*dauþuz

Reconstruction

The word is *dauþuz in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] the stem *dauþu- in Kroonen and Köbler,^[3][4] *dauþu-z in LÄGLOS^[5] and *dau-þu- in Bammesberger.^[6] Orel heads it as an a-stem, *đauþaz,^[7] and writes *đauþaz ~ *đauþuz when he cites it in compounds.^[8]

Etymology

Wiktionary has it inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰówtus (“death”), equivalent to *dawjaną "to die" with the suffix *-þuz;^[2] Kroonen sets up *dʰóu(H)-tu- and calls the noun a tu-stem created to the verb.^[3]

Morphology

A masculine u-stem, an action noun in *-tu-.^[3][4][1] Ringe lists it among the masculine tu-stems, less common than the feminine ti-stems, with *lustuz "desire" and *flōduz "flood".^[1] Casaretto calls it a full-grade verbal abstract to the verb "to die", beside the verbal adjective *daudaz "dead".^[9] The noun has þ where the adjective has d, and Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (dauþs, “dead”) took the voiceless fricative from the noun, since all the other old languages point to *dauda-.^[10][9]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌸𐌿𐍃 (dauþus) in Gothic, Old Norse dauðr in Old Norse, and Old English dēaþ, Old Frisian dāth, Old Saxon dōđ and Old High German tōt in West Germanic.^[3] The Gothic word is in Wulfila's Bible.^[11] The Finnish tauti "disease, epidemic" and its Finnic cognates were borrowed from Germanic *dauþan- or *dauþu-z,^[5] and LÄGLOS calls the etymology flawless, but the loan cannot be very early, because the word escaped the Finnic change of *ti to *si.^[5]

Competing analyses

Orel takes the noun as the substantivised adjective *đauđaz "dead", not as a tu-stem.^[7] There is also an n-stem Old Norse dauði (“death”),^[7][12] which LÄGLOS allows as the source of the Finnic loan.^[5] For the root, Kroonen notes the comparison with PIE *dʰeu- "to run, rush" and *dʰueh₂- "to blow, smoke", but prefers a link with Hittite tuḫḫušzi (“to end”), from *dʰuh₂/₃-s-: Hittite kept the basic meaning, while in Germanic the verb euphemistically came to mean "to die".^[13] Köbler gives a PIE *dʰeu- "to die, to dwindle".^[4]

Meanings

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

Old Frisian also used the word for "manslaughter",^[14] and Old Swedish for a fatal epidemic.^[5]

Derivatives

• *dauþudagaz "day of death"^[15] and *dauþubandą "bond of death";^[16] Orel writes *đauþa-đaʒaz and *đauþa-ƀanđan.^[17]
• *dauþalīkaz "deadly, mortal".^[18]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌸𐌿𐍃 (dauþus, “death”)^[19]
• Old Norse: dauðr (“death”)^[20]
• Old English: dēaþ (“death”)^[21]
• Old Frisian: dāth (“death, manslaughter”)^[14]
• Old Saxon: dōth (“death”)^[22]
• Old Dutch: dōd (“death”)^[4]
• Old High German: tōd (“death, ruin”)^[23]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 325
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dauþuz
3. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 91
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *dauþu-
5. ^ a b c d e 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. 281
6. ^ Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 159
7. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 70
8. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 69
9. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. dauþus
10. ^ Schaffner, Stefan (2001), Das Vernersche Gesetz und der innerparadigmatische grammatische Wechsel des Urgermanischen im Nominalbereich, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 103, Innsbruck, p. 283
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. dauþus
12. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. dauði
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 90
14. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. dāth
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dauþudagaz
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dauþubandą
17. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 69–70
18. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dauþalīkaz
19. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. dauþs
20. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. dauðr
21. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. déaþ
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. dôth
23. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tōd