Old English words from Proto-West Germanic
444 Old English words with Proto-West Germanic in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 6).
sadol
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sadul, from Proto-Germanic *sadulaz (“saddle”). The noun is shared by the Germanic languages: Old Norse sǫðull, Old Frisian sadel, Old High German satul…
sæ
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz (“sea, lake”). The noun is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (saiws, “lake, marsh”), Old Norse sær…
sæd
1. The word for seed is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sād, from Proto-Germanic *sēdą (“seed”). Its cognates are Old Norse sáð, Old Frisian sēd and Old Saxon sād. Kroonen explains it as a noun…
sæp
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sap, from Proto-Germanic *sapą (“juice, sap”). Related words are Old High German saf and, with another suffix, Old Norse safi (“sap”). Orel relates it…
sand
1. The word for a sending is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sandō (“a sending, mission”), a noun made to *sandijaną (“to send”). Holthausen and Köbler connect it with the verb sendan, and Holthausen…
sape
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *saipā, from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ (“soap”). Its relatives are Middle Low German sēpe and Old High German seifa, which meant both “soap” and “resin”. The…
sar
The adjective is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sair, from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (“sore, painful”); the neuter noun goes back to the Proto-Germanic noun *sairą (“pain, wound”). The adjective…
scacan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skakan, from Proto-Germanic *skakaną (“to swing, shake; to escape”). The strong verb survives in Old Norse skaka (“to shake”), Old Frisian skeka (“to run…
scafan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skaban, from Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to shave, scrape”). The verb is Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (skaban), Old Norse skafa, Old Saxon skavan and Old High German skaban…
sceacga
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skaggō. Holthausen connects it with sċeaga (“copse, underwood”), which he places in a group with Old Norse skagi (“point, cape”), Old Norse skaga (“to jut…
sceadan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną (“to separate”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (skaidan, “to separate, divide”), Old Frisian skētha, Old Saxon…
sceadu
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skadu, from Proto-Germanic *skaduz (“shadow”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skadus), Old Saxon skado and Old High German scato. Outside Germanic it is…
scearp
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz (“sharp”). The adjective is found in Old Norse skarpr (“sharp, bitter, dried up”), Old Frisian skerp, Old Saxon skarp…
sceotan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skeutan, from Proto-Germanic *skeutaną (“to shoot, dash”). The strong verb is found in Old Norse skjóta, Old Frisian skiāta, Old Saxon skiotan and Old High…
scieran
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skeran, from Proto-Germanic *skeraną (“to cut”). The strong verb is shared by Old Norse skera, Old Frisian skera and Old High German sceran. Kroonen calls…
scip
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skip, from Proto-Germanic *skipą (“ship”). The noun is found in Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌹𐍀 (skip), Old Norse skip, Old Frisian skip, Old Saxon skip and Old High German…
scir
1. The noun for an office or district is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skīru (“office, district”). Wiktionary takes it to be probably related to the adjective Proto-Germanic *skīriz (“pure…
scort
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skurt, from Proto-Germanic *skurtaz (“short”). The adjective survives in Old High German scurz (“short”); Old Norse has only the noun Old Norse skortr…
scrifan
It is an early loan from Latin through continental West Germanic: inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skrīban, borrowed from Latin scrībō (“to write”). Holthausen and Klaeber derive it from the…
scrybb
Wiktionary takes it as inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skrubbiju, from Proto-Germanic *skrubbijō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb- (“to be sharp”), an extended form of Proto-Indo-European…
scyttan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skuttjan, from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną (“to shut”), a verb made from the noun *skuttą (“bar, bolt”). Its nearest relatives are Old Frisian sketta (“to shut…
sealt
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *salt, from Proto-Germanic *saltą (“salt”). The noun is found across Germanic: Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐍄 (salt), Old Norse salt, Old Saxon salt and Old High German salz…
secan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan, from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (“to seek, look for”). The verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (sōkjan), Old Norse sǿkja…
secgan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *saggjan, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną (“to say”). The verb is shared with the other Germanic languages of the North and West: Old Norse segja, Old Frisian…
segl
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *segl, from Proto-Germanic *seglą (“sail, canvas”). The noun is shared with Old Norse segl, Old Frisian seil, Old Saxon segal and Old High German segal. Old…
sellan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *salljan, from Proto-Germanic *saljaną (“to offer, hand over”). The verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (saljan), Old Norse selja…
seofon
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sebun, from Proto-Germanic *sebun (“seven”). The numeral is common Germanic: Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌽 (sibun), Old Norse sjau, Old Frisian sigun, Old Saxon sibun and…
seon
1. The verb “to see” is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍈𐌰𐌽 (saíƕan), Old Norse sjá, Old Frisian siā, Old Saxon sehan…
settan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sattjan, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną (“to set, place”), from Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti. It is the causative of the verb for “to sit” (Old English…
sincan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sinkwan (“to sink”), from Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną. The strong verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽 (sigqan), Old Norse søkkva…
singan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”). The strong verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐌰𐌽 (siggwan), Old Norse syngva…
sittan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sittjan, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną (“to sit”), from Proto-Indo-European *sédyeti, a present of the root Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”). The…
six
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sehs, from Proto-Germanic *sehs (“six”). The numeral is Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍃 (saihs), Old Norse sex, Old Frisian sex, Old Saxon sehs and Old High German sehs in the…
slæc
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *slak, from Proto-Germanic *slakaz (“slack”). Its cognates are Old Norse slakr, Old Saxon slak (“slack, cowardly”) and Old High German slah. Heidermanns…
slean
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *slahan, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną (“to beat, strike, slay”). The strong verb is common Germanic: Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (slahan), Old Norse slá, Old Frisian slā…
slipor
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *slipr, from Proto-Germanic *slipraz (“slippery, smooth”). The adjective is found only in West Germanic: beside Old English it occurs in Old High German…
smeortan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *smertan (“to be painful”), from Proto-Germanic *smertaną (“to hurt”). The strong verb survives in Old High German smerzan and in Middle Dutch and Middle Low…
smiþ
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *smiþ, from Proto-Germanic *smiþaz (“craftsman, smith”). The noun is shared with Old Norse smiðr, Old Frisian smith, Old Saxon smith and Old High German…
snaw
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw, from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (“snow”). The noun is common Germanic: Gothic 𐍃𐌽𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (snaiws), Old Norse snær, Old Saxon snēo and Old High German snēo…
sneare
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *snarhā, from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ (“loop, sling, noose”). Köbler gives as cognates Old Norse snara (“noose, cord”), Old Saxon snarh (“string, cord”) and…
spaca
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *spaikā, from Proto-Germanic *spaikō (“spoke”). Orel lists the cognates Old Saxon spēka and Old High German speihha, and relates the noun to *spīkaz (“nail…
spearca
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sparkō (“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *sprakô. Holthausen and Etymonline give only Middle Low German sparke and Middle Dutch spranke as cognates; the word…
sped
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *spōdi (“prosperity, success”), from Proto-Germanic *spōdiz. Its cognates are Old Saxon spōd, Middle Dutch spoed and Old High German spuot. Kroonen explains…
spiwan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *spīwan, from Proto-Germanic *spīwaną (“to spit”). It is a strong verb of the first class in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍀𐌴𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽 (speiwan, “to…
spowan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *spōan, from Proto-Germanic *spōaną (“to succeed”). Its cognates are Middle Dutch spoen (“to strive for”) and Old High German spuon (“to succeed”), weak…
sprecan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan (“to speak”). Its cognates are Old Frisian spreka, Old Saxon sprekan, Old Dutch sprekan and Old High German sprehhan. Ringe and Taylor list it among…
springan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *springan, from Proto-Germanic *springaną (“to spring, jump up”). The strong verb is found across the old Germanic languages: Old Norse springa (“to burst…
staca
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”). Its cognates include Old Norse hvatstaki, the name of a kind of weapon, Middle Low German stake (“pole”) and…
stæf
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz (“staff, letter”). The Proto-Germanic noun is continued in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐍆𐍃 (stafs, “element”), Old Norse stafr, Old Frisian…
stæger
1. The word for the stair is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *staigri, from Proto-Germanic *staigriz (“stair, scaffolding”). Köbler sets it beside Middle Low German steiger (“scaffolding”), and…
stan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”). The Proto-Germanic noun survives in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (stains), Old Norse steinn…
standan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *standan, from Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”). The verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan), Old Norse standa, Old…
stearc
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stark, from Proto-Germanic *starkaz (“stiff, strong”). The adjective is shared with Old Frisian sterk, Old Saxon stark and Old High German stark, all…
stede
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stadi, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”). The Germanic noun is Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌸𐍃 (staþs), Old Norse staðr, Old Frisian sted, Old Saxon stedi and Old High…
stefn
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stebnu, from Proto-Germanic *stebnō (“voice”). It has cognates in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌱𐌽𐌰 (stibna), Old Frisian stifne, Old Saxon stemna and Old High German stimna…
steor
1. The word for the young bull is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *steur, from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (“bull”). The noun is shared with Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌿𐍂 (stiur, “calf, young steer”), Old Dutch stier…
steorfan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sterban, from Proto-Germanic *sterbaną (“to become stiff; to die”). The West Germanic languages share the verb: Old Frisian sterva, Old Saxon stervan, Old…
steorra
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, a variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). The forms with geminate ⟨-rr-⟩ are West…
sticca
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stikkō, from Proto-Germanic *stikkô (“stick, pole”). Köbler gives the Proto-Germanic noun with forms in *-e-* and *-i-*, and lists Old Norse stikka, Old…
stiele
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stahlī (“steel weapon”), a derivative in *-ja- of Proto-Germanic *stahlą (“steel”). The same derivative is continued in Old Saxon stehli and in Old Frisian…