‘spike’ (of corn), Goth. *agiþ? Comp. also Ahne. The Teut. root ah, which consequently, specially means ‘spike, ear' (of corn), agrees with Lat. acus (gen. aceris), n., ‘corn-prickle.’ It may be said generally that a root ah, with the primary meaning ‘pointed,’ is very widely developed in the Aryan group; comp. Gr. ἄκανος, ‘a kind of thistle,’ ἄκαινα, ‘goad,’ ἄκων, ‘javelin,’ ἄκρος, ‘at the point,’ Lat. acus, aculeus, acies (see Ecke).
Ähren, m., ‘vestibule’ (dial.), from MidHG. ęrn, m., ‘floor, threshing-floor,’ also ‘ground, bottom,’ OHG. ęrin, m. (Goth. *arins), to which OIc. arenn, m., ‘hearth,’ corresponds. Further, OHG. ëro, OIc. jǫrve, ‘earth,’ as well as Lat. area, ‘courtyard, threshing-floor,’ Lat. arvum, ‘plain, cornfield,’ and Gr. ἔραζε, ‘to the ground,’ may be cognate.
aichen, see eichen.
Ahlei, see Aglei.
Alabaster, m., ‘alabaster,’ from MidHG. alabaster (Goth. alabastraun), from Lat-Gr. alabastrum.
Alant (1.), m., ‘chub’ (a fish), from the equiv. MidHG. alant, OHG. alant, alunt, m., corresponds to OSax. alund; allied to ​OIc. ölunn, ‘a fish’; of obscure origin, perhaps akin to Aal.
Alant (2.), m., ‘elecampane’ (a plant), from the equiv. MidHG. alant, OHG. alant, m.; of obscure origin; it has been supposed to be connected with the equiv. Span. and Port. ala.
Alarm, m., ‘alarm’, first occurs in ModHG., like E. alarm, from the equiv. Fr. alarme; the latter is derived from Ital. allarme, prop., all’ arme, ‘to arms.’ See Lärm.
Alaun, m. ‘alum,’ from MidHG. alũn, m. ‘alum,’ from the equiv. Lat. alûmen, whence also Lith. alunas, Eng. and Fr. alun, E. alum (AS. œlifne, also efne).
Albe (1.), f.,’ alb.’ from MidHG. albe, OHG. alba, f., ‘a white vestment used at mass,’ formed from the equiv. EcclLat. alba (E. alb).
Albe (2.), f., ‘bleak, whitebait,’ from the equiv. MidHG. albel, m., formed from the Lat. albula, whence also Fr. able.
Albeere, Albesing,, LG. ‘black currant,’ even in MidLG. albere; al- is generally connected with Alant (2). Corresponding to Du. aalbes, aalbezie.
Alber, f., ‘white poplar,’ from MidHG. alber, OHG. albâri, m., ‘poplar’; prob. borrowed from Rom.; comp. Ital. albaro, which is connected either with Lat. albus or with Lat. arbor; OHG. arbar, ‘poplar,’ occurs once.
albern, adj., ‘silly, foolish,’ earlier ModHG. alber, from MidHG. álwœre, ‘simple, silly,’ OHG. álawâri, ‘kind, friendly, well-disposed’ (with an interesting change of meaning from OHG. to MidHG.). The OHG. adj. signifies also ‘truly, quite true’; so Goth. wêrs ‘true,’ also means ‘friendly’ by inference from un-wêrjan, ‘to be unwilling, displeased’ (comp. too OHG. mitiwâriy, ‘friendly’). See wahr and all. Moreover, albern has not the present meanings in the UpG. dialects; Luther introduced it from MidG. into the written language.
Alchimie, f. ‘alchemy,’ from late MidHG. alchemie, f., which is derived from the equiv. Rom. cognates — Ital. alchimia, Fr. alchimie — the origin of which from Arab. al-kimîâ and the earlier Gr. χυμός, ‘juice,’ is undoubted. Al- as the Arab. article is still seen in Alfali, Alforan, Alfade, Alhambra, Alkohol, Algebra. See Alkoven.
Alfanzerei, f., ‘foolery,’ from MidHG. ale-vanz, m., ‘trick, roguery, deceit’; connected with OHG. giana-venzôn, ‘to mock’ (the al- of MidHG. as in albern?), also Firlefanz and Fant.
Alkoven, m.,’ bedchamber, alcove.’ first occurs in ModHG. from Fr. alcôve (comp. also E. alcove), which with its Rom. cognates is based upon Arab. al-qobbah, ‘vault, tent’; comp. Alchimie, also Alhambra, Alkoran.
all, adj., ‘all, whole,’ from MidHG. and OHG. al (infl. gen. alles), adj., ‘entire, each, every one’; a word common to the Teut. group; it corresponds to Goth. alls, OIc. allr, AS. eall, E. all, Du. al, OSax. ol, with the same meanings. There is also an OTeut. form ala- in compounds and derivatives; comp. OHG. and OSax. alung, MidHG. alenc, ‘entire, complete,’ Goth. alamans, plur., ‘everybody,’ OHG. ala-wâr, ‘quite true’ (see albern), alaniwwi, ‘quite new.’ Probably Goth. alla- as a participial form is based upon an older al-na- (comp. voll, Wolle), since ala- shows that the root was al or rather ol. Whether Goth. alan, ‘to grow up’ (see alt), is a cognate, remains uncertain; in any case, the Kelt. words, OIr. uile, ule, ‘entire, each, all’ (base olio-), and W. oil ‘entire,’ are rightly compared with it, while Gr. ὅλος, on account of Sans. sárvas (from Aryan solvo-s), ‘entire, each,’ must be kept apart. —
allein, adj., ‘solitary, sole,’ from MidHG. al-ein, al-eine, like MidE. al-one, E. alone. —
allmählich, allmälig, adj., ‘gradual,’ earlier allmächlich and allgemach, from MidHG. almechlich ‘slow’; the later form allmälig is based upon Mal, ‘time,’ but the MidHG. form upon gemach. —
Allmendee, f. (Alem.), ‘common land,’ from MidHG. almende, f., ‘common’; on account of the MidHG. spelling almeinde and algemeine, the derivation from gemeine is probable (OHG. *alagimeinida). The derivation from an assumed OHG. alagimannida ‘community,’ must be rejected, as such a form could never have existed. —
Allod, n., ‘allodial estate, freehold,’ first occurs in ModHG., adopted from MidLat. allodium, which is the latinised form for the OG. and OFranc. alôdis, OHG. al-ôd, ‘entire property or possession, free property’; comp. OSax. ód, AS. eád, ‘estate, possession,’ OHG. ôtag, ‘wealthy.’ To this the Teut. proper name Odoardo, Edward, is allied.
Alm, f., ‘mountain pasture,’ equiv. to Alpe.
Almanach, m. ‘almanac,’ first appears in early ModHG., from Fr. almanack, which ​with its Rom. cognates is said to have come from Arab. through Span., like other words beginning with Al- (see Alchimie, Alkoven). But as the Arab. word for calendar is certainly not Almanach, but taquîm (Milan. taccuino), the derivation from Gr.-Egyp. ἀλμενιχιακά, ‘calendar’ (found in the Eccl. Hist. of Eusebius), is much more likely to be correct.
Almosen, n., ‘alms, charity,’ from the equiv. MidHG. almuosan, OHG. alamuosan alamôsan, n.; corresponds to Du. aalmoes, AS. œlmesse, E. alms, OIc. ǫlmusa, f.,’ alms.’ The derivation from Lat.-Gr. ἐλεημοσύνη, ‘sympathy, compassion, alms,’ is incontestable; as the OHG. collateral form elemosyna, elimosina indicates, the Lat.-Gr. origin was as firmly accepted in the OHG. period as the derivation of OHG. chirihha, ‘church,’ from κυριακόν. Yet the question remains how the ecclesiastical word found its way so early into the Teut. languages, so as to become a common possession of the MidEurop. and Northern Teutons. The absence of a corresponding Goth. word is explained by the fact that we obtained the word from the Rom. nations, as the congruent phonetic form proves: common Rom. alimǫsna, in accordance with Fr. aumône, OFr. almosne, Prov. almosna, Ital. limosina; allied also to OIr. almsan, OSlov. almušino, Lith. jalmūšnas.
Alp, m., ‘nightmare, incubus,’ from MidHG. alp(b), m., ‘spectre, incubus, nightmare, oppression caused by nightmare’; prop. a term applied to mythical beings, AS. œlf, OIc. álfr, ‘elf, goblin’ (the Scandinavians distinguished between fairies of light and darkness); these appear to be identical with the OInd. ṛbhú, (lit. ‘ingenious, sculptor, artist’), the name of three clever genii (the king of the fairies was ṛbhukšán). By the ASaxons, nightmare was called œlfâdl, œlfsogoða, ‘elf-malady, elf-sickness (hiccough),’ (lumbago in the Eng. dialects is termed awfshots, AS. ylfa gesceot). Comp. further Elf (proper names like Alboin, Alfred, have Alb as their first component).
Alpe, f., from the equiv. MidHG. albe, f., ‘mountain pasture,’ allied to Lat. alpes, so too OHG. Alpun and Alpi, ‘mountain pastures.’
Alraune, f. ‘mandrake,’ from MidHG. alrûne, OHG. alrûna, f., ‘mandrake, sorceress’; this, as the component -rûne indicates, is a primit. term, which has been supposed to be connected with old Teut. mythical beings who do their work secretly (comp. Goth. rûna, ‘secret’; see raunen).
als, conj., ‘as,’ from MidHG. als, álse, álsô, ‘likewise, thus, as, as if, because,’ hence prop. identical with also; OHG. alsô, ‘likewise, like,’ is a compound of al, ‘entirely,’ and sô, ‘thus,’ like the exactly corresponding AS. ealswâ, whence E. as, from eal, ‘entirely,’ and swâ, ‘so.’
also, adv., related to als, like ModE. also to as, identical in every respect with the preceding.
alt, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. alt, adj. ‘old’; the corresponding OSax. ald, AS. eald, E. old, have the same meaning; Goth. alþeis (instead of the expected form *alda-), ‘old.’ The West Teut. form al-da- is an old tó- participle (Lat. al-tus, ‘high’), like other ModHG. adjs. (see under falt), and belongs to Goth. alan, ‘to grow up,’ OIc. ala, ‘to bring forth’ (primit. related to Lat. alo. OIr. alim, ‘I nourish’), therefore lit. ‘grown up.’ Hence perhaps it was used orig. and chiefly in reckoning age, &c. (comp. Lat. X annos natus), but afterwards it was also used at an early period in an absolute sense, ‘vetus.’ See Alter, Eltern.
Altar, m., ‘altar,’ from MidHG. álter, altâre, altœre, under the constant influence of Lat. altâre, which forms the base. Comp. altâri, álteri, found even in OHG.; the word was introduced by Christianity. Goth. uses hunsla-staþs, lit. ‘temple-table’; AS. wîhbed for *wîhbeód sacred table’ (see weihen and Beute).
Alter, n., ‘age, antiquity,’ from MidHG. alter, OHG. altar, n., ‘age, old age’ (opposed to youth); comp. the corresponding OSax. aldar, ‘life, time of life,’ AS. ealdor, ‘life,’ OIc. aldr, ‘age, hoary age,’ Goth. *aldra-, in framaldrs, ‘of advanced age, in years.’ An abstract term formed from the root al, ‘to grow up, bring forth,’ mentioned under alt, and the suffix -tro- frequent in Gr. and Lat. See further cognates under Welt.
Altreise, see Riester.
Altvordern, plur., from the equiv. MidHG. altvordern, OHG. alt-fordoron, m. plur., ‘forefathers,’ lit. ‘the old former ones,’ from OHG. fordoro, ‘farmer.’ With regard to the signification of alt- in this compound, comp. OHG. and MidHG. alt-vater ‘grandfather,’ OHG. alt-hêrro, ‘ancestor,’ OHG. alt-mâg,’ forefather.’
Amboss, m. ‘anvil,’ from MidHG. ​anebôȥ, OHG. anabôȥ, m., ‘anvil'; a specifically G. word allied to OHG. bôȥân, MidHG. bôȥen, ‘to beat, strike.’ Comp. AS. beátan, E. to beat (see Beifuß, Beutel, bosseln). Whether OHG. ana-bôȥ is formed by the imitation of Lat. incus (allied to cudere) is uncertain, for the smith's art was early developed among the Teutons without any Southern influence. The corresponding terms AS. anfilt, E. anvil (also OHG. ana-falz), Du. aanbeeld, MidLG. anebelte, Dan. ambolt, are similarly formed.
Ameise, f., from the equiv. MidHG. ā̆meiȥe (emeze, whence ModHG. Emse), OHG. ā̆meiȥȥa, f., ‘ant'; note ModHG. dial. ametze, OHG. ā̆meitza. It corresponds to AS. œmette, E. emmet, ant. The derivation can scarcely be ascertained with certainty, as the relations of the vowels of the accented syllable are not clear; the OHG. form ămeiȥȥa evidently indicates a connection with emsig; Ameise, lit. ‘the diligent (insect).’ On the other hand, OHG. â-meizza and AS. œ-mette point to a root mait, ‘to cut, gnaw' (see under Meißel), so that it would signify ‘gnawing insect’ (MidHG. and OHG. â- means ‘off, to pieces'). Du. and LG. mier, ‘ant,’ is more widely diffused than Ameise, CrimGoth. miera (Goth. *miuzjô), AS. mŷra, E. mire, Sw. mŷra, ‘ant’; orig. ‘that which lives in the moss, the moss insect,’ allied to Teut. meuso- (see Mees). A word formed from the Lat. formica is probably at the base of Swiss wurmeisle.
Amelmehl, n., ‘starch-flour,’ from MidHG. amel, amer, OHG. amar,’ summer-spelt'; the ModHG. signification seems to be influenced by Gr.-MidLat. amylon, ‘finest meal’ (E. amel-corn).
Ammann, m. (Alem.; the Franc. term is Heimbürge), ‘chief magistrate, bailiff,’ from MidHG. amman, a shortened collateral form of ambetman, ‘magistrate, bailiff'; orig. sense, ‘servant, official,’ afterwards also ‘magistrate.’ See also Amt.
Amme, f., ‘(wet-)nurse, foster-mother,’ from MidHG. amme, f., ‘mother, in so far as the child is fed by her; (wet-)nurse,’ OHG. amma, f.; allied to OIc. amma, ‘grandmother' (Suab. and Bav. even yet ‘mother’). Probably an instinctive sound, since, undoubtedly independent of the Teut. group, Rom. also and other languages have similar words for Amme; comp. Span. and Port. ama.
Ammeister, m., ‘chief magistrate,’ from MidHG. ammeister, from ambetmeister, like Ammann, from Ambetmann; MidHG. ammanmeister and ammeister, ‘president of the guilds (of Strasburg).’
Ammer, f., from the equiv. MidHG. amer, OHG. amero (*amaro), m.,’ yellow-hammer,’ with the deriv. OHG. and MidHG. amerinc, ‘yellow-hammer,’ MidLat. amarellus, which may have been formed from the G. word; E. yellow - hammer (Goldammer) is a corrupt form. Whether OHG. *amaro was derived from OHG. amar, ‘summer-spelt,’ is as doubtful as its relation to Amsel.
Ampel, f., ‘lamp,’ from MidHG. ampel (also ampulle), OHG. ampulla, f., ‘lamp,’ also ‘vessel.’ Borrowed in OHG. from Lat. ampulla, ‘flask, vessel,’ whence also AS. ampelle, OIc. ample, ‘vessel’ (LG. pulle, ‘bottle’).
Ampfer, m., ‘sorrel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ampfer, OHG. ampfaro, m.; allied to the equiv. AS. ompre; an adj. used as a substantive. Comp. Du. amper, ‘sharp, bitter, unripe,’ OSw. amper, ‘sour, bitter,’ OIc. apr (for *ampr), ‘sharp' (chiefly of cold); also LG. ampern, ‘to prove bitter to the taste.’ Sauerampfer (also corrupted to Sauer-ramf) is a tautological compound like Windhund. In case Teut. ampra-, from *ambro-, represents the prop. Aryan *amró-, Sans. amlá, ‘sour' (also ‘wood-sorrel'), and Lat. amârus, ‘bitter,’ are primit. cognate with this word.
Amsel, f., ‘blackbird,’ from the equiv. MidHG. amsel, OHG. amsala, f. It corresponds to AS. ôsle (ôs- from ams-), E. ousel; the equiv. Lat. mĕrula (Fr. merle), whence Du. meerle and E. merl are borrowed, may represent *mĕsula, and have been orig. cognate with Amsel. Its relation to Ammer and to Goth. ams, ‘shoulder,’ is uncertain.
Amt, n., ‘office, council, jurisdiction,’ from MidHG. ammet, older ambet, OHG. ambaht, ambahti, n., ‘service, office, occupation, divine service, mass’; a word common to the Teut. group. Comp. Goth. andbahti, ‘office, service' (from andbahts, ‘servant,’ OHG. ambaht, ‘servant'), AS. anbiht, ambiht, n., ‘office, service,’ ambiht, m., ‘servant' (obsolete at the beginning of the MidE. period), Du. ambt, OSax. ambaht-skepi, ‘service,’ ambaht-man, ‘servant.’ The relation of the common Teut. word to the Gall.-Lat. ambactus (mentioned in Caesar's Bell. Gall.), ‘vassal,’ is much disputed. The West Teut. words may be best explained from Goth. and OTeut. ándbahta-, ​and the genuinely Teut. aspect of such a word cannot indeed be denied, even if the origin of -bahts cannot now be determined (and- is a verbal particle, ModHG. ant-). The emphatic testimony of Festus, however, is against the Teut. origin of the Gall.-Lat. ambactus; ambactus apud Ennium lingua gallica servus appellatur. This coincides with the fact that the word can be fully explained from Kelt.; ambactus contains the Kelt. prefix amb- (Lat. amb-) ‘about’; and ag is an oft-recurring verbal root (see Acker) in Kelt., meaning ‘to go’; hence ambactus, ‘messenger’ (lit. ‘one sent hither and thither’), from which comes MidLat. ambactia, ambactiata, ‘errand’ (Ital. ambasciata, Fr. ambassade, ‘embassy’). This explanation of the Lat.-Rom. cognates makes it possible that the OTeut. class was borrowed from Kelt. and transformed (Goth. andbahts for ambahts); in any case, it was borrowed in prehistoric times (comp. Reich).
an, prep., adv., ‘on, by, along,’ from MidHG. ane, OHG. ana, prep., adv., ‘on, in, upon’; it corresponds to Goth. ana, prep., adv., ‘on, upon, in,’ AS., E. on, prep., adv., Du. aan, OSax. an. Primit. allied to Gr. ἀνά, ‘upon, on,’ Zend ana ‘upon,’ Lat. an- in anhélare, ‘to respire,’ OSlov. vŭ (for *on).
anberaumen, vb., ‘to fix or appoint (a time),’ with a dialectic transmutation of â into au (OBav.), or the word was based by popular etymology on Raum, from MidHG. râmen (rœmen), ‘to make proposals, aim, strive’ (berâmen, ‘to fix’), OHG. râmên, OSax. râmôn, ‘to aim, strive,’ Du. beramen, ‘to fix’; allied to MidHG. râm ‘goal’ (root rê, as in Rede?). Further OFr. aramir, ‘to define legally’?.
Andacht, f., ‘devotion,’ from MidHG. andâht, OHG. ánadâht, ‘attention, devotion’; MidHG. dûht, f., ‘thought,’ is a verbal abstract from MidHG. and ModHG. denken.
Andauche, f., ‘drain,’ older ModHG. âdûche, transformed from Lat. aquaeductus. See Abzucht.
ander, adj., ‘other, different, second,’ from MidHG. ander, OHG. andar, ‘the other’; it corresponds to Goth. anþar, ‘the other,’ OIc. annarr, AS. ôðer, E. other, Du. ander, OSax. âðar, ôðar. The meanings ‘the second, one of two, the other,’ are due to a comparative form (Aryan ánteros, ‘one of two,’ Lat. alter). Comp. the corresponding Sans. ántara-, ‘different from,’ Osset. ändär, ‘otherwise than, with the exception of,’ Lith. àntras, ‘the other.’ The root an- is proved by Sans. and Zend an-ya-, ‘another.’ With OHG. andar ‘other,’ is also connected OHG. antarôn, ‘to imitate.’
Anders, see einst.
Andorn, m., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. andorn, ‘horehound, the plant Marrubium’; the suffix -orn as in Ahorn? The root has not yet been explained.
anfachen, see Fächer.
Angel, m. and f., from the equiv. MidHG. angel, m., f., ‘sting, fish-hook, hinge of a door,’ OHG. angul, m.. ‘sting, point, fish-hook’; diminut. of OHG. ango, ‘sting, door hinge,’ MidHG. ange, ‘fish-hook, door hinge.’ Comp. AS. ongel, E. angle, AS. onga, ‘sting,’ OIc. ǫngull ‘fish-hook,’ allied to ange, ‘sting, point’ (Alem. angel, ‘bee sting,’ angelmuck, ‘stinging fly’). The supposition that the primit. and widely diffused cognates are borrowed from Lat. angulus, ‘angle, corner,’ is untenable; OBulg. ąglŭ, E. angle, AS. angul, ‘angle, corner,’ are, however, primit. allied to it; so too England, Angelsachsen. The root idea of the Teut. cognates is ‘pointed.’ An Aryan root onk, ‘to be pointed,’ also lies at the base of Lat. uncus, Gr. ὄγκος, ὄγκινος, ‘barb,’ ἄγκιστρον, ‘fish-hook,’ Sans. aṅka, ‘hook,’ Osset. ängur, ‘hook, hinge,’ OIr. écad, hook.’
angenehm, adj., ‘agreeable, pleasant,’ from MidHG. genœme, late OHG. ginâmi, adj., ‘acceptable, agreeable’ (without the prefix an-), allied to nehmen. Comp. Goth. andanêms ‘agreeable,’ allied to and-niman, ‘to accept.’
Anger, m., ‘paddock, grass plot,’ from MidHG. anger, OHG. angar, m., ‘pasture land, grass plot, arable land’; allied to OIc. eng, enge, ‘meadow, pasture ground.’ The cognates can scarcely be derived from enge, ‘narrow’ (Teut. root ang). Trustworthy correspondences are wanting.
Angesicht, n., ‘face, presence,’ from MidHG. angesiht, n., ‘aspect, view,’ MidG. also ‘face’; allied to Gesicht, sehen.
Angst, f., from the equiv. MidHG. angest, OHG. angust, f., ‘anxiety, apprehension’; this abstract form is wanting in the other OTeut. dialects, the suffix st being also very rarely found; comp. Dienst. But it must not be assumed therefore that the OHG. angust is borrowed from Lat. angustiae, ‘narrowness, meanness.’ It is ​rather to be regarded as a genuine Teut. derivative from the root ang appearing in enge, especially as the OSlov. in its primit. allied ązostî, ‘contraction,’ shows the same derivation. Hence Angst must be considered as primit. cognate with Lat. angustiae. See bange and enge.
anbeischig, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. antheiȥec, antheiȥe. adj., ‘bound, engaged,’ influenced by hetschen; the MidHG. adj. is derived from MidHG. and OHG. an-theiȥ, ‘vow, promise,’ which, like Goth. andahait ‘confession,’ AS. ondettan, ‘to confess,’ is compound of the particle ant- and the root hait, ‘to bid.’
Anis, m., from the equiv. MidHG. anîs, also enis, n., ‘anise,’ borrowed perhaps even before the MidHG. period from Lat. anîsum (Gr. ἄνϊσον), ‘anise,’ whence also Fr. anis, E. anise.
Anke, m. ‘butter,’ an Alem. word, from MidHG. anke, OHG. ancho, ‘butter’; the genuine G. term for the borrowed word Butter, for which, in the OHG. period, anc-smëro or chuo-smëro, lit. ‘cow-fat’ (see Schmeer), might also be used. Goth. *agqa for OHG. ancho is not recorded. It is certainly allied primitively to the Ind. root añj, ‘to anoint, besmear,’ and to Lat. unguo, ‘to anoint’; comp. Sans. âjya ‘butter-offering,’ OIr. imb (from imben-), ‘butter.’
Anker (1.), m., ‘anchor,’ from the equiv. MidHG. anker, late OHG. anchar, m.; corresponding to Du. anker, AS. (even at a very early period) oncor, E. anchor, OIc. akkere, ‘anchor.’ A loan-word early naturalised among the English, and before 1000 A. D. even among the MidEurop. Teutons and in the North. From Lat. ancora (comp. Ital. ancora, Fr. ancre, f.; allied also to Lith. inkaras, OSlov. anŭkura, ankura), in connection with which the different gender of the Teut. words is remarkable. In OHG. there exists a genuinely native word for ‘anchor’ — senchil, m., sinchila, f.
Anker (2.), m., ‘a liquid measure,’ ModHG. only, from Du. anker, which, like the equiv. E. anchor, points to MidLat. anceria, ancheria, ‘cupa minor’ (smaller cask); the origin of the cognates is obscure.
Anlehen, n., ‘loan,’ from MidHG. an-lêhen, OHG. analêhan, n., ‘loan of money on interest,’ from an- and Lehen.
anrüchig, adj., also anrüchtig, ‘disreputable,’ ModHG. only, formed from ruchbar under the influence of riechen. See ruchtbar.
Anstalt, f. ‘institution,’ from MidHG. anstalt, ‘founding’; -stalt is an abstract from stellen.
anstatt, see Statt.
ant-, prefix, preserved in ModHG. only in Ant-litz and Ant-wort (see also Amt, anheischig, and Handwerk). It is found in the early periods in many noun compounds, to which ModHG. ent-; is the corresponding prefix of verbal compounds. Comp. MidHG. and OHG. ant-, Goth. anda-, AS. and-, ond- (comp. E. answer under Antwort); also the Goth. prep, and, ‘on, upon, in, along.’ The orig. meaning of the prefix is ‘counter,’ which makes it cognate with Gr. ἀντί ‘against,’ Lat. ante, ‘before,’ Sans. ánti, ‘opposite.’
Antlitz, n., from the equiv. MidHG. antlitze, n., late OHG. antlizzi, n., ‘countenance’; allied to the equiv. collateral forms MidHG. antlütte, OHG. antlutti (analûti), n., ‘countenance.’ Two originally different words have been combined in these forms. It is probable that OHG. and MidHG. antliȥ corresponds to AS. and-wlita, m., OIc. andlit, n. (comp. Goth. anda-wleizn, n.); comp. Goth. wlits, m. ‘face,’ wlaitôn, OIc. líta (for *vlíta), ‘to spy’; the root wlī̆t (pre-Teut. wlī̆d), preserved in these words, has not yet been authenticated beyond the Teut. group. With these cognates were combined those from Goth. ludja, ‘face,’ parallel to which an equiv. *anda-lū̆di, for OHG. antlū̆tti, n. ‘countenance,’ must be assumed.
Antwort, f., from the equiv. MidHG. antwurt, f., OHG. atwurti, f., ‘answer,’ beside which there is a neut. form MidHG. antwürte, OHG. antwurti, Goth. ándawaurdi; lit. ‘counter-words’ (collective). Comp. ant-; also, AS. andswaru, E. answer, under schwören.
Apfel, n., ‘apple,’ from the equiv. MidHG. apfel, OHG. apful (also afful, plur. epfili), m.; a word common to the Teut. group, by chance not recorded in Goth. Comp. Du. and LG. appel, m., AS. œppel, m. (in the plur. neut.), E. apple, OIc. eple, n., ‘apple’ (Goth. *aplus, m.?). The apple-tree in West Teut. is *apuldr, f.; comp. OHG. affoltra, AS. apuldr, which are preserved in the local names ModHG. Affoltern, Affaltrach, (Apolda?), Du. Apeldoren, E. Appledore. In spite of this diffusion throughout the entire Teut. group, and of the mention of wild apple-trees in Tacitus, the whole class must be recognised as loan-words (Obst has no connection whatever with ​them). They must, however, have been borrowed long before the beginning of our era, since the Teut. p in apla- has, in accordance with the permutation of consonants, originated in a prehistoric b; comp. Ir. aball, uball, Lith. obůlys, OSlov. alŭko, ‘apple.’ As nothing testifies to the Aryan origin of these oblu- cognates (in Lat. mâlum- Gr. μῆλον), found only in the North of Europe, we must assume that the word was borrowed. The derivation from Lat. malum Abellanum (the Campanian town Abella was famed in antiquity for its apples), is on phonetic and formal grounds doubtful, although in the abstract (comp. Pfirsich) the combination is interesting. No other explanation of how it was borrowed has yet been found. It is noteworthy that for Augapfel, ‘pupil,’ apful alone (as well as ougapful) can be used in OHG.; comp. AS. œppel, n. (plur., also masc.), E. apple of the eye (also eyeball), Du. oogappel; but, on the other hand, OIc. augasteinn.
April, m., ‘April,’ from the equiv. MidHG. aprille, aberëlle, m.; from Lat. Aprilis (comp. Fr. avril, Ital. aprile), borrowed at the beginning of the MidHG. period in place of the genuine OHG. ôstarmânôd, ‘Easter-month.’
Ar, m., n., a square measure (about 120 sq. yards), ModHG. only, formed from the equiv. Fr. are (Lat. area).
Arbeit, f., ‘work, labour, employment,’ from MidHG. arbeit, arebeit, OHG. ar(a)beit, f., ‘labour, toil, distress.’ Corresponding to OSax. arƀêdi, n., ‘toil, hardship, suffering,’ arbêd, f., and Du. arbeid, m., AS. earfoð, earfeðe, n., ‘toil, hardship,’ earfeðe, adj., ‘difficult,’ Goth. arbaiþs(d), f., ‘oppression, distress’; OIc. erfiði, n., ‘toil,’ erfiðr, adj., ‘difficult, toilsome.’ Hence ‘toil’ must be accepted as the fundamental meaning of the cognates, and therefore any connection with the stem of Erbe is improbable. It has been compared with greater reason with OSlov. (Russ.) rabota, f., ‘servants' work,’ and rabŭ, robŭ, ‘servant, thrall,’ as prim. cognates, although this comparison is open to doubt. Lat. lâbor, ‘work,’ is at all events certainly not allied to it.
Arche, f., ‘ark,’ from MidHG., arche (also arke), OHG. arahha (also archa), f., ‘Noah's ark.’ The ModHG. form with ch (instead of k) seems to point to Upper Germany (Luther’s Bible has Noahs Kasten); OHG. buoh-arahha, ‘book-chest,’ MidHG. arche, ‘chest, money-chest.’ It corresponds to Du. ark, ‘Noah’s ark,’ AS. earc, m., earce, f., ‘chest, covenant, ark, box,’ E. ark, OIc. ǫrk, f., ‘chest, coffin, Noah’s ark,’ Goth. arka, f., ‘box, money-box, Noah's ark.’ This widely diffused word was borrowed at an early period from the equiv. Lat. (also Romance) arca, which, as the meanings of the Teut. group coextensive with those of the Lat. indicate, was not perhaps naturalised on the introduction of Christianity, to which the more recent meaning of ‘Noah's ark’ may refer. Both the word and the thing had probably at the beginning of our era found their way to the Teutons with Lat. cista. See Kiste and Sack.
arg, adj., ‘bad, severe, hard,’ from MidHG. arc(g), ‘vile, wicked, stingy, avaricious,’ OHG. arg, arag, ‘avaricious, cowardly, vile’; also OHG. arg, MidHG. arc(g) ‘evil, vileness, wickedness.’ Comp. AS. earg, adj., ‘cowardly, slothful’ (no longer found in E.), OIc. argr, ‘cowardly, effeminate’ (also ragr). Paul the Deacon cites arga as an abusive term among the Lombards. Through a Goth. *args the Teut. word may have made its way into Span. and Finn.; comp. Span. aragan, ‘slothful,’ Finn. arka, ‘cowardly.’ As it is not easy to deduce the meaning ‘cowardly’ from ‘avaricious,’ which appears chiefly in OHG., we must assume that the root idea of the Teut. arga- was ‘vile, base,’ of which ‘avaricious’ and ‘cowardly’ would be specialisations resulting from the liberal hospitality and bravery which characterised the Teutons. This word, like almost all words within the ethical sphere, is peculiar to Teutonic; comp. arm, böse, gut, übel. —
ärgern, ‘to annoy, vex, fret,’ from MidHG. ergern, ‘to incite to evil, deteriorate, corrupt,’ OHG. ergirôn, argirôn, ‘to make worse,’ from the comparative of arg. From this ModHG. Ärger, m., is formed (comp. Aussatz from aussätzig, Geiz from geizen, Handel from handeln, Opfer from opfern); in MidHG. erge, OHG. argî, f., ‘malice.’ —
Argwohn, m., from the equiv. MidHG. arcwân, m. (comp. Wahn), ‘suspicion, mistrust’; comp. ModHG. Arglist, f., from MidHG. arclist, f., ‘cunning, malice,’ from arg; even in OHG. arcwânen, ‘to suspect,’ occurs, MidHG. arcwœnen.
ärgern, vb., see arg.
Arlesbaum, m., ‘service tree,’ from MidHG. OHG. arliz-boum, m., ‘acernus, cornus’; scarcely allied to Erle.
Arm, m., ‘arm, branch,’ from the equiv. ​MidHG. arm, OHG. aram, arm, m.; a word common to the Teut. group; comp. OSax. arm, Du. arm, AS. earm, E. arm, OIc. armr, Goth. arms, m., ‘arm.’ Like many terms for parts of the body (see Arsch, Fuß, Herz, Knie, Nagel, &c.), Arm extends beyond the Teut. dialects. It is. primit. related to Lat. armus, ‘the topmost part of the upper arm, fore-quarter’ (Gr. ἁρμός, ‘suture, joint, shoulder,’ belongs to another division), OBulg. ramę, ‘shoulder, arm,’ Sans. îrmá-s, m., ‘fore-quarter, arm.’ See Ermel.
arm, adj., ‘poor, unfortunate, miserable,’ from the equiv. MidHG. arm, OHG. aram, arm, adj.; comp. OSax. arm, Du. arm, AS. earm (obsolete in E.), OIc. armr, Goth. arms, adj., ‘poor.’ A term common to Teut. with no correspondence in the allied Aryan group; comp. barmherzig, arg, Reich). —
Armut, f., from the equiv. MidHG. armuot, f., armuote, n., ‘poverty,’ OHG. aramuotî, f.: a derivative of the Goth. adj. *armôþs; comp. Einöde, Heimat.
Armbrust, f., ‘crossbow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. armbrust, n., which must be a corruption of MidLat. arbalista, arcubalista, lit. ‘bow for projectiles’ (Lat. arcus, Gr. βἀλλευν). A compound of Arm and Brust is, properly speaking, impossible in G., especially as the MidHG. word is neut. From MidLat. arbalista comes the equiv. Fr. arbalète; comp. E. arbalist, Du. armborst, Ital. balestra, from the last of which the older ModHG. Balester, ‘cross-bow for shooting bullets,’ is borrowed.
Armel, see Ermel.
Armut, see arm.
Arnold, see Aar.
Arsch, m., ‘arse, fundament,’ according to the analogous cases cited under birschen, from an older Ars, MidHG. and OHG. ars, m., ‘arse.’ It corresponds to the equiv. MidLG. ars, ers, Du. aars, naars (with prefixed n), AS. ears, E. arse, OIc. ars (and rass, comp. argr and ragr, see arg), m., ‘arse.’ Teut. arsa-z, m., from órso-s, is rightly held to be primit. allied to Gr. δῥῥος (ρρ for rs), ‘coccyx, rump’; akin to OIr. err, f., ‘tail, end, point’?. Comp. the remark under Arm.
Art, f., ‘kind, sort, species, manner,’ from MidHG. art, m., f., ‘innate peculiarity, nature, condition, kind’; OHG. art, is not recorded with these meanings, nor is the word found elsewhere. Instead of this there occurs the homonymous OHG. art, f., ‘tillage, ploughing,’ with which artôn, ‘to inhabit, cultivate,’ is connected; further, OSax. ard, m., ‘dwelling-place,’ AS. eard, m., ‘dwelling, native place,’ OIc. ǫrð), f., ‘harvest, produce.’ These cognates, which belong (see Acker) to an OTeut. and Aryan root, ar, ‘to plough’ (Lat. arare, Gr. ἀρόω, &c.), are scarcely allied to MidHG. art, m., f., ‘nature, condition’; comp., however, Wohnung from gewöhnen. It is more probable that Art is connected with Lat. ars (gen. plur. arti-um), ‘method, art,’ and Sans. ṛtá, ‘method.’ The compounds Artacker, artbar, arthaft contain MidHG. and OHG. art, ‘agriculture, tillage,’ and belong consequently to the Teut. and Aryan root ar, ‘to plough.’
Arzenei, f. (in the 17th cent. accented on the A also), ‘medicine,’ from MidHG. arzenîe (erzonîe), f., ‘art of healing, remedy.’ The OHG. word does not occur, but only a derivative OHG. erzinen, giarzinôn, MidHG. erzenen, ‘to heal;’ the verb, by its suffix, suggests Goth. lêkinôn, AS. lœ̂cnian, OHG. lâhhinôn, ‘to heal.’ From OHG. gi-arzinôn, the MidHG. substant. arzenîe, which did not appear until a later period, might then have been formed with a Rom. termination. The assumption that MidHG. arzenîe referred to Archigenes of Apamea (in Syria), a famous physician, is untenable; if this assumption were correct, we should have expected OHG. *arzin, or rather *arzino, ‘physician,’ which, however, nowhere to be found. Besides, OHG. arzinôn formed into arzât, ‘physician,’ under the influence of the genuinely Teut. and Goth. lêkinôn, OHG. lâhhinôn, ‘to heal,’ makes any reference to Archigenes quite superfluous. Moreover, MidHG. has also a form arzatîe (MidDu. arsedîe), ‘medicine.’ See Arzt.
Arzt, m., ‘physician,’ from the equiv. MidHG. arzet, arzât, OHG. arzăt, m., a specifically Germ. word, unknown to Eng., Scand. and Goth. Its early appearance in OHG., in which OTeut. lâhhi was the more prevalent form, is remarkable (comp. Goth. lêkeis, ‘physician,’ AS. lœ̂ce, E. leech; also the ModHG. proper name Lachner, from MidHG. lâchenœre, ‘enchanter,’ lit. ‘physician’). The MidDu. form arsatre, OLG. ercetere, ‘physician’ (MidLG. arste), proves the origin from the oft-recurring Franc. and MidLat. archiater (άρχιατρός), ‘physician’ (espec. physician-in-ordinary to the king). There are no phonetic difficulties in ​connecting OHG. arzât with arzâter, arciâter, archiâter, since the OLG. and MidDu. form itself points to the MidLat. form. Moreover, the technical terms of Greek physic found their way at an early period to the West (comp. Büchse, Pflaster), but always through the medium of Lat. and Rom. The unique arzâte(r) was entirely unknown to Rom. (Ital. medico, OFr. mirc, Fr. médecin, which of course were also unknown to Teut.). Concerning arz-, erz-, as the representative of Gr. άρχι-, see Erz-. The theory advanced on account of ModHG. Mühlarzt, ‘mill-wright,’ that OHG. arzât is from Lat. artista, is on phonetic and historical grounds unwarranted. MidLat. artista was not used for medical practitioners until late in the Middle Ages (comp. ModFr. artiste vétérinaire); the word too is unknown in earlier Rom. On the other hand, we meet with archiatri even as far back as the Frank. king Childebert and Charlemagne. See besides Arzenei.
As, n., Aß, ModHG. only, from the equiv. Fr. as, m., ‘the ace (of dice or cards), a small weight’ (Lat. as). In MidHG. the prevalent term for the ‘ace (of dice)’ was esse, which comes from Lat. assis (a later collateral form of as). Comp. Daus.
Asch, see Arsch.—
Asch, m., ‘pot, basin, bowl’ (to which Aschkuchen is allied), from MidHG. asch, OHG. asc, m., ‘dish, basin, boat’; lit. ‘of ash.’ See Esche.
Asche (1.), f., ‘ashes, cinders,’ from MidHG. asche (esche), OHG. asca, f., ‘ashes’; corresponds to Du. asch, AS. asce, œsce, f., E. ashes (but also sing. in bone-ash, potash, &c.); OIc. aska, f., ‘ashes’; akin also to the abnormal Goth. azgô, f., ‘ashes’ (but Span. ascua is borrowed). Trustworthy correspondences in other languages are wanting, nor is Esche allied to it. —
Aschenbrödel, see under brodeln. —
ModHG. Ascher-, ‘ash,’ in the compound Aschermittwoch (for which the MidHG. form is aschtac), occurs even in MidHG. in compounds. —
Aschlauch, m., ‘shallot,’ MidHG. aschlouch, a corruption of the equiv. MidLat. ascalonium. See Schalotte.
Asche (2.), f., ‘grayling,’ from the equiv. MidHG. asche, OHG. asco, m.; scarcely allied to Asche, as if the fish were named from its ash-grey colour; Ital. lasco.
Assel, m., espec. Kellerassel, ‘woodlouse,’ ModHG. only; generally derived from Lat. asellus, ‘little ass,’ and might have been named from its grey colour; comp. Gr. ὄνος, ὀνίσκος, ‘ass, woodlouse,’ Ital. asello, ‘woodlouse.’ Yet the ss the ModHG. word, as well as the dialectic variant atzel, might militate against this derivation; hence a pre-Teut. stem at, att (allied to essen?) seems to be at the base of it. Comp. also Esel.
Aft, m., ‘bough, branch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. ast, m., ‘branch,’ corresponding to the equiv. Goth. asts. The term is unknown to the other dialects, yet its great antiquity is incontestable because of the agreement of Teut. astaz (a permutation of the pre-Teut. ozdos; comp. Mast, and the examples cited there of the permutation of the Aryan zd, sd, to Teut. st) with Gr. ὄζος (ὄσθοε), ‘branch, twig, knot, node (of a tree)’; the latter with Armen. ost, ‘branch,’ is likewise based upon osdos. The meanings of the Gr. word admit the supposition of its being allied to MidLG. ôst (LG. aust), Du. oest, AS. ôst, ‘knot, node’ (Aryan stem ôsdo-).
Aß, see Aas and As.
Atem, m., from the equiv. MidHG. âtem (âten), OHG. âtum, m., ‘breath, spirit’; comp. MidHG. der heilege âtem, OHG. der wîho âtum, ‘the Holy Spirit;’ ModHG. collateral form (prop. dialectic) Odem. The word is not found in East Teut.; in Goth. ahma, ‘spirit,’ is used instead (see achten). Comp. OSax. âðom, Du. adem, AS. œ̂þm (obsolete in Eng.), ‘breath.’ The cognates point to Aryan êtmon-, Sans. âtmán, m., ‘puff, breath, spirit’; also OIr. athach, ‘breath,’ Gr. ἀτμός, ‘smoke, vapour.’ Whether ModHG. Ader and Gr. ἥτορ, ‘heart,’ are derived from the root êt, ‘to exhale, breathe,’ contained in these cognates, is questionable.
Ätte, Ätti, m., ‘father,’ dialectic, from MidHG. atte, OHG. atto, ‘father.’ The mutation of the ModHG. is diminutive, as is shown by the final i of the Swiss ätti. Allied to Goth. atta, ‘father’ (whence Attila, MidHG. Etzel, lit. ‘little, dear father’), perhaps also to OIr. aite, ‘foster-father’ (from attios), OSlov. otĭcĭ, ‘father.’
Attich, m., from the equiv. MidHG. attech (atech), OHG. attah (attuh, atah), ‘danewort,’ borrowed and extended at an early period from Lat. acte (Gr. ἀκτῇ, ἀκτέα), ‘elder-tree.’ Comp. Lattich from Lat. lactuca, also Dattel from dactylos.
Atzel, f., ‘magpie’; see under Esster.
ätzen, vb., ‘to corrode, etch, bait,’ from MidHG. etzen, OHG. ezzen, ‘to give to eat,’ lit. ‘to make eat’; factitive of essen.
​ Au, Aue, ‘river islet, wet meadow, fertile plan,’ from MidHG. ouwe, f., ‘water, stream, water-land, island, peninsula, meadow-land abounding in water, grassy plain’; OHG. ouwa, from old *aujô- (the presumed Goth. form, comp. OHG.-MidLat. augia). It corresponds to OIc. ey and AS. êg, îg, f., ‘island,’ to which AS. êglond, îglond, E. island, Du. eiland, ‘island,’ are allied; so too Lat. and Teut. Batavia, Scandinavia; Goth. *aujô- (for awjô-, awiâ-) has lost a g (comp. Niere). The theoretical form agwjô-, prop. an adj. used as a subst., ‘the watery place,’ as it were (hence ‘water-land,’ i.e., ‘island’ or ‘meadow’), belongs to Goth. ahwa, f., ‘river,’ which with Lat. aqua is based upon Aryan ákwâ. The names of places ending in a (e.g. Fulda) and ach (e.g. Urach) still preserve the OHG. aha equiv. to the Goth. ahwa. See -a and -ach.
auch, adv. and conj., ‘also, likewise,’ from MidHG. ouch, OHG. ouh, ‘and, also, but.’ It corresponds to OSax. ôk, Du. ook; OFries. âk, AS. eác, E. eke, OIc. auk, ‘besides,’ Dan. og, ‘and, also, but,’ Sw. och, Ic. ok; Goth. auk, ‘then, but’; an adv. common to Teut. Some refer this auk to the Teut. root auk (Aryan aug), ‘to increase,’ whence OHG. ouhhôn, ‘to add,’ OSax. òkian, AS. ŷcan, OIc. auka, Goth. aukan, ‘to increase,’ are derived (Lat. augere, aug-ustus, Sans. ugrás, ‘powerful,’ ôjas, ‘strength,’ are allied to them); comp. AS. tô-eácan, ‘moreover, also.’ Others trace Teut. auk to a compound of two Aryan particles, au and ge (Gr. αὖ, γε).
Aue, f., ‘ewe,’ dialectic, from MidHG. ouwe, OHG. ou, f., ‘sheep.’ Comp. AS. eowu, E. ewe; primit. allied to Lat. ovis, Gr. οἵς, Lith. avis (OSlov. ovĭca), ‘sheep.’ See Schaf.
Auer, in Auerochs, m., from the equiv. MidHG. ûr, ûr-ochse, OHG. ûr, ûrohso, m., ‘aurochs’; corresponds to AS. ûr, OIc. úrr, (u- stem). The fact that even Roman writers knew the Teut. term under the form ûrus points to *ûrus (not ûzus) as the Goth. form; comp. Teut. and Lat. glêsum, ‘amber,’ similar to AS. glœ̂re, ‘resin.’ Hence the proposed explanation of ûr from Sans. usrá-s, m., ‘bull,’ must be put aside. Internal evidence cannot be adduced to show that the OGerm. word is non-Teut.; the assertion of Macrobius that ûrus is Kelt. proves nothing. —
Auerhahn, m., even in MidHG. the equiv. ûrhan (and orhan), m., ‘blackcock,’ with ûrhuon (orhuon), ‘grey hen,’ occurs. Auerhahn was evidently compared with Auerochs, the one appeared to be among the birds of the wood what the other was among animals of the chase.
auf, adv., prep., ‘up, upwards, on, upon,’ from MidHG. and OHG. ûf, adv., prep., ‘upon’; corresponds to OSax. ûp, AS. ûp-ū̆pp, and its equiv. E. up; Goth. iup, adv., ‘upwards, aloft,’ differs remarkably in its vowel. Probably primit. Teut. *ū̆ppa, ‘up,’ is allied to oben and über.
aufmutzen, see mutzen.
Aufruhr, see Ruhr.
aufwiegeln, see wiegeln.
Auge, n., ‘eye,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ouge, OHG. ouga, n.; a word common to Teut.; comp. Goth. augô, OIc. auga, AS. eáge, E. eye, Du. oog, OSax. ôga, ‘eye.’ While numerous terms for parts of the body (comp. Arm, Fuß, Herz, Kinn, Knie, Ohr, &c.) are common to Teut. with the other Aryan dialects, it has not yet been proved that there is any agreement with respect to Auge between Teut. and Lat., Gr., Ind., &c. Of course there is an undeniable similarity of sound between the Aryan base oq, ‘eye,’ and Lat. oculus, Gr. ὅσσε for *ὄκjε, ὀφθαλμός, ὦπα, &c., Sans. akši, OSlov. oko, Lith. akí-s, ‘eye.’ —
Augenlid, see Lid.
August, m., formed, after being based anew on Lat. and Rom. augustus, from the equiv. MidHG. ougest, ougeste, OHG. augusto, agusto, m., ‘August’ (the genuine OGerm. term is Erntemonat, OHG. aran-mânôt). Comp. Fr. août, Ital. agosto. It was borrowed in OHG. at the same time as März and Mai.
aus, adv. and prep., ‘out, forth, from, by reason of,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. ûȥ, adv., prep.; corresponds to Goth. ût, adv., ‘out (thither, hence),’ AS. ût, ‘out (thither, hence), out of doors, outside,’ E. out, Du. uit, prep., adv., ‘out,’ OSax. ût. Comp. außen, außer. The common Teut. ût (from ût-a?) is based upon Aryan ûd (ŭd); comp. Sans. ud, a verbal particle, ‘out, out (thither), aloft, upwards.’
Aussatz, m., from the equiv. late MidHG. ûȥ-satz, m., ‘leprosy’; a singular, late and regressive formation from the MidHG. subst. ûȥsetze and ûȥsetzel, ‘leper,’ MidHG. ûȥsetzig, adj., ‘leprous,’ OHG. ûȥ-sâzzo, ûȥ-sâzeo, m., ‘leper’; lit. ‘one who lives outside, separate’; those who were afflicted with leprosy were exposed. Considering ​ the very late appearance of the subst. Aussatz, in contrast to the early OHG. ûȥsâzeo, ‘leper,’ there is no doubt that Aussatz is a recent formation, like Ärger from ärgern. The Goth. word for leprosy is þrutsfill.
Auster, f., ‘oyster,’ ModHG. only, from earlier ModHG. ûster, from Du. oester, which, with the equiv. AS. ôstre, E. oyster, Fr. huitre, Ital. ostrica, is based upon Lat. ostrea, ostreum, Gr. ὄστρεον, ‘oyster, mussel.’
ausweiden, see Weide and Eingeweide.
auswendig, see wenden.
außen, adv., ‘outside, out of doors, without,’ from MidHG. ûȥen, OHG. ûȥana, ûȥân, adv., prep., ‘out of doors, outside, out, without’; corresponding to AS. ûton, adv., ‘from without,’ Goth. ûtana, adv., prep., ‘from without, outside, out’; from OTeut. ût. See aus.
außer, adv. and prep., ‘except, unless, apart from, without,’ from MidHG. ûȥer, OHG. ûȥar, prep., ‘out — here’; corresponds to OSax. ûlar.
Axt, f. (with a dental added as in Hüfte, Habicht, and Obst, &c.), from the equiv. MidHG. ackes (late MidHG. axt), f., OHG. acchus (plur. acchussi), f., ‘axe.’ It corresponds to OSax. accus, Du. aaks (from akes), AS. œx (from *œcces), E. ax, axe, OIc. öx, Goth. aqizi, f., ‘axe.’ The Teut. word is based upon Aryan agésî, or rather agzî (aksî); comp. the prim. cognate Gr. ἀξίνη, ‘axe,’ with which perhaps the equiv. Lat. ascia, in case it stands for ac-scia, is connected. Lat. acies, ‘sharpness,’ and Gr. ἀκή, ‘point,’ as well as Sans. açri, ‘edge’ (see Ähre, Ecke), are not allied to Axt.