*luftuz

Reconstruction

The word is *luftuz in Orel and Wiktionary,^[1][2] the stem *luftu- in Kroonen and Köbler,^[3][4] and *luf-tu- in Bammesberger.^[5]

Etymology

Wiktionary, following Kroonen, has it from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to peel, to break off, to damage”), from a PIE *lubʰ-tu-s.^[2] Kroonen derives it from the root of *laubą "foliage", which he calls a European word with no clear PIE etymology.^[3][6]

Morphology

A tu-stem, masculine in Kroonen,^[3] feminine in Orel.^[1] Bammesberger finds a feminine ti-stem *luf-ti- beside it, continued in Old English lyft,^[5] and Orel takes the Old Norse word from *luftan.^[1] EWA sets up *luftu-, *lufti- and *lufta-.^[7]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (luftus) in Gothic, Old Norse loft in Old Norse, and Old English lyft, Old Frisian lufte, Old Saxon luft and Old High German luft in West Germanic.^[3] Gothic has it in three passages of the Pauline epistles.^[8] The Old Norse word passed into Middle English and Irish, and was borrowed as Finnish luhti (“upper storey”).^[9]

Competing analyses

Kroonen thinks the original meaning was "roof", perhaps made of bark, comparing Russian луб (lub, “bast”) and Old Prussian lubbo (“bast, plank”), and rejects a link with the Hittite word for "sky".^[3][2] Orel relates it to a Sanskrit verb "to break, to injure" and to Lithuanian lùpti (“to peel”), and allows the original meaning to have been "porch" or "upper floor", or else "air" seen as a section.^[1] Köbler derives it, probably, from Pokorny's *lāip- "to shine, to burn",^[4] Lehmann probably from PIE *lew- "to cut off", after Torp and Falk and Grienberger.^[10] Feist found no sure comparisons,^[11] and Casaretto calls the base word unknown, its labial continuing PIE b, bʰ or p.^[12]

Meanings

1. roof^[3][4][2]
2. firmament, heavens, sky^[2]
3. air, atmosphere^[3][4][2]

EWA explains the word as properly "the sky as the upper ceiling", comparing Old English hūs-heofon (“ceiling of a room”).^[7] In North Germanic only the sense "uppermost room of a building" survived, and "air, sky" is found only at the oldest stage;^[7] de Vries glosses the Old Norse word "upper room in a house", also "air, sky".^[9]

Derivatives

• *luftijaną "to air; to raise aloft, to lift";^[13] Orel's *luftjanan.^[14]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌻𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (luftus, “air”)^[11]
• Old Norse: lopt (“upper room of a house; air, sky”)^[15]
• Old English: lyft (“air, sky, height”)^[16]
• Old Frisian: lufte (“air”)^[17]
• Old Saxon: luft (“air”)^[18]
• Old High German: luft (“air, sky, atmosphere, breeze”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *luftuz
2. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *luftuz
3. ^ 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. 342
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *luftu-
5. ^ a b Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 157
6. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 328
7. ^ 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. luft
8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. luftus
9. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 366
10. ^ 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. s.v. *luftus
11. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. luftus
12. ^ Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. luftus
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *luftijaną
14. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *luftjanan
15. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. lopt
16. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. lyft
17. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. lufte
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. luft