*saltą

Reconstruction

The word is *saltą in Wiktionary,^[1] cited by its stem *salta- in Kroonen and Köbler,^[2][3] who also writes *saltam.^[3] Orel writes *saltan.^[4]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l (“salt”), through a Pre-Germanic *sh₂eldóm.^[1] Kroonen explains that the IE word for salt was an ablauting l-stem, nominative *séh₂-l, genitive *sh₂-l-ós, and that the dental suffix found in Germanic, Balto-Slavic and Italic parallels that of PIE *sueh₂d-u-.^[2]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem;^[3] Kroonen and Orel also give it as neuter.^[2][4] Kroonen takes it as a neuter collective noun derived from the strong verb *saltaną "to salt".^[2] Feist thought that Germanic either extended the IE stem with d or kept a final d of the nominative singular; he compared Latin sallō (“to salt”).^[5]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐍄 (salt) in Gothic, Old Norse salt in Old Norse, and Old English sealt, Old Frisian salt, Old Saxon salt and Old High German salz in West Germanic.^[2] The Gothic word is at Luke 14:34,^[6] and Crimean Gothic has salt too.^[5] Old Norse lent the word to the Saami languages as Northern Sami salte.^[7] Kroonen's cognates include Ancient Greek ἅλς (háls), Latin sāl and Old Irish salann, and, with the same dental, Lithuanian saldùs (“sweet”).^[2]

Competing analyses

Kroonen derives the noun from the verb *saltaną;^[2] Orel, the other way round, derives the verb *saltanan and the adjective *saltaz from the noun, which he calls closely related to Lithuanian saldùs and Proto-Slavic *soldъkъ (“sweet”).^[4] Wiktionary allows either source for the adjective *saltaz.^[8] It names Old Armenian աղտ (ałt) as the closest cognate.^[1] Feist noted that the family is missing in Indo-Iranian and is limited to Armenian and the European languages.^[5]

Meanings

1. salt^[2][4][1]

Old English also used the word for "salt water",^[9] and Old Norse also for "sea".^[10]

Derivatives

• *saltaz "salty", from the noun or from the verb *saltaną;^[8] Orel's *saltaz, derived from the noun.^[4]
• *saltōjanan "to salt", derived from the noun in Orel.^[4]
• *sultjō- "brine", a zero-grade formation to the verb in Kroonen;^[11] in Orel *sultjō, related to the noun.^[12]
• Compounds in Orel: *salta-fatan "salt vat" and *salta-stainaz "salt stone".^[4]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐍄 (salt, “salt”)^[5]
• Old Norse: salt (“salt”)^[7]
• Old English: sealt (“salt”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: salt (“salt”)^[14]
• Old Saxon: salt (“salt”)^[15]
• Old High German: salz (“salt”)^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *saltą
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 425
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *salta-
4. ^ a b c d e f g Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 316
5. ^ a b c d Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. salt
6. ^ 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. salt
7. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. salt
8. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *saltaz
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sealt
10. ^ a b 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. salz
11. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 491
12. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 385
13. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sealt
14. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. salt
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. salt