*haimaz

Reconstruction

The noun is *haimaz in Wiktionary,^[1] *xaimaz in Orel,^[2] *χai̯ma- in EWA,^[3] and the stem *haima- in Kroonen and Köbler.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village, home”).^[1] Kroonen takes it as a mo-stem to the PIE root *kei- "to lie", comparing Ancient Greek κεῖμαι (keîmai) and the Hittite and Sanskrit verbs "to lie";^[4] EWA too calls it an abstract noun in *-mo- to *k̂ei̯- "to lie".^[3]

Morphology

A masculine a-stem.^[5][6] Old English has a masculine, Old Frisian and Old Saxon a neuter, Old High German both.^[4] Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃 (haims) is feminine, an i-stem in the singular and an ō-stem in the plural.^[3][7] Casaretto reports the view that the masculine is original and that the Gothic feminine started from the plural 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍉𐍃 (haimōs), frequent beside the word for "town".^[8]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃 (haims), Old Norse heimr, and Old English hām, Old Frisian hēm, Old Saxon hēm and Old High German heim in West Germanic.^[4] In Wulfila's Bible the Gothic singular means "village" and the plural "fields, the country", as against the town.^[3] Old High German has the noun only in compounds such as Old High German faterheim and in place names, besides the adverb Old High German heim (“home, homewards”).^[3] The compound *Bajahaimaz "home of the Boii" is recorded as Latin Boiohaemum.^[9] De Vries mentions Finnish heimo and its Finnic relatives "kinsman" as loans from Norse, unless they came from Baltic.^[10]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary sets beside the root "to lie" a second derivation, from *tḱóymos "settlement, dwelling" to *tḱey- "to settle, to dwell", which would make it a cognate of Sanskrit "residing at ease" and Lithuanian káimas (“village”).^[1] Casaretto finds this derivation semantically more plausible.^[8] Orel relates Ancient Greek κώμη (kṓmē, “village”), Lithuanian káimas, Lithuanian šeimà (“family”) and Proto-Slavic *sěmьja (“family”).^[2] Kroonen and Orel also connect Old Irish cóim (“dear”), Kroonen with a shift from "belonging to the same home" to "intimate".^[4][2] De Vries reports J. Trier's view that a home is not "something lying" but an enclosed farmstead, so that the word belongs to a root meaning "fence".^[10]

Meanings

1. home, house; village^[4][1][5]

Old Norse also used the word for "world",^[4] and Old English for "dwelling, estate".^[11]

Derivatives

• *haimijaz "intimate, familiar, dear".^[12]
• *haimijaną "to take home; to sleep with".^[13]
• *haimatjaną "to bring home, to house".^[14]
• *haimanē "from home".^[15]
• *awahaimaz "maternal uncle", with *awô "grandfather";^[16] EWA calls the second element disputed.^[17]
• Orel's *xaima-farō "return home".^[18]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃 (haims, “village”)^[19]
• Old Norse: heimr (“home, world”)^[20]
• Old English: hām (“home, house, dwelling; estate, village”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: hēm (“home, homestead”)^[21]
• Old Saxon: hēm (“home, homeland, dwelling”)^[22]
• Old High German: heim (“home”), as a noun only in compounds and place names^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haimaz
2. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xaimaz
3. ^ 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. heim
4. ^ a b c d e f g Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 201
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haima-
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hām
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. haims
8. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *Bajahaimaz
10. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 219
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hām
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haimijaz
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haimijaną
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haimatjaną
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haimanē
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *awahaimaz
17. ^ 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. ôheim
18. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xaima-farō
19. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. haims
20. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. heimr
21. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēm
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hêm