sæ

Forms

sǣ f or m or n^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz (“sea, lake”).^[1][2] The noun is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (saiws, “lake, marsh”), Old Norse sær, Old Frisian sē, Old Saxon sēo and Old High German sēo.^[2][3][4]

Its further origin is disputed.^[2][3] Kroonen takes it as an i-stem probably made to the root of Proto-Germanic *sīhwaną (“to strain, filter”).^[2] Orel connects it with Latin saevus (“fierce”) and Latvian sīvs (“sharp”).^[3] Köbler mentions, with a question mark, a root meaning “to pour, strain”.^[4] Etymonline reports that an Indo-European etymology has generally been doubted.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears in the bounds of a charter of King Æthelwulf dated 846, which run on broc oð sæ “along the brook to the sea”; its single sheet is of the mid-ninth century, held to be original by some scholars and doubtful by others.^[6] In the Vespasian Psalter gloss of the mid-ninth century weter sæs renders the Latin “aquas maris”, the waters of the sea (Psalm 32).^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Glossators used sǣ for Latin “mare”, “aequor”, “pontus” and “pelagus”.^[9][4] Bosworth and Toller sort the uses by contrast: the sea beside heaven and earth, the sea against the land, the sea against the rivers, a particular sea such as the Red Sea, and an inland water or lake, as the Sea of Galilee.^[9] In Beowulf the phrase be sǣm twēonum “between the seas” means the whole world, and Klaeber takes one passage as “lake”.^[10] In the laws ofer sǣ means abroad, outside Britain, where a man was not to be sold.^[11]

The word lived on as Middle English see, now English sea.^[5]

Timeline

• 846 – on broc oð sæ in the bounds of Æthelwulf's charter for South Hams, Devon.^[6]
• s. ix med. – weter sæs in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.^[7][8]
• 890×897 – Sidon stód bí ðære sæ “stood by the sea” in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20).^[12][13]
• s. x/xi – be sæm tweonum in the Beowulf manuscript.^[14][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. the sea, the ocean, as against land or sky.^[9][4]
2. a particular sea, such as the Red Sea.^[9]
3. an inland water, a lake.^[9][10]

Word family

• sǣbāt
• sǣliþend
• sǣwiht
• sǣæbbung
• wīdsǣ
• norþsǣ
• ēastsǣ
• westsǣ

Descendants

• Middle English see (→ English sea; Scots se; Scots see)^[1]

Usage notes

The noun is masculine or feminine, with the genitive sǣs, sǣwe or sǣ.^[9][10] Both genders occur in the Old English Martyrology.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 423
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 314
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sǣ
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 298
7. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 329
8. ^ a b c Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
9. ^ a b c d e f Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 808
10. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. sǣ
11. ^ Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 188
12. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
13. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 692
14. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 344
15. ^ Rauer, Christine, ed. (2013), The Old English Martyrology: Edition, Translation and Commentary, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer (glossary)