hrost

Forms

hrōst m (strong a-stem; genitive singular hrōstes, nominative plural hrōstas)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hrōst, from Proto-Germanic *hrōstaz (“wooden framework; grill”).^[1] The only certain cognate in the old languages is Old Saxon hrōst (“rafters, roof framework”), recorded in the Heliand in the passage on the man let down through the roof of the house.^[2][3][1][4] The word also survives in Dutch roest (“roost”).^[5]

The further origin is disputed: Köbler connects it with Proto-Germanic *harstaz (“wickerwork, grate”) and a root Proto-Indo-European *kert- (“to twist, plait”) (Pokorny 584).^[6][7] Bosworth and Toller compare Old High German rōst (“gridiron, grate”).^[4] The EWA derives the Old High German word from a form without an initial ⟨h-⟩ and finds no support in the recorded forms for the older reconstruction with one.^[8] Etymonline calls the English word of unknown origin.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Dictionary of Old English Corpus has a single instance, in the estate-management tract Gerefa.^[9] There the reeve is to see to the henna hrost, the perch for hens.^[10][4]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller give the senses “wooden framework of a roof” and “roost”, and quote a glossary in which it renders Latin petaurum.^[4] Sweet has only “perch”, and Holthausen both the roof beam and the hen's perch.^[11][2] The Scots word for the inner roof of a cottage, noted by Bosworth and Toller, keeps the older meaning.^[4]

The word survived as Middle English roste, rooste “a hen's perch”, now roost.^[12][5] The MED's first quotation is from Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus, before 1398: “The cok..settiþ next to him on rooste þe henne þat is most fatte and tendre.”^[12]

Timeline

• a1398 – Middle English on rooste “on the perch” in Trevisa's Bartholomaeus.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. the wooden framework of a roof, a roof beam.^[4][2]
2. a perch for fowls, a roost.^[4][11][10]

Word family

• hrōstbēag

Descendants

• Middle English roste (→ English roost; Scots roost; Scots roust)^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 176
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b c d e f g Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 563
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hrōst
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de
9. ^ Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
10. ^ a b Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 117
11. ^ a b Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 116
12. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)