*bōks

Reconstruction

The word is *bōks in Köbler and Wiktionary,^[1][2] and Kroonen cites it as the feminine stem *bōk-;^[3] Orel heads it *ƀōkz, together with "beech".^[4] Pronk-Tiethoff writes *bōk-s, a root noun.^[5]

Etymology

Kroonen relates it to *bōkō "beech",^[3] an old Indo-European tree name, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂(ǵ)-o- (“beech”), seen in Ancient Greek φηγός (phēgós, “oak”) and Latin fāgus (“beech”).^[6] Bammesberger thinks the link with the word for "beech" can hardly be doubted.^[7]

Morphology

A feminine root noun.^[3][5] Bammesberger finds the consonantal inflection clear only in Old English, with genitive and dative singular and nominative and accusative plural bēc; the other languages have thematic derivatives of the root noun, such as Gothic 𐌱𐍉𐌺𐌰 (bōka, “letter”).^[7] Fick, Falk and Torp reconstructed a feminine ō-stem *bōkō, but Kluge and Bammesberger a root noun.^[5] Gothic attests it as a root noun, and Old High German shows traces of one.^[5] Kroonen sets up a separate *bōka/ō- for the Gothic and continental forms.^[3]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌱𐍉𐌺𐌰 (bōka), in the plural "document, book", and Old Norse bók, Old English bōc, Old Frisian bōk, Old Saxon bōk and Old High German buoh.^[3][8] The Gothic nominative singular is at 2 Corinthians 3:6.^[9] Proto-Slavic *buky (“letter; in the plural, book, document”) was borrowed from it.^[5]

Competing analyses

The singular meant "letter" and the plural "book, writing", as in Gothic and Old High German, like Ancient Greek γράμμα (grámma) and Latin littera.^[5] West Germanic and Old Norse made a new singular "book", and added *staba- "staff" for "letter".^[5] Fick, Falk and Torp took the first sense to be a tablet of beech wood with runes, which links it to the beech.^[5] Kluge rejected the link, finding no evidence of runes written on beech wood, and Lloyd and others connect it with writing Latin on wooden slates.^[5] Feist and Holthausen too thought of beech bark or beech tablets for writing runes.^[8][10] De Vries finds this sense a poor match for the word's meaning.^[11] Wiktionary notes that writing on beech bark is not known, and reports a connection with Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- (“to allot”), with "letter" as the first meaning.^[2] Orel treats the book and the beech as one word.^[4]

Meanings

1. letter; in the plural, book, document^[5][2]
2. book^[3][1]
3. tablet of beech wood^[1]
4. beech^[2]

Old Norse also used the word for an embroidered cushion and for the Latin language,^[11] Old Saxon for a writing tablet,^[12] and Old Frisian for a missal and the Bible.^[13]

Derivatives

• *bōkstabaz "letter of the alphabet", with *stabaz;^[14] Orel's *ƀōka-staƀaz.^[15]
• *bōkōną "to book", Orel's *ƀōkōjanan.^[16][15]
• *bōkalistiz "book learning", with *listiz.^[17][15]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌱𐍉𐌺𐌰 (bōka, “letter; plural, book, letter”)^[8]
• Old Norse: bók (“book, embroidered cushion, Latin”)^[11]
• Old English: bōc (“book, writing, charter, Bible”)^[18]
• Old Frisian: bōk (“book, missal, Bible”)^[13]
• Old Saxon: bōk (“book, writing tablet”)^[12]
• Old High German: buoh (“book, writing”)^[19]

References

1. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bōks
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bōks
3. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 71
4. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 52
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pronk-Tiethoff, Saskia (2013), The Germanic Loanwords in Proto-Slavic, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 20, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, p. 77
6. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 72
7. ^ a b Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 194
8. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 74
9. ^ Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. 105
10. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 16
11. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. bók
12. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bōk
13. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bōk
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bōkstabaz
15. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 51
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bōkōną
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bōkalistiz
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bōc
19. ^ 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. buoh