Etymology and origin of the Proto-West Germanic word *galīkō
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Inherited
- Inherited from
- Proto-Germanic *galīkô
Reconstruction
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the adverb *galīkō "in the same way, similarly" for Proto-West Germanic,[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.[2]
Etymology
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *galīkô (“in the same way, similarly”),[1] which Ringe and Taylor write *galīkō̄, with a trimoric final vowel.[1] In final syllables the bimoric *ō became Proto-West Germanic *ā, as in the accusative singular *gebǭ "gift" > *gebā, while trimoric *ō̄ stayed *ō, so that *galīkō̄ became *galīkō.[1]
Morphology
An adverb formed from an adjective: Ringe counts the deadjectival adverbs of Proto-Germanic in trimoric *-ō among the securely reconstructable formations, with this word as his example.[3] Wiktionary analyses it as *galīk (“alike, similar”) with the adverb suffix *-ō.[2]
Evidence
Ringe and Taylor cite Old Saxon gilīko and Old High German gilīhho for the Proto-West Germanic adverb, beside Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍉 (galeikō).[1][2] The Old Saxon adverb is found in the Heliand of about 830.[4] Köbler sets Old English gelīce (“alike”) beside the Gothic, Old Saxon and Old High German adverbs.[5] The adverb Old Frisian gelīke (“alike, in the same way”) is found in the Westerlauwers texts.[6]
Meanings
Old High German also used the adverb for "equally", "together" and "without distinction".[7]
Reflexes
- Old Saxon: gilīko (“alike, in the same way”)[4]
- Old High German: gilīhho (“alike, similarly, equally, together”)[7]
References
- ^ 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. 59
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *galīkō
- ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 327
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gilīko
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gelīce
- ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. gelīke
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gilīhho
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“*galīkō.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gmw-pro/*gal%C4%ABk%C5%8D. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
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