*furduz

Reconstruction

The word is *furduz in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *furđuz in Orel,^[3] the stem *furdu- in Kroonen, Köbler and Schaffner,^[4][5][6] *fur-du- in Bammesberger^[7] and *fur-đu- in EWA.^[8]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pér-tu-s ~ *pr̥-téw- (“crossing”), a tu-stem meaning "crossing" in the parent language: Ringe and Wiktionary derive *furduz from its oblique stem and the full-grade *ferþuz "inlet, fjord" from its nominative.^[9][2] Bammesberger starts from a zero-grade u-stem *pr̥-tu-.^[7]

Morphology

A masculine u-stem.^[4][5] Schaffner treats it among the masculine u-stems with grammatical alternation, the pair *ferþ/du- : *furdu- "fjord, bay; ford".^[6] Ringe takes the PIE noun as one that split into two words, perhaps already in Proto-Germanic, though a split as late as Northwest Germanic cannot be ruled out.^[10] Wiktionary explains the difference by the accent: on the root in the nominative, so that *ferþuz shows no Verner's law, and on the suffix in the oblique cases, which *furduz generalised.^[2] EWA reconstructs West Germanic *furđi- and *furđu-, the nominative *furđu- being a new formation to the genitive *furđauz, and notes that the Old High German noun is an i-stem.^[11] Bammesberger thinks the o of Old English ford points to an a-stem *furda-.^[7]

Evidence

Only West Germanic has the word: Old English ford, Old Frisian forda, Old Saxon ford and Old High German furt.^[3][4] There is no Gothic form, and Old Norse has only the full grade, Old Norse fjǫrðr (“fjord”).^[4][3] The Old High German word is first recorded around 800, in the Weissenburg Catechism and glosses, and in many place names, such as Langobardic furdi in 789 and Furti, the modern Fürth near Nuremberg, in 1007.^[11] Outside Germanic, Orel compares Avestan pərətu- (“ford, bridge”) and Latin portus (“harbour”),^[3] and Ringe adds Welsh rhyd (“ford”).^[10]

Meanings

1. ford^[4][3][5][2]

Old Frisian used the word for a causeway leading to a fen, and perhaps also for a ford.^[12] Middle High German also had it for "river bed" and "track".^[11]

Reflexes

• Old English: ford (“ford”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: forda (“causeway; ford”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: ford (“ford”)^[14]
• Old High German: furt (“ford”)^[11]
• Gothic and Old Norse have no reflex; Old Norse fjǫrðr continues the full grade *ferþuz^[4][15]

References

1. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 74
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furduz
3. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 119
4. ^ 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. 160
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *furdu-
6. ^ a b Schaffner, Stefan (2001), Das Vernersche Gesetz und der innerparadigmatische grammatische Wechsel des Urgermanischen im Nominalbereich, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 103, Innsbruck, p. 492
7. ^ a b c Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 158
8. ^ 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. pforta
9. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 74, 306
10. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 306
11. ^ a b c d 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. furt
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. forda
13. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ford
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ford
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ferþuz