*deuʀ

*deuʀ¹ animal

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the noun *deuʀ "animal, beast",^[1] and Ringe and Taylor write the Proto-West Germanic form *deuz.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *deuzą (“animal”),^[3][1] which Kroonen cites by its stem *deuza- and Köbler as *deuza-, *deuzam.^[3][4] In the northern West Germanic dialects a final *z in monosyllables was lost with lengthening of the vowel, while in the southern dialects it survived and became r.^[2] Ringe and Taylor note that a nominative singular such as Old English dēor "animal" can owe its final r to levelling from the forms with endings.^[2]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[5][6]

Evidence

The noun is found in all the West Germanic languages: Old English dēor, Old Frisian diār, Old Dutch dier and Old High German tior.^[3] Old Saxon has it only in the compound meridior (“sea animal”), a gloss of about 1000.^[7][8] In Old Dutch it glosses Latin fera (“wild animal”) in the psalms of the 9th century,^[9] and ONW records it in Williram's commentary on the Song of Songs of about 1100 and in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[10]

Meanings

1. animal^[2][1]
2. beast^[1]

Old Frisian also used the word for "cattle, cow",^[11] and Old High German for "living being" and "wild animal".^[12]

Derivatives

• *elpandadeuʀ "elephant", which Wiktionary reconstructs as a compound with the word for "elephant, ivory";^[13] Old High German has helfanttior among the compounds of the noun.^[12]

Reflexes

• Old English: dēor (“animal”)^[5]
• Old Frisian: diār (“animal, cattle, cow”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: only in meridior (“sea animal”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: dier (“animal”)^[10]
• Old High German: tior (“animal, living being, wild animal”)^[12]

*deuʀ² wild, bold

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs an adjective *deuʀ "wild, fierce, bold".^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *deuzaz (“wild”).^[1] Köbler sets up Proto-Germanic *deuza-, *deuzaz "wild" for the adjective,^[14] and Heidermanns *deuza- "wild"; since the adjective is attested only in Old English, he bases the *z on the Gothic form of the noun and the umlaut of Old Norse dýr.^[8]

Morphology

An adjective, with the Old English superlative dēorost.^[8] Old English formed dēorlic (“bold, brave”) from it, and Old High German has tiorlīh (“wild”).^[8][15]

Evidence

The adjective is found only in Old English dēor "bold, wild, violent",^[16][8] also in compounds such as hildedēor (“bold in battle”) and dēormōd (“bold, brave”).^[8][16]

Competing analyses

Heidermanns finds that the etymology depends on how the Old English adjective and the noun found in all the Germanic languages are related.^[8] To judge from the attestations, he says, the adjective grew out of the noun used as a predicate, "he is a wild animal" becoming "he is wild like an animal"; on the other hand, the sense "wild animal", against *fehu- "tame animal", invites one to start from the adjective, as Latin fera (“wild animal”) stands beside ferus (“wild”).^[8] Either way, he takes the stress on the ending, shown by the grammatical change, with a root in e-grade, for the mark of a derivation from a noun, not a primary formation.^[8] Kroonen calls the noun closely interlinked with the Old English adjective and takes the root to have meant "to lose one's senses", whence "to be wild".^[17]

Meanings

1. wild, fierce, bold^[1]

Old English also used it of storms, for "violent, heavy".^[8]

Reflexes

• Old English: dēor (“bold, wild, violent”)^[16]