*blēwaz

Reconstruction

The word is *blēwaz in Wiktionary,^[1] *ƀlēwaz in Orel,^[2] and the stem *blēwa- in Kroonen and Köbler;^[3][4] Köbler also gives *blǣwa-, the spelling of Heidermanns.^[4][5] Bammesberger writes *blē-wa-.^[6]

Etymology

Wiktionary has it from a Pre-Germanic *bʰleh₁wos, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-² (“blue, gray, yellow”).^[1] Kroonen reconstructs *bʰléh₁-uo- and calls the word European.^[3]

Morphology

A wa-stem adjective.^[6][5] Heidermanns notes that the wa-inflection can be seen only in continental West Germanic.^[5] To reconcile the Germanic *ē with the vowel of Latin flāvus (“blond”), Kroonen reconstructs an ablauting u-stem, nominative *bʰléh₁-u-s, genitive *bʰlh₁-uó-s, and compares his account of *gelwa- ~ *gulu- "yellow".^[3] He rejects the alternative that a laryngeal in *-eh₃-uo- lost its rounding and merged with *h₁ in Germanic, since the Germanic evidence for that change is very slight.^[3]

Evidence

The word is found only in North and West Germanic:^[5] Old Norse blár, Old English blāw, Old Frisian blāw and Old High German blāo.^[3] Old English has it only in Old English blǣhǣwen (“light blue”) and Old English blǣwen (“bluish”),^[7] and the Old Saxon word is recorded in only two inflected forms.^[7] The word was borrowed early as Late Latin blavus, whence Old French blou and French bleu.^[7] Old Norse blár was borrowed into Middle English and into Northern Sami.^[8]

Competing analyses

Kroonen compares Latin flāvus (“blond”), Old Irish blá (“yellow”) and Welsh blaw (“grey”);^[3] Orel gives the Celtic forms as Old Irish blár and Welsh blawr (“grey, blue-grey”),^[2] and Bammesberger compares flāvus alone.^[6] Bammesberger reports Pokorny's extended root *bʰlē-, from *bʰel(ə)-, and allows that flāvus may have its zero grade.^[6] Wiktionary calls a link with PIE Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“light, bright”) uncertain.^[1] Heidermanns finds no exact cognate: the Welsh word has the same root grade with another suffix, while flāvus and the Old Irish word have the same suffix but differ in vowel and meaning.^[5] Hirt, for the sake of the meaning, derived it instead from *mlēwo- and compared Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black”);^[2][5] Heidermanns objects that this does not explain the stem.^[5]

Meanings

1. blue^[3][4][1]
2. dark blue; a dark bluish or grey colour, black^[5][1]

Heidermanns stresses that the word names not only shades of blue but also "dark-coloured, blackish".^[5] Old Norse used it for "blue, livid, black",^[3] Old High German for "blue, purple, grey, lead-coloured".^[7]

Derivatives

• *blēwī- "dark blue", continued in Old High German blāwī (“blueness, bruise”).^[9][5]
• *blēwanōn "to turn bluish", in Old Norse blána.^[10][5]
• *blēwinga- "dark one", in Old Norse blæingr (“raven”).^[11][5]
• *blēweslō- "blueness", in Old Frisian blāwelsa (“blue spot, bruise”).^[12][5]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: blár (“blue, dark, black”)^[8]
• Old English: blǣwen (“bluish”), blǣhǣwen (“light blue”)^[13][14]
• Old Frisian: blāw (“blue”)^[15]
• Old Saxon: blāo (“blue, pale”)^[7]
• Old High German: blāo (“blue, purple, grey, lead-coloured”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *blēwaz
2. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 49
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 68
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *blēwa-
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. 135
6. ^ a b c d Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 243
7. ^ a b c d e f 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. blâo
8. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 42
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *blēwī-
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *blēwanōn
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *blēwinga-
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *blēweslō-
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. blǣwen
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. blǣhǣwen
15. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. blāw