*mak

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the adjective *mak "fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *makaz (“fit, suitable”),^[1] which Kroonen cites by its stem *maka- "fit, comfortable", Orel as *makaz and Heidermanns as *maka- "comfortable, fitting".^[2][3][4] Kroonen gives the adjective the original meaning "fit, suitable" and takes it for the base of the weak verb *makōjan-, the source of Old English macian, Old Frisian makia, Old Saxon makon and Old High German mahhōn.^[2]

Morphology

An adjective.^[2][5] Köbler sets up a Proto-Germanic noun *maka-, *makam "thing" beside it, from Old Saxon ungimak (“impropriety”) and Old High German mah (“thing”).^[6]

Evidence

Heidermanns notes that in North and West Germanic the adjective is mostly found with the prefix *ga-, and holds the forms without it, Old English mæc and Middle Low German mak, to be secondary.^[4] Orel gives Old English mæc the meaning "well-matched, equal, agreeable".^[3] The prefixed forms are Old English gemæc (“fitting, equal, like”),^[7] Old High German gimah (“fitting, suitable, comfortable”),^[8] and Old Saxon only the negative ungimak (“hostile”), glossing Latin infestus at the end of the 10th century.^[9] Old Dutch has only the noun gimak in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible of 1151–1200.^[10]

Competing analyses

Kroonen takes the adjective for the base of the verb.^[2] Orel, on the contrary, derives *makaz from the verb *makōjanan, after Spitzer.^[3] Heidermanns too takes the adjective for a back-formation from the West Germanic primary verb, Old English macian, Old High German mahhōn "to make, to prepare", in compounds also "to join", so that its basic meaning would be "to be made, to be joined"; since the verb is missing in North Germanic, he thinks the North Germanic adjectives were probably borrowed.^[4] Wiktionary calls the further origin uncertain.^[11]

Meanings

1. fit, suitable^[1][2]
2. agreeable, comfortable^[1][4]

Old English gemæc also meant "equal, like",^[7] and Old High German gimah also "of the same kind, joined as brothers or in marriage".^[8]

Derivatives

• *makōn "to make": Old Saxon makon, Old High German mahhōn, Old Frisian makia, Old English macian.^[12] Wiktionary analyses it as *mak with the suffix *-ōn.^[13]
• *gamak "equal, like; fitting", which Wiktionary reconstructs from *ga- and *mak;^[14] Heidermanns lists Old English gemæc and Old High German gimah among the prefixed forms.^[4]
• *makalīk "proper, seemly", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[15] Orel sets up Proto-Germanic *maka-līkaz for Old Norse makligr and Old High German gimahlīh, and Old English has macalīc (“fitting”).^[3][16]

Reflexes

• Old English: gemæc (“fitting, equal, like”)^[7]
• Old Saxon: ungimak (“hostile”)^[9]
• Old High German: gimah (“fitting, suitable, comfortable”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *mak
2. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 350
3. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 257
4. ^ a b c d e Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. maka-
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *mak
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *maka-
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gemæc
8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gimah
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ungimak
10. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. gimak
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *makaz
12. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 228
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *makōn
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gamak
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *makalīk
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. macalīc