*maþô

Reconstruction

The noun is *maþô in Wiktionary,^[1] *maþan- in Kroonen and EWA,^[2][3] *maþōn in Orel^[4] and *maþō-, *maþōn, *maþa-, *maþan in Köbler.^[5]

Etymology

Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Indo-European *mat- (“insect, worm, maggot”), through a PIE *mat-ḗn, genitive *mat-nés, and allows that the root was borrowed from a substrate language.^[1] Kroonen starts from a paradigm *mót-ōn, *mt-n-ós.^[2]

Morphology

A masculine n-stem.^[2][5] Kroonen thinks it split, together with *muþþa/ōn- "moth", from an ablauting paradigm with nominative *maþō and genitive *muttaz.^[2] He reconstructs several stems from the daughters, *maþan- in Gothic, Old English and Old High German, *maþþōn- in Middle High German matte, *muþþōn- and *mutta(n)-, and explains them from that paradigm, later remodelled to *maþō, *muþþaz.^[6]

Evidence

The word is attested in Gothic and West Germanic: Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌰 (maþa), Old English maða, Old Saxon matho and Old High German mado.^[2] The Gothic word occurs three times, at Mark 9:44, 46 and 48, for Ancient Greek σκώληξ (skṓlēx, “worm”).^[7] Old Norse has only a derivative, Old Norse maðkr, which de Vries takes as a k-extension of an unattested *maþon.^[8][4] LÄGLOS sets Finnic Finnish mato (“worm, snake, maggot”) beside *maþan- or *maþōn-;^[9] EWA leaves open whether the Finnic words are loans from Germanic.^[3]

Competing analyses

Feist found no etymology,^[10] and Orel and Casaretto call the origin unknown or unclear;^[4][11] Orel lists comparisons with Latin "chew", with Sanskrit मत्कुण (matkuṇa, “bug”) and with an Armenian word for "louse".^[4][11] Kroonen compares a Russian word for "maggot" and gives the word a North European distribution;^[2] Wiktionary compares Proto-Slavic *motyľь (“butterfly”).^[1] Kroonen thinks the odd form of the Sanskrit word and a parallel Sanskrit word for "louse" point to a non-Indo-European origin.^[6] Kallio derived *maþan- from Proto-Finnic *mato;^[6] Kroonen objects that the vowel and consonant alternations of the Germanic n-stem are too regular to come from language contact,^[6] while Wiktionary thinks a borrowing from Finnic more likely than the reverse, since the Finnic word has an Indo-Iranian etymology.^[1]

Meanings

1. maggot^[2][5][1]
2. worm^[1]
3. moth^[2][1]
4. pest, vermin^[5]

The sense "moth" is found in forms with a geminate, such as Middle High German matte (“moth”).^[2][6]

Derivatives

• *maþikô "maggot, worm",^[12] Kroonen's *maþikan-, the source of Old Norse maðkr and of the English word maggot.^[2]
• Kroonen's *maþran- in Norwegian måre (“woodworm”) and *maþrjan- in Norwegian mære (“mite”).^[2]
• *muþþa/ōn- "moth", a zero-grade formation,^[13] which Orel writes *muþþōn and takes instead as an expressive formation based on the word for "mouse".^[14]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌰 (maþa, “maggot, worm”)^[10]
• Old Norse: only the derivative maðkr (“maggot”)^[8]
• Old English: maða (“maggot, worm”)^[15]
• Old Saxon: matho (“maggot, worm”)^[16]
• Old High German: mado (“maggot, worm”)^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *maþô
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 358
3. ^ a b c 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. mado
4. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *maþōn
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *maþō-
6. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2011), The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A Study in Diachronic Morphophonology, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 18, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, p. 218–221
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. maþa
8. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. maðkr
9. ^ Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 255
10. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. maþa
11. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. maþa
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *maþikô
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 379
14. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *muþþōn
15. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. maða
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. matho