*talō

Reconstruction

The word is *talō in Wiktionary and Köbler,^[1][2] *talō(n)- in Kroonen and *talō(n) in Orel.^[3][4]

Etymology

Wiktionary explains it as if from PIE *dolH-éh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *del(H)- (“to draw, to attract”).^[1] Köbler names PIE *del- "to aim, to reckon".^[2]

Morphology

A feminine ō-stem,^[2] or a strong or weak feminine in Kroonen and Orel, who write *talō(n).^[3][4] Kroonen relates it to the neuter *talą, his *tala- "number; speech",^[3] and Orel calls it a variant of that neuter.^[4]

Evidence

The word is attested in North and West Germanic: Old Norse tala, Old English talu, Old Frisian tele and Old High German zala.^[3] Orel adds Old Saxon tala (“number”).^[4] No Gothic noun is cited by Kroonen or Orel;^[3][4] Köbler connects the verb Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌻𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (talzjan, “to instruct”) with it only tentatively.^[5]

Competing analyses

Kroonen thinks the oldest meaning of the related verb was "to align", whence "to count, to recount", and calls *tala- close to Old Armenian տող (toł, “line, row”).^[3] Orel relates *talan to Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “wile, bait”) and Latin dolus (“guile”), after Fick.^[6] Wiktionary compares the Greek and the Armenian word.^[1]

Meanings

1. speech, account, narration^[3][1]
2. number, calculation^[2][1]

Old English also used the word for "series" and "accusation",^[7] and Old Frisian for "language" and for the speeches of plaintiff and defendant.^[8]

Derivatives

• *taljaną "to count, to tell",^[9] Kroonen's *taljan- and Orel's *taljanan.^[3][10]
• *talōną "to tell, to speak; to count",^[11] Kroonen's *talōjan- and Orel's *talōjanan.^[3][12]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: tala (“number, reckoning, speech”)^[13]
• Old English: talu (“number, series, tale, story”)^[7]
• Old Frisian: tele (“number, language, speech”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: tala (“calculation, amount, list”)^[14]
• Old High German: zala (“number, calculation”)^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *talō
2. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *talō
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 508
4. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 401
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. talzjan
6. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *talan
7. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. talu
8. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. tele
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *taljaną
10. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *taljanan
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *talōną
12. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *talōjanan
13. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. tala
14. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. tala
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. zala