*ahwō

Reconstruction

The noun is *ahwō in Ringe, Köbler and Wiktionary,^[1][2][3] *axwō in Orel,^[4] and the stem *ahwō- in Kroonen.^[5] Köbler also gives a by-form *ahwjō.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂ (“water”).^[3] Kroonen reconstructs *h₂ékʷ-eh₂-, identical to Latin aqua (“water”), and calls the word a Germanic–Italic isogloss;^[5] Ringe starts from a post-PIE *ákwah₂ "running water".^[1]

Morphology

A feminine ō-stem.^[6][5] Grimm's law turned the PIE *kʷ into *hw.^[1] Bammesberger notes that Verner's law did not apply, so the accent was not on the suffix, and that inflection as a root noun is proven only by Old English.^[7] Orel, too, calls the Old English word a root stem.^[4]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌰𐍈𐌰 (aƕa) in Gothic, Old Norse á in Old Norse, and Old English ēa, Old Saxon aha and Old High German aha in West Germanic.^[5] Orel adds Old Frisian ā and ē.^[4] The Gothic word is in Wulfila's Bible, for example at Luke 6:48 and Mark 1:5.^[6] In Old High German it is common in river names such as Fulda, recorded in 752 as Fuldaha.^[8]

Competing analyses

Kroonen reports Beekes's claim that the word comes from a non-Indo-European language, but thinks it more likely a variant of the root *h₂ep- of Hittite hapa- (“river”), Latin amnis (“stream, river”) and Old Irish ab (“river”), with *-pH- perhaps becoming *-kʷ- in Germanic and Latin.^[5] Bammesberger finds the identification of the root difficult.^[9]

Meanings

1. river^[5][1][3][2]
2. stream^[3]
3. water^[3][2]

Gothic used the word for "body of water, river",^[5] and the Old High German word, "watercourse, river", never glosses Latin aqua.^[8]

Derivatives

• *awjō "floodplain, meadow; island", from an earlier *agwjō;^[10] Kroonen's *aujō- "wetland, island", a jō-stem.^[11] Ringe derives it from a pre-Proto-Germanic *ahwjā́ "island".^[12]
• *agraz "flood",^[13] Kroonen's *agra-, a ro-stem to the same root.^[14]
• *āhwijaz,^[15] Kroonen's *ēgja- "sea", a lengthened-grade formation.^[16]
• *axwa-đukkōn "water dock", a compound in Orel.^[17]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌰𐍈𐌰 (aƕa, “river, body of water”)^[6]
• Old Norse: á (“river”)^[18]
• Old English: ēa (“water, river”)^[19]
• Old Frisian: ā, ē "running water, stream", in Orel's list^[4]
• Old Saxon: aha (“water, river”)^[20]
• Old High German: aha (“watercourse, river, stream”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 116
2. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *ahwō
3. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ahwō
4. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *axwō
5. ^ a b c d e f g Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 7
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. aƕa
7. ^ Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 106, 194
8. ^ a b c 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. aha
9. ^ Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 194
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *awjō
11. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 41
12. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 130
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *agraz
14. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 5
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *āhwijaz
16. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 115
17. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *axwa-đukkōn
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. á
19. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ēa
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. aha