*leuþą

Reconstruction

The word is *leuþą in Wiktionary,^[1] *leuþan in Orel,^[2] and *leuþa- beside *leuda- in Köbler.^[3] EWA gives *leuþa-, and for the Gothic compound the Verner variant *-leuđa-.^[4]

Etymology

Wiktionary reports the traditional derivation from Proto-Indo-European *lew- (“to sing, to praise”), through an extension *lew-t-, but calls the origin unclear;^[1] Köbler refers it, with a query, to a PIE *lēu- "to sound".^[3]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[3][4] EWA explains the grammatical change between the simplex in þ and the Gothic compound in đ by the different accent of simplex and compound.^[4]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches, but Gothic has it only in the compound Gothic 𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸 (awiliuþ, “thanksgiving”): Old Norse ljóð, Old English lēoþ, the compound Old Saxon winilioth (“folk song”) and Old High German liod.^[2][4] The Gothic compound is in Wulfila's Bible.^[5]

Competing analyses

Orel thinks the word perhaps distantly related to Latin laus (“praise”) and Latin laudō (“to praise”).^[2] De Vries reports Torp's comparison with laus as uncertain, but adds that H. Schwarz showed the original meaning to have been "song of praise", which matches the Latin word exactly; he derives both from a root *leu "to praise", which he does not think need be separated from *leu "light, brightness".^[6]

Meanings

1. song^[3][1]
2. lay, song of praise^[1]

Old Norse used the word for a stanza,^[6] Old English also for "poem",^[7] and the Gothic compound means "thanks, grace".^[5]

Derivatives

• *leuþōną "to sing, to make verses", Orel's *leuþōjanan and Köbler's *leuþōn.^[8][9][10]
• In Orel, the compound *leuþa-sanʒwaz "song".^[11]

Reflexes

• Gothic: only in 𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸 (awiliuþ, “thanks, thanksgiving”), with the verb 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍉𐌽 (liuþōn, “to sing praise”)^[5][12]
• Old Norse: ljóð (“stanza, song”)^[6]
• Old English: lēoþ (“song, poem”)^[7]
• Old Saxon: only in winilioth (“folk song”)^[4]
• Old High German: liod (“song of praise, song, hymn”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *leuþą
2. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *leuþan
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *leuþa-
4. ^ 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. liod
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. awiliuþ
6. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. ljóð
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. léoþ
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *leuþōną
9. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *leuþōjanan
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *leuþōn
11. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *leuþa-sanʒwaz
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. liuþōn