*slaihā

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *slaihā "sloe, blackthorn fruit" for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *slaihǭ (“sloe”),^[2] which Köbler cites as *slaihō-, *slaihōn and EWA as *slai̯χōn-.^[3][4] EWA analyses *slai̯χōn- as an extension of Proto-Germanic *slai̯-χa-, from a root meaning "blue, bluish".^[4]

Morphology

A feminine n-stem, as Old High German slēha shows,^[4][5] while Old English slāh is a strong feminine.^[6] EWA notes that in some of the Germanic languages the plural -n became fixed in the singular, as in Middle Low German slē(n).^[4]

Evidence

Ringe and Taylor's examples are Old High German slēha and Old English *slāhæ > slā.^[1] In Old English the h between vowels was lost and the vowels contracted, as also in *taihā "toe" > tā and *raihō "roe deer" > rā.^[1] EWA has the Old High German word in glosses from the 10th century on.^[4] Old Saxon has it only in the compound Old Saxon slēhthorn (“blackthorn”), in glosses of the early 11th century.^[7] In Old Dutch, ONW finds slē only as an element of place names, as in Sleen near Coevorden in Drenthe, but doubts that this name contains the word, since its -n would be hard to explain.^[8]

Competing analyses

EWA notes that if the -w- of the Old High German form ⟨slewe⟩, recorded once, were more than a glide between vowels, the difference between -h- and -w- would point to a pair of Verner's law variants *slai̯χu̯ōn- and *slai̯ǥu̯ōn- in Proto-Germanic; finding no trace of such a difference outside Old High German, EWA takes the -w- for a glide.^[4] Wiktionary nevertheless lists Old Dutch *slēwa and Old High German slēwa beside the forms with -h-.^[2]

Meanings

1. sloe, the fruit of the blackthorn^[1][2]

Old High German glosses also render Latin words for the plum and the thorn bush with it.^[4]

Derivatives

• The compound for the blackthorn is found as Old English slāhþorn,^[6] Old Saxon slēhthorn and Old High German slēhdorn.^[9]

Reflexes

• Old English: slāh (“sloe”)^[6]
• Old High German: slēha (“sloe”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 314
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *slaihā
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *slaihō-
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. slêha
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. slēha
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. slāh
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. slēhthorn
8. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. slē
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. slēhdorn