*kokur

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *kokur "quiver, scabbard" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

Wiktionary takes it to be borrowed from Medieval Latin cucurus (“quiver”),^[1] and Holthausen, with a question mark, derives Old English cocer from cucurum.^[2] EWA thinks instead that the word probably goes back to Hunnic *kukur "quiver, case".^[3] It sets the Germanic words beside the Medieval Latin forms, among them coccura, and Medieval Greek κούκουρον (koúkouron, “quiver”), and holds it likely that all of them were borrowed from Hunnic together with the thing itself; it traces the Hunnic word through Turkic languages to an Old Mongolian one.^[3] Köbler sets up a Proto-Germanic *kukur- "quiver" and asks whether it comes from Hunnic.^[4][5]

Morphology

A masculine noun,^[2][3] a strong a-stem in Old English;^[4] EWA classes Old High German kochri as a ja-stem and kochar as an a- or i-stem.^[3]

Evidence

The Old English noun glosses Latin pharetra (“quiver”).^[4] Old High German has it in glosses from the first quarter of the 9th century and in Notker.^[3] Old Frisian has kōker,^[6] and Old Dutch the dative ⟨cocare⟩ in the Old Low Franconian glosses of the 10th century.^[7] Köbler counts the nominative ⟨cochar⟩, glossing ⟨faretra⟩, and ⟨cuokar⟩ as Old Saxon;^[8] EWA assigns the gloss ⟨cochar⟩ to Middle Franconian Old High German, which is why Tiefenbach does not list it.^[3] ONW also records, after the FEW, a reconstructed Frankish *kokere with Old French cuevre, cuivre and coivre "quiver", and ⟨cupra⟩ in the Reichenau Glosses of 750, explaining ⟨faretra⟩ as a case for arrows.^[7] EWA leaves open whether Latin-Lombard cucurra "quiver" is a genuine Lombard word, as Rhee holds, or the Medieval Latin form, as Francovich Onesti holds (both cited by EWA).^[3] It also takes Finnish kukkaro (“purse, pouch”) to be probably a loan from Germanic.^[3]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary derives the West Germanic word from Medieval Latin,^[1] and Holthausen does so with a question mark.^[2] EWA treats the Medieval Latin and Medieval Greek words as parallel borrowings from Hunnic rather than as the source of the Germanic one.^[3] Köbler reconstructs the word for Proto-Germanic and gives the Hunnic origin as a question.^[4]

Meanings

1. quiver^[1]
2. scabbard^[1]

Old English also used the word for "sheath",^[2] and Middle High German for "vessel, container".^[5]

Reflexes

• Old English: cocer (“quiver, sheath”)^[2]
• Old Frisian: kōker (“quiver”)^[6]
• Old Saxon: kokar (“quiver”)^[8]
• Old Dutch: cocare (“quiver”)^[7]
• Old High German: kohhar (“quiver”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kokur
2. ^ a b c d e Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. cocer
3. ^ 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. kochar
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. cocer
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kohhar
6. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. kōker
7. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. kokere
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kokar