*walþuz

Reconstruction

The noun is *walþuz in Orel and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *walþu-, *walþuz in Köbler^[3] and *walþ-u- in Bammesberger.^[4] Kroonen has no article on it, but names *walþu- "wood, forest" in two others.^[5]

Etymology

Wiktionary tentatively derives it from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“hair, hairlike object”), as *wólH-tu-s, or from a PIE *wel- related to Hittite wellu- (“pasture, meadow”);^[2] Köbler gives a root *u̯el- "hair, wool, grass, ear of grain, forest".^[3]

Morphology

A masculine u-stem.^[3][4] Bammesberger sees the root *welþ- in the adjective *wilþijaz, in Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (wilþeis, “wild”), but allows that the *-þ- may be a suffix.^[4] In the daughters the stem class varies: Old English and Old Saxon have an a-stem, Old High German an i-stem, Old Frisian a u-stem.^[3]

Evidence

The word is attested in North and West Germanic: Old Norse vǫllr, Old English weald, Old Frisian wald, Old Saxon wald and Old High German wald.^[1] Gothic has no record of it;^[6] Köbler sets up a Gothic *waldus from Italian gualdo, Old French gaut and other Romance words for "wood".^[6] Wiktionary lists Medieval Latin gualdus among its descendants.^[2]

Competing analyses

Orel, after Solmsen, relates Ancient Greek λάσιος (lásios, “shaggy, woolly”), Old Irish folt (“hair”), Lithuanian váltis (“ear of oats”) and Proto-Slavic *voltь (“ear of grain”); he also lists Lewy's link with Latin saltus and Torp and Falk's with Latin vallis.^[1] Wiktionary finds the semantic gap to the words for "hair" wide.^[2] Kroonen thinks the Germanic-Celtic adjective *welþja- "wild" possibly related.^[7]

Meanings

1. forest, wood^[3][2]
2. wilderness, heath^[6]

Old Norse uses the word for "plain, field, meadow",^[8] Old English for "high land covered with wood",^[1] and Old High German also for "wilderness, desert".^[9]

Derivatives

• Orel's *walþ(j)ō "weld, dyer's rocket", which he derives from this noun;^[10] Kroonen, writing *waldō-, sees no compelling reason for that link and prefers a connection with Latin lūtum.^[11]
• Perhaps *þreskwaþluz "threshold", if its second element is a metathesis of this word.^[12] EWA reports this analysis, *þreskwalþu-, and objects that it does not explain the suffix of Old High German driskufli.^[13]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: vǫllr (“plain, field, meadow”)^[8]
• Old English: weald (“forest, wood, bush”)^[14]
• Old Frisian: wald (“forest”)^[15]
• Old Saxon: wald (“forest, wilderness”)^[16]
• Old High German: wald (“forest, wilderness, desert”)^[9]
• Gothic has no attested form.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *walþuz
2. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *walþuz
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *walþu-
4. ^ a b c Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 569, 579
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *waldus
7. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 579
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. vǫllr
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wald
10. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 445
11. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 569
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *þreskwaþluz
13. ^ 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. driskufli, driskubli
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. weald
15. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wald
16. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. wald