*daili

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *daili for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *dailiz (“part”),^[3][1][4] which Kroonen cites by its stem *daili-, Orel as *đailiz and Köbler as *daili-, *dailiz.^[4][5][6] In Old English the diphthong became *ā, which i-umlaut fronted, and the final *-i was lost after the heavy syllable: *daili > *dāli > *dǣli > Old English dǣl.^[3][1] Fulk gives the same Old English development, and for Old Frisian the development of the diphthong to a long front vowel in Old Frisian dēl, beside deil.^[7]

Morphology

A noun of the i-stems in Proto-Germanic, feminine in Gothic and masculine in Old English.^[4][5] In the continental languages it is masculine or neuter: Old Saxon and Old High German have both genders,^[8][9] and Old Frisian has a masculine and neuter noun.^[10]

Evidence

The noun is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English dǣl, Old Frisian dēl, Old Saxon dēl and Old High German teil.^[1] Old Dutch has the nominative plural deila in the psalms, which ONW dates to 901–1000, and deil in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[11] De Vaan lists Old Frisian dēl "part, district" among the Old Frisian words that continue West Germanic *ai.^[12]

Competing analyses

Kroonen separates two Proto-Germanic nouns: the i-stem *daili-, the source of Old English dǣl, and a neuter a-stem *daila-, the source of Old English dāl, Old Frisian dēl, Dutch deel and Old High German teil.^[4] Köbler likewise sets up both an a-stem and an i-stem behind the continental forms,^[13][9] and Boutkan and Siebinga derive the Old Frisian noun from *dailaN.^[14] De Vaan leaves the stem open, deriving dēl from *daili/a-.^[12] Ringe and Taylor, by contrast, derive the Old Saxon, Old Frisian and Old High German nouns from an i-stem, *daili.^[1]

Meanings

1. part^[1][2]

Old English also used the word for "share, lot, region",^[15] Old Frisian for "inheritance" and "district, jurisdiction",^[10] and Old High German for "piece, side, region".^[9]

Derivatives

• *dailijan "to divide", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[16] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *đailjanan from the noun, with Old English dǣlan, Old Frisian dēla, Old Saxon dēlian and Old High German teilen.^[5]
• *dailiþu "division, portion", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Old High German teilida;^[17] Köbler sets up Proto-Germanic *dailiþō for the Old High German noun.^[18]

Reflexes

• Old English: dǣl (“part, share, lot, division, amount, region”)^[15]
• Old Frisian: dēl (“part, share, inheritance, district”)^[10]
• Old Saxon: dēl (“share”)^[8]
• Old Dutch: deil (“part”)^[11]
• Old High German: teil (“part, share, piece, side, region”)^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 287
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *daili
3. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 234
4. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 87
5. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 67
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *daili-
7. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
8. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. dēl
9. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. teil
10. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. dēl
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. dēl
12. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2011), West-Germanic *ai in Frisian, Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 67, 301–314
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. dêl
14. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. del
15. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. dǣl
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dailijan
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dailiþu
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *dailiþō