*asil

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *asil for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin asellus (“little donkey”),^[1][3] the diminutive of asinus (“donkey”).^[3] EWA supports the change of Latin *asell- to Germanic *asil- with parallels such as Old High German flegil from Latin flagellum and skuzzil from scutella.^[3] It holds that the word must have been borrowed early, as Gothic 𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌿𐍃 (asilus) shows, and notes that both asinus and asellus are recorded in Medieval Latin.^[3] Green cites Old High German esil, whose short vowel reflects the vowel length of Classical Latin rather than the Vulgar Latin lengthening of short vowels in open syllables from the 2nd century, as evidence of an early loan.^[4] He links the word with Roman trade, the donkey having been brought to northern Europe by the Romans and used by their merchants to carry goods overland.^[5]

Morphology

A masculine a-stem.^[1][3] Köbler's Germanic form is *asilu-, a u-stem like the Gothic word.^[6] Old English eosol has the suffix vowel -o- and velar umlaut.^[3]

Evidence

The word is attested as Old English esol, Old Saxon esil and Old High German esil,^[1] as Old Frisian esel,^[7] and as Old Dutch esel in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible of 1151–1200.^[8] It did not survive into Middle English; the later Old English assa came through Celtic.^[3]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor allow that Gothic 𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌿𐍃 (asilus) might be the immediate source of the loan,^[1] while Wiktionary treats the Gothic word as a parallel borrowing.^[2] Whether the source was asellus or asinus is disputed.^[3][5] EWA rejects Kluge's derivation from asinus with a change of n to l in an unstressed syllable after i, since most of the examples for that rule can be explained otherwise, and finds the main objection to asellus, that all the Romance words for "donkey" go back to asinus, not valid; it holds the diminutive the likely source.^[3] Green thinks asinus, the source of all the Romance forms, more likely, with the more common Germanic suffix ⟨-il-⟩ put in place of ⟨-in-⟩.^[5]

Meanings

1. donkey^[1][2]

In the glosses the Old High German word renders both Latin asinus and onager,^[3] and the Old Saxon word occurs in the gloss ⟨uuildi esil⟩ for onager.^[9]

Reflexes

• Old English: eosol (“donkey”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: esel (“donkey”)^[7]
• Old Saxon: esil (“donkey”)^[11]
• Old Dutch: esel (“donkey”)^[8]
• Old High German: esil (“donkey”)^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 135
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *asil
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. esil
4. ^ Green, D. H. (1998), Language and History in the Early Germanic World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 212–213
5. ^ a b c Green, D. H. (1998), Language and History in the Early Germanic World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 204
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *asilu-, *asiluz
7. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. esel
8. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. esil
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. esil
10. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. eosol
11. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. esil