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

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O.
ob (1.), prep. and adv., ‘over, above,’ from MidHG. obe, ob, prep. and adv., ‘aloft, above, across,’ so too OHG. oba; comp. AS. ufe-weard, ‘upper.’ ModHG. ob has been retained chiefly in compounds such as Obacht and Obdach. Allied to oben.
ob (2.), conj., ‘whether, if,’ from MidHG. obe, ob, op, conj., ‘if, as if, although, whether,’ so too OHG. oba, with the earlier variant ibu, ‘if, whether’; corresponding to OSax. ef, of (AS. gif, E. if). Goth. ibai, iba, ‘whether then, perhaps, probably, lest perhaps,’ with the corresponding negative nidai, niba, ‘unless.’ The OHG. form is the dat. and instrum. of iba, f., ‘doubt, condition,’ OIc. ife, efe, m., and if, ef, n., ‘doubt.’ Hence the lit. meaning of the conj. is ‘in doubt, on condition.’
oben, adv., ‘above, aloft,’ from MidHG. obene, OHG. obana, adv., ‘above, from above’; so too OSax. oƀan, oƀana, ‘down from above,’ AS. ufan, ‘from above,’ E. preserved only in ab-ove. Allied to ober.
ober (1.), compar., ‘upper, higher,’ from MidHG. obere, OHG. obaro, ‘the superior’; prop. the compar. of ob. From this was formed, even in OHG., a new superl. obarôst (MidHG. oberest).
ober (2.), prep., ‘over, above, beyond,’ of MidG. and LG. origin, as is indicated by the stem vowel, for the o which prevails in MidG. and LG. obar, oƀar, AS. ofer, E. over, and the equiv. Du. over, is always represented in HG. by u. See über and auf.
Oblate, f., from the equiv. MidHG. oblât, oblâte, f. and n., ‘the Host, wafer’; from Lat. oblâta (from offerre, which was adopted as opfern), whence also the equiv. AS. ofelête; MidE. oblê is formed, however, from OFr. oublee, whence ModFr. oublie. See Opfer.
Obst, n., with an excrescent dental as in Axt, Mond, niemand, Palast, Papst; from the equiv. MidHG. obeȥ, OHG. obaȥ, n., ‘fruit.’ It is a West Teut. word; comp. Du. ooft, AS. ofet (Goth. *ubat is wanting, in OIc. alden). It is uncertain whether Goth. *ubat is akin to ober, über, root up-, thus signifying ‘what is above.’
Ochse, m., from the equiv. MidHG. ohse, OHG. ohso, m., ‘ox’; corresponding terms occur in all the OTeut. dials.; Goth. aukhsa, OIc. oxe, AS. oxa, E. ox, Du. os, OSax. ohso, ‘ox.’ The common Teut. ohsan- (from pre-Teut. uksén-) is primit. cognate with Sans. ukšán, ‘bull,’ the words Kuh and Stier being also common to the Aryan group. The Sans. root is ukš, ‘to spurt out,’ or ukš, ‘to grow strong, grow up.’ If the latter is correct, Ochse is connected with wachsen, yet it may be a masc. form of Lat. vacca, ‘cow.’
Ocker, m., from the equiv. MidHG. ocker, ogger, n. and m., ‘ochre.’ Borrowed from Lat. ochra (ὥχρα), ‘ochre,’ whence also Ital. ocra, Fr. ocre.
öde, adj., ‘deserted, waste,’ from MidHG. œde, adj., ‘uncultivated, uninhabited, empty, foolish, poor, infirm,’ OHG. ôdi, ‘desolate, empty’; corresponding to Goth. auþs, ‘desolate, solitary, unfertile,’ OIc. auðr. In some of the languages of the Teut. group there occurs an adj. similar in sound, but apparently of a different etymology, with the meaning ‘easy.’ Comp. OSax. oði, OHG. ôdi, AS. ŷþe, eáþe, OIc. auð- (in compounds), ‘easy.’ The prim. meanings of both classes are uncertain.
Öde, f., ‘waste, solitude, wilderness,’ from MidHG. œde, OHG. ôdî, f., ‘desert.’ Comp. the Goth. derivative auþida, ‘desert.’
Odem, equiv. to Atem.
oder, conj., from the equiv. MidHG. oder, OHG. odar, ‘or, else’; the OHG. and MidHG. ordinary form are without r; ​OHG. odo, earlier ëddo, MidHG. ode, od. This abnormal r is, according to some, a compar. suffix; according to others it is simply an suffix due to the influence of OHG. wëdar, MidHG. wëder, ‘neither.’ OHG. ëddo, ëdo, correspond further to Goth. aíþþau, ‘or,’ which is a compound of Goth. iþ, ‘and’ (Lat. et), and þau, ‘or.’ E. or has no connection with this word, since it originated in AS. âhwœþer; Goth. aíþþau is AS. oþþe and ëþþa, ‘or,’ which became obsolete ar an early period.
Odermennig, m., ‘agrimony,’ a corruption of the equiv. Lat. agrimonia, which appears under various forms in MidHG. odermenie, adermonie.
Ofen, m., ‘from the equiv. MidHG. oven, OHG. ovan, m., ‘oven’; so too with the same meaning MidLG. and Du. oven, AS. ofen, E. oven, OIc. ofn, ogn (Swed. ugn), Goth. aúhns; the word is common to Teut., hence the thing signified must also be primit. The variation of guttural and labial is seen also in the forms primit. cognate with these, Sans. ukhâ, ‘pot,’ and Gr. ἱπνός, ‘oven’ (for uknos, which is indicated by Goth. aúhns). The orig. sense, ‘pot,’ seems also to follow from AS. ofnet, ‘little vessel.’
offen, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. offen, OHG. offan, adj., ‘open’; it has the same meaning in all the Teut. languages except. Goth., where *upans is wanting. Comp. OIc. openn, AS. and E. open, Du. open, OSax. opan; the adj. seems similar in form to a partic., but the primit. verb cannot be adduced. It is also doubtful whether auf, OSax. upp, Goth. iup, is allied, so that offen would mean lit. ‘drawn up.’
oft, adv., from the equiv. MidHG. oft, ofte, OHG. ofto, adv., ‘often, frequently’; corresponding. to Goth. ufta, OIc. opt, AS. oft, E. oft (extended form often), OSax. oft, ofto, ‘often.’ These adv. forms seem to be petrified cases of an obsolete subst. or adj. partic.; they have also been connected with the partic. of the Sans. root uc, ‘to be fond of doing.’
Oheim, Ohm, m., from the equiv. MidHG. ôheim, œheim (also with final n instead of m), OHG. ôheim, m., ‘uncle’; corresponding to Du. oom, AS. eám, ‘uncle’ (contracted from *eáhâm), MidE. œ̂m, ‘uncle,’ also early ModE. eme (whence, Eames as a prop. name). By inference from OFris. êm, ‘mother's brother,’ and Lat. avunculus, the lit. meaning of Oheim is ‘uncle on the mother's side’ (in contrast to Vetter, Lat. patruus). Goth. *áuháims, corresponding to the simply West Teut. cognates, is wanting. The etymology of the word is difficult to determine. The first syllable is generally regarded as cognate with Lat. avun-culus, ‘uncle,’ which is the dimin. of avus, ‘grandfather’ (so too Lith. avynas and OSlov. ujĭ, from *aujos, ‘uncle’); to Lat. avus (to which OIr. aue, ‘grandson,’ is allied), Goth. awô, f., ‘grandmother,’ OIc. áe, ‘great-grandfather,’ corresponds. With reference to the second syllable a Teut. haima-, ‘honour,’ is assumed; therefore Oheim means lit. ‘enjoying the honours of a grandfather.’ A more probable assumption is ‘possessing the grandfather's house,’ ‘grandfather's heir’ (hence Lat. avunculus, lit. ‘little grandfather’). Others join the h to the first syllable and regard it as the representative of the Lat. c in avuncu-lus, and divide the Goth. word thus, *auh-aims, so that aima is a dimin. suffix for aina. It is to be observed that after the remarks under Neffe and Vetter, MidHG. óheim may also mean ‘nephew, sister's son.’
Ohm, m. and m., ‘awm’ (liquid measure, about 40 galls.), from MidHG. âme, ôme (â before nasals is changed into ô, comp. Mohn, Mond, Ohmet, and ohne), f., m., and n., ‘awm, measure’; corresponding to Du. aam, E. awm, Scand. áma. They are based on MidLat. ama, ‘vessel, wine measure’ (Gr. ἄχη, ‘water-pail,’ Lat. ama, ‘water bucket’). See ahmen.
Ohmet, n., ‘aftermath,’ from the equiv. MidHG. âmât, OHG. âmâd, n.; also in the same sense with a different prefix MidHG. uëmet, OHG. uomât, n., ‘second mowing of the grass’; for OHG. mâd see under Mahd. The OHG. syllables â and uo are nominal prefixes; OHG. uo also signifies ‘after’ in the compounds uo-quëmo, ‘descendant,’ uo-chumft, ‘succession’; â-, which is usually a negative prefix (see Ohnmacht), means ‘remaining,’ in OHG. â-leiba, MidHG. âleibe, ‘relics.’
ohne, prep., from the equiv. MidHG. ân, âne, OH . âno, prep., ‘without’; corresponding to OSax. âno, MidDu. aen, OIc. án, earlier ón (from *ánu), ‘without’; in Goth., with a different gradation, inu. Undoubtedly the negative un- and Goth. ni, ‘not’ (see nie), are also allied to ohne, as well as Gr. ἄνευ, ‘without.’ —
ohn- in ohngeachtet, ‘notwithstanding,’ ohnlängst, ‘not long ​since,’ represents un- under the influence of Du. on, ‘un-.’ —
Ohn- in Ohnmacht is due to the attempt to assign a more intelligible meaning to Omacht, which originated in OHG. and MidHG. â-maht; the prefix ô from the old â had become obscure in the compound. With regard to OHG. â, ‘un-,’ comp. â-teili, ‘having no share in,’ MidHG. â-sętze, ‘unoccupied,’ AS. œ̂-men, ‘devoid of men.’ —
ohngefähr, adj., ‘casual, accidental,’ adv., ‘about, not far from,’ from MidHG. ân gevœre, mostly ân gevœrde, ‘without evil intention, without deceit.’
Ohr, n., from the equiv. MidHG. ôre, ôr, n., OHG. ôra, n., ‘ear’; corresponding terms are found in all the Teut. languages; OSax. ôra, Du. oor, AS. eáre, n., E. ear, OIc. eyra (with mutation on account of r, equiv. to Goth. and Teut. z), Goth. ausô, n., ‘ear.’ Like many other terms for parts of the body (comp. Fuß, Herz, Nagel, Niere, &c.), this word occurs also in other Aryan languages, Lat. auris for *ausis (to which aus-cultare is akin, see hören), Gr. οὖς (from *οῦσος), gen. ὦτός from (οὐσατός, allied to an n- stem like the Teut. cognates), OSlov. ucho (gen. ušese), n., ‘ear,’ from ausos (with the dual uši), Lith. ausis. Comp. the following word.
Öhr, n., ‘eye’ (of a needle), from MidHG. œre, œr, n., ‘ear-like opening, eye (of a needle), hole in a handle, handle,’ so too late OHG. ôri, n.; a derivative of OHG. ôra, ‘ear’; comp. further Öse. Moreover, Gr. οὖς, E. ear, and Du. oor also signify ‘handle.’
Ohrfeige, f., ‘box on the ear,’ first occurs in early ModHG., similar to Du. oorvijg; usually regarded as a facetious corruption of Du. oorveeg, ‘box on the ear,’ in which veeg (cognate with ModHG. fegen) signifies ‘stroke, cut.’ It may, like Dachtel, Kopfnüsse, Maulschelle (prop. a kind of pastry), be a euphemistic expression.
Öl, n., from the equiv. MidHG. öle, öl, n. (with the variants ole, ol, and olei), OHG. olei, oli, n., ‘oil’; corresponding to OSax. olig; Du. olie, AS. ele, n., ‘oil.’ Lat. oleum, ‘oil,’ passed into HG. before the 8th. cent. Goth. adopted the term probably even half a century earlier from the Lat., the only assumption that can explain the remarkable Goth. form alêw. The approximate source of E. oil, MidE. oile, is OFr. oil, which with its Rom. cognates. (ModFr. huile) are also based on Lat. oleum.
Oleander, m., ‘oleander, rose-bay,’ first occurs in early ModHG., from the equiv. Fr. oléandre, or rather Ital. oleandro.
Olive, f., ‘olive,’ from MidHG. olîve, f. and m., from Lat. oliva.
Onkel, m., ‘uncle,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. oncle.
opfern, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. opfern, OHG. opfarôn, ‘to sacrifice’; so too OSax. offrón, Du. offeren, AS. offrian, ‘to sacrifice,’ whence E. to offer, under the influence of Fr. offrir. Introduced by the Church from Lat. offerre. With regard to the change of accent in Teut., comp. predigen, from praedicare, in which the verbal particle likewise assumed the accent. —
Opfer, n., ‘offering, sacrifice,’ from MidHG. opfer, OHG. opfar, n., is not based on a Lat. word, but coined from the G. vb. (comp. Handel); see also Oblate. Moreover, the Teutons had their own special word for ‘to sacrifice’; Goth. and AS. blôtan, OIc. blóta, OHG. bluoȥan.
Orden, m., ‘order, class, badge,’ from MidHG. orden, m., ‘rule, regulation, series, management, decree, rank, spiritual order’; borrowed from Lat. ordin-em (acc. of ordo), even in the OHG. period; comp. OHG. ordina, f., whence ordinhaft. The oblique case of the Lat. word determined the form of the OHG. term; so too in Kreuz, Abt, &c. —
ordnen, ‘to order, regulate,’ even in MidHG. ordenen, OHG. ordinôn, formed from Lat. ordinare.
Orgel, f., ‘organ’ (mus. instrument), from MidHG. organâ, orgene, OHG. organâ, f., of which a rare variant in l occurs, OHG. orgela, MidHG. orgel, f., ‘organ.’ OHG. organa is derived from MidLat. organum (Ital. organo, Fr. orgue, E. organ), or rather its plur. organa, ‘organ.’ Properly, however, “organa dicuntur omnia instrumenta musicorum; non solum illud organum dicitur quod grande est et inflatur follibus, &c.” (Augustine). Organs were known to the MidEurop. Teutons as early as the latter half of the 8th cent., espec. in the reign of Charlemagne, for Charlemagne himself received a magnificent organ, which was described by a monk of St. Gall, as a present from the Byzantine emperor Michael.
Orkan, m., ModHG. only, from the equiv. Du. orkaan, E. hurricane; comp. Fr. ouragan, Ital. uracano, ‘hurricane’; “it is a modern word introduced from America, said to be of Caribbean origin.”
​ Orlogschiff, n., ModHG. only, formed from the equiv. Du. oorlogsschip, n., ‘man-of-war,’ which is derived from orlog, ‘war,’ corresponding to OSax. orlagi, ‘war,’ AS. orlege, MidHG. urliuge, OHG. urliugi, ‘war.’
Ort (1.), m., ‘awl,’ in this sense ModHG. only, and identical with Ort (2).
Ort (2.), m., ‘place, spot, region,’ from MidHG. ort, n. and m., ‘sharp point end, beginning, corner, angle, border, place,’ OHG. ort, m. and n., does not occur in the ModHG. sense of ‘place.’ The meaning ‘point, corner,’ is the orig one; comp. OSax. ord, m., ‘point,’ AS. and MidE. ord. ‘point of a weapon’ (for a similar evolution of meaning comp. Ecke. The r of the word originated in s, z; Goth. *uzda- is by chance not recorded; it is assumed by OIc. oddr, ‘point,’ the dd of which points to Goth. zd. In Ort (1) the earlier meaning is still dimly seen. See also Ort (3).
Ort (3.), n. and m., ‘quarter, quart,’ from MidHG. ort, m. and n., ‘fourth part of a measure, weight, or coin’; corresponding to Du. oord, ‘a fourth part of a coin, measure, &c.’ Identical with Ort (2). “This meaning is approximately derived from the square coins divided by a cross into pieces with four Orte, i.e., ‘corners,’ and afterwards transferred to measure and weight. Thus in Germany and Austria, when, in the year 1849, the florin notes were divided into four parts to serve as change, a single part was called Eckele or Örtel, ‘a little corner,’ and this expression was then generally used for a quarter of a florin.” The earlier assumption that this word was based on MidLat. quarto, ‘fourth part,’ must be rejected.
Öse, f., ‘ear, hook,’ from late MidHG. and early ModHG. (MidG. and MidLG.) œse, f., ‘ear, hook, handle’; the usual assumption that the word is borrowed from Lat. ansa, ‘handle,’ is not to be preferred to the opinion that Öse and Öhr are identical, and that the s from which the r of Ohr and Öhr is derived is preserved in Öse; see Öhr.
Osten, m., from the equiv. MidHG. ôsten, m. and n., OHG. ôstan, m. and n., ‘east’; the form Ost is wanting in MidHG. and OHG.; it has probably been recently coined; comp. Nord and Norden, Süd and Suden, West and Westen. Yet even in AS. eást, E. east, occurs, whence Fr. est. —
osten, adv., from MidHG. ôsten, ôstene, ‘in, to, or from the east,’ OHG. ôstana, ‘from the east,’ so too AS. eástene, ‘in the east,’ eástan, ‘from the east,’ OSax. ôstan, ôstana, ‘from the east’; OHG. and OSax. ôstar, ‘to the east.’ The stem austa- (in OIc. austr, gen. austrs, m.), on which these words are based, is undoubtedly connected with the OAryan term for ‘dawn’; primit. Aryan *ausôs, Sans. ušâs, Lat. aurôra (for *ausôs-a), Gr. ἠώς, Lith. auszrà, ‘dawn.’ Since, in other instances, the names for the periods of the day have been applied to the cardinal points, e.g., Mittag, Morgen, &c., the dawn might be used for the east, especially as Morgen in UpG. signifies ‘east’ (in UpG. the old terms for the cardinal points are almost obsolete). Comp. also Ostern.
Osterluzei, f., ‘birth-wort,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; corrupted from the Lat. term aristolochia, “in order to give at least a G. air and some apparent meaning to the word.”
Ostern, fem. plur, from the equiv. MidHG. ôster, f., more usual ôsteren, plur., OHG. ôstarûn, f. plur., ostara, f., ‘Easter’; corresponding to AS. eáster, n., eástro, f. plur. whence the equiv. E. Easter. Probably applied at an earlier period to an old heathen festival of the West Teutons. It is based upon the name of an OTeut. goddess of spring, Austrô, which must be identical with Ind. usrâ, ‘dawn’ (between s and r, t is inserted in Teut., see Schwester). The OAryan Aurôra had among the Teutons, to some extent at least, exchanged the character of a goddess of dawn for that of the light-bearing goddess of spring. This is indicated by the time of the Easter festival; the Christian season must have coincided with the heathen, since the name of the latter was appropriated. Bede testifies to the existence of the OTeut. goddess by the mention of the E. dial. form Eostra (for West Sax. Eástre). Ausôs, the OTeut. name of Aurôra, was the origin of the Teut. derivatives for ‘east,’ as well as AS. eárendel, ‘morning star, daybreak,’ whence the OHG. proper name Ôrentil in the later Orendel legends. See Osten.
Otter, f., from the equiv. MidHG. otter, OHG. ottar, m., ‘otter’; corresponding to Du. otter, AS. otor, E. otter, OIc. otr, ‘otter’; Goth. *utrs is by chance not recorded. Goth. tr remains unaffected by the HG. permutation; see bitter, lauter, treu, zittern. The term udrá- is applied in several Aryan languages to aquatic ​animals; *udra- belongs to the same root as Gr. ὕδωρ, ‘water,’ ἄνυδρος, ‘waterless, dry,’ Sans. udan, ‘water,’ ánudra-s, ‘waterless, dry,’ hence ModHG. Otter is etymologically connected with Wasser. Comp. Gr. ὕδρα, ὕδρος, ‘water-snake,’ Lith. údra, ‘otter,’ OSlov. vydra, ‘otter,’ Sans. udra, m., ‘otter.’ —
Otter, f. (thus in Luther), for ‘adder,’ is East MidG.; comp. Du. and LG. adder, E. adder (also Suab. ā̊dr).
Oxhoft, n., ‘hogshead,’ MidHG. only, from the equiv. LG. and Du. okshoofd, n., to which Swed. oxhufoud and Dan. oxehoved are allied; the origin of the word cannot be ascertained. The sounds point rather to a Scand. dial. than to LG. and Du., because in the latter os signifies ‘ox.’ It is not certain whether the prim. meaning is ‘head of an ox,’ though it was thus popularly understood in LG., as is seen by the corrupt form hogshead, which it assumed on being adopted by Eng.