*saipǭ

Reconstruction

The noun is *saipǭ in Wiktionary,^[1] *saip(j)ō(n) in Orel,^[2] and *saipjōn or *saipōn in Köbler.^[3] Kroonen reconstructs *saipwōn-, and so does EWA.^[4][5] LÄGLOS gives the Germanic sources of the Finnish word as *saipōn- and *saipijōn-.^[6]

Morphology

A feminine n-stem.^[4][2] Two forms have been reconstructed: *saipjōn- with a j-suffix, for the geminate of Old High German seipfa,^[4] and *saipōn-, for the lack of umlaut in Old English sāpe;^[4] Kroonen unites them in *saipwōn-, which explains both and is echoed in Finnish saippua.^[4]

Evidence

The word is attested only in West Germanic: sāpe, Old Frisian sēpe and Old High German seiffa, seipfa.^[4] The Old High German noun is found from the 11th century.^[5] Finnish saippua, beside saippio and other forms, is a Germanic loan;^[6][5] LÄGLOS calls the etymology unproblematic in sound, meaning and cultural history.^[6] Latin sāpō (“soap”) was borrowed from Germanic.^[4]

Competing analyses

For Kroonen and EWA, Old Norse sápa is a loan from Old English, since it has ā and not the diphthong expected beside the West Germanic forms.^[4][5] De Vries rejected that view: he took the Norse word from a Proto-Norse form with -j-, like Old High German seipfa, which Finnish saippio continues, and thought that Norse had both forms.^[7] Kroonen notes that the io-suffix of the Finnish word may be Finnish.^[4]

Kroonen calls the derivation unknown, but takes the Old English word for "amber, resin" as a sign of a Germanic origin, and calls the link with the Swedish dialect verb sipa (“to flow slowly”) uncertain.^[4] Orel derives the noun from *sīpaną "to drip";^[2][1] Köbler compares Proto-Indo-European *seip- (“to pour, to trickle”).^[3] De Vries thought that soap was first a means of dyeing the hair red, as Pliny reports of the Gauls.^[7]

Meanings

1. soap^[4][2][3][1]

Wiktionary suggests that the original sense may have been "amber, resin",^[1] and Old English and Old High German also used the word for "resin".^[8][5]

Derivatives

• *saipja- "resin", in the Old English compound stōrsǣp.^[4]

Reflexes

• Old English: sāpe (“soap, resin”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: sēpe (“soap”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: sēpa (“soap”)^[10]
• Old High German: seifa (“soap, resin”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *saipǭ
2. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 313
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *saipjō-
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 422
5. ^ 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. seifa
6. ^ a b c 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. 214
7. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 462
8. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sāpe
9. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sēpe
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sêpa