*āmaitijā

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *āmaitijā "ant" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1] EWA writes the West Germanic word *ǣmaitjōn,^[2] Köbler sets up Germanic *ēmaitjōn, *ǣmaitjōn,^[3] and Kroonen Proto-Germanic *amaitjō-.^[4] EWA rejects the by-form *aimaitjōn, which others set up for West Germanic on the evidence of Middle High German and dialect forms, and explains those forms by assimilation and folk etymology.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Proto-West Germanic *maitan (“to cut off”) with a prefix meaning "away" and a feminine agent suffix, in the analysis of EWA, which calls the word a West Germanic new formation, probably a compound of the Proto-Germanic prefix *ǣ- and the stem of the verb *maitan- "to cut", "the cutter-off", the insect that bites off bits of wood, needles and grass.^[2] Orel likewise derives the West Germanic word for "ant" from Proto-Germanic *maitanan "to cut" with a prefix *ē-.^[5]

Morphology

A feminine n-stem.^[2][6]

Evidence

The word is attested in Old English ǣmette, also ǣmytte,^[6][2] and in Old High German āmeiza, recorded in glosses from 765.^[7] EWA lists Middle Low German and Middle Dutch forms such as amete.^[2] It appears beside the older Germanic name of the ant, as in Old Norse maurr and miere.^[2]

Competing analyses

Kroonen calls the origin unclear: the word is usually taken for a compound with the root of *maitan- "to cut", but the form and origin of its first part are hard to establish.^[4] One could reconstruct *uz-maitjō- "out-cutter", in which unstressed *uz would give Proto-West Germanic *ā.^[4] Kroonen himself prefers a link with *ēmōn- "larva", in a haplologized compound *ēmō-maitjō- "larva cutter".^[4] A third possibility is a substrate word connected with Ancient Greek μίδας (mídas, “destructive insect in beans”), with a prefix a- and a suffix *-īd-.^[4] Wiktionary gives the same three explanations, with *uʀ- and *āmā (“larva”) for the first parts.^[1]

Meanings

1. ant^[5][1]

EWA takes the literal meaning to be "the cutter-off".^[2]

Reflexes

• Old English: ǣmette (“ant”)^[6]
• Old High German: āmeiza (“ant”)^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *āmaitijā
2. ^ 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. âmeiza
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *ēmaitjō-, *ēmaitjōn
4. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 24
5. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 256
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ǣmette
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. āmeiza