*balþ

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“bold, brave”),^[1][3] which Köbler and Schaffner cite by its stem *balþa-.^[4][5] Gothic has only the adverb Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌰𐌱𐌰 (balþaba).^[1][5] EWA finds that the almost complete record of the Germanic languages leaves no doubt about a base form *balþa-z.^[6] In the northern West Germanic dialects word-internal *lþ became *ld by regular sound change: the plural *balþē became *baldē, and the *d was then extended to the singular, *bald, the form behind Old Saxon bald and Old English beald.^[1]

Morphology

An adjective.^[1] Its adverb in -o is found in Old Dutch baldo, Old Frisian balde, Old English bealde and Old High German baldo.^[6]

Evidence

The adjective is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English beald, Old Frisian bald, Old Saxon bald and Old High German bald,^[6] and Old Dutch has the adverb baldo, glossing Latin fiducialiter.^[6] Lombard has the word in more than three dozen personal names as the second element and in about half a dozen as the first, as in Frotbaldus, Sigebaldus and Balduinus.^[6] It was borrowed from West Germanic into the neighbouring Romance languages as Italian baldo, Old French baud and Old Occitan baut, and Latin baudus (“bold, strong”) is recorded once as early as the 3rd century.^[6] Gamillscheg's Romania Germanica treats a Frankish *bald.^[7] In Old English the vowel of beald shows breaking before the cluster of l and d.^[6]

Competing analyses

Schaffner sets up a Proto-Germanic alternation *balþa- : *balda-, and notes that Old Frisian and Old Saxon bald cannot show which of the two underlies them, because each of these languages merged *-lþ- and *-ld- independently.^[5] Ringe and Taylor instead derive the northern *bald from *balþ by the regular change of word-internal *lþ to *ld and the extension of the *d through the paradigm.^[1] EWA points to Old Norse baldinn (“defiant”), with grammatical alternation, beside ballr.^[6]

Meanings

1. bold, brave^[1][2]

Old High German also used the adjective for "confident, free" and "rash",^[6] and Old English for "strong".^[8] In Middle High German it also came to mean "quick", from its use with verbs of motion, and the German adverb bald came to mean "early, in good time".^[6]

Derivatives

• *balþī "boldness", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[9] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *ƀalþīn, the source of Old English beldo and Old High German baldī, from the adjective.^[3]
• *balþijan "to make bold, to encourage", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[10] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *ƀalþjanan, the source of Old English byldan and Old Saxon beldian, from the adjective.^[3]
• *balþō "boldly" and *balþlīkō "boldly", which Wiktionary reconstructs.^[2]

Reflexes

• Old English: beald (“bold, brave, strong”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: bald (“bold”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: bald (“bold, brave”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: baldo (“confidently”), the adverb^[6]
• Old High German: bald (“bold, brave, rash, confident, free”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 156
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *balþ
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 34
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *balþa-
5. ^ a b c Schaffner, Stefan (2001), Das Vernersche Gesetz und der innerparadigmatische grammatische Wechsel des Urgermanischen im Nominalbereich, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 103, Innsbruck, p. 279
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. bald
7. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1970), Romania Germanica: Sprach- und Siedlungsgeschichte der Germanen auf dem Boden des alten Römerreichs, vol. 1: Zu den ältesten Berührungen zwischen Römern und Germanen. Die Franken, 2nd ed., Berlin: de Gruyter, p. 444
8. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. beald
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *balþī
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *balþijan
11. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bald
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bald