*hallō

Reconstruction

The noun is *hallō in Köbler and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *xallō in Orel,^[3] and *χallō- in EWA.^[4]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to hide, to cover”):^[2][4] EWA derives it from *χal-nō-, pre-Germanic *kol-nah₂-, formed with the PIE suffix *-neh₂- that makes concrete nouns,^[4] and Wiktionary from pre-Germanic *ḱol-n-éh₂.^[2] Orel bases it on the verb *helaną "to hide".^[3]

Morphology

A feminine ō-stem.^[1][4] The double l arose by assimilation from *-ln-.^[4] Orel thinks that Old Norse hǫll partly continues an i-stem *xalliz.^[3]

Evidence

The word is attested in North and West Germanic: Old Norse hǫll, Old English heall, Old Saxon halla and Old High German halla.^[3][4] Orel lists no Gothic form.^[3] Old Irish all (“hall”) was borrowed from Old Norse or Old English, and Old French hale probably from an Old Low Franconian *halla.^[4]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary traces the word to an n-stem of the parent language meaning "storeroom" or "main room of a house", which perhaps also gave Latin cella (“room, cell”), and compares Sanskrit शाला (śā́lā, “house, hall”), Old Irish cuile (“storeroom, kitchen”) and perhaps Ancient Greek καλῑᾱ́ (kalīā́, “hut, granary”).^[2] EWA notes that the formation has no direct parallels, and that cella, though close in meaning, probably goes back to *cēla rather than *kel-nah₂.^[4]

Meanings

1. hall^[1][2]

Köbler glosses the Proto-Germanic word as "hall, large room".^[5] Old English also used it for "dwelling, house",^[6] and Old High German for "temple" and "market hall".^[4]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: hǫll (“hall”)^[5]
• Old English: heall (“hall, dwelling, house”)^[6]
• Old Saxon: halla (“hall”)^[7]
• Old High German: halla (“hall, temple, market hall”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hallō
2. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hallō
3. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xallō
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. halla
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. hǫll
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. heall
7. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. halla