*ald

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *ald for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“old”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites as *alda-, Orel as *alđaz and EWA as *alđa-.^[2][4][3] Boutkan and Siebinga note that all the West Germanic dialects point to the voiced dental *-d.^[5] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the Proto-West Germanic comparative *aldizō "older" and superlative *aldist "oldest".^[6]

Morphology

An adjective.^[3][7] Kroonen and EWA take it for an old participle in *-to- of the verb "to grow, to nourish", Proto-Germanic *alan-.^[2][3] Schaffner reconstructs a Proto-Germanic positive *aldá- against a comparative *álþizan-, with Verner's law depending on the place of the stress.^[8] EWA finds the þ and the root stress of the comparative in Old High German eldiron (“parents”), while the usual comparative altiro was remade after the positive.^[3]

Evidence

The adjective is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English eald, Old Frisian ald, Old Saxon ald and Old High German alt.^[3][2] In Old English the stem vowel was broken to a diphthong;^[5] Mercian of the Vespasian Psalter kept ald, with retraction rather than the West Saxon breaking, like Northumbrian.^[9] ONW records Old Dutch alt in a place-name record and the genitive ⟨aldon⟩ in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[10]

Meanings

1. old^[1]

Boutkan and Siebinga take the original meaning to be "grown up".^[5] Old Saxon also used the word for "aged, venerable",^[7] and Old Frisian for "of that time", as a noun for "an outstanding debt", and in the plural for "parents".^[11]

Derivatives

• *aldī "age, old age", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[12] Ringe and Taylor write Proto-West Germanic *aldīn-, the source of Old Saxon eldi, Old High German altī and Old Frisian elde.^[6]
• *aldēn "to grow old", which Wiktionary reconstructs:^[13] Old English ealdian, Old Frisian aldia.^[14]

Reflexes

• Old English: eald (“old”)^[15]
• Old Frisian: ald (“old, former”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: ald (“old, grown”)^[16]
• Old Dutch: alt (“old”)^[10]
• Old High German: alt (“old”)^[3]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ald
2. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 20
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. alt
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 13
5. ^ a b c Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. ald
6. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 232
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ald
8. ^ Schaffner, Stefan (2001), Das Vernersche Gesetz und der innerparadigmatische grammatische Wechsel des Urgermanischen im Nominalbereich, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 103, Innsbruck, p. 259
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 219
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. alt
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ald
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aldī
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aldēn
14. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ealdian
15. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. eald
16. ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 30