*bōkijā

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *bōkijā "beech" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

Köbler takes it to be inherited from Proto-Germanic *bōkjōn (“beech”), which he also writes *bōkjō- and gives beside *bōkō "beech".^[2][3] Orel sets up *ƀōkjan "beech", derived from *bōkz, for Old Norse bǣki, Old English bēce and Old Saxon bōkia.^[4] Wiktionary derives it instead within West Germanic from *bōku "beech" with a suffix *-jā.^[1]

Morphology

A feminine noun.^[5][6] EWA finds the declension hard to determine in all the Germanic languages, since most records are nominative singulars.^[6] For Old High German buocha the weak declension is secured by the accusative singular ⟨buochun⟩ in the Hammelburg boundary description and by the weak Middle High German noun, while strong forms are less certain.^[6] Old Saxon bōke could be a jōn-stem, an ōn-stem, an ō-stem;^[6] Gallée took it for a jōn-stem, probably because Middle Low German bȫke has umlaut.^[6] Old English has bǣce, bēce, a jōn-stem, beside the ō-stem bōc.^[6]

Evidence

The Old English noun glosses Latin aesculus and fagus (“beech”).^[5] Old Saxon has the nominative ⟨boke⟩ for aesculus in glosses of about 1000, and the dative plural ⟨boken⟩ in a charter of the Bremen cartulary.^[3] Old High German has the word from the 8th century,^[7] in glosses and in the boundary descriptions of Hammelburg of the 9th century and Würzburg of the 11th century.^[6]

Competing analyses

The sources assign the attested words differently.^[4][2] Orel lists Old Saxon bōka and Old High German buohha under *ƀōkō, as stems in *-ō- and *-ōn-, and keeps *ƀōkjan for the Old Norse, Old English and Old Saxon words in -j-.^[4] Köbler puts Old High German buohha under *bōkjō-, *bōkjōn,^[2] and refers it and Old Saxon bōka to both *bōkjō- and *bōkō.^[7][3] EWA leaves the stem class of the Old Saxon word open.^[6] Wiktionary's derivation from *bōku is its own.^[1]

Meanings

1. beech^[1]

Old High German also applied the word to the oak and the birch.^[6]

Derivatives

• *bōkīn "beechen, made of beech", which Wiktionary derives from *bōku or *bōkijā;^[8] Köbler refers Old High German buohhīn (“of beech wood”) to buohha.^[9]

Reflexes

• Old English: bēce (“beech”)^[5]
• Old Saxon: bōka (“beech”)^[3]
• Old High German: buohha (“beech”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bōkijā
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bōkjō-
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bōka
4. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 51
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bēce
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. buocha
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. buohha
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bōkīn
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. buohhīn