*failī

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *failī "true, friendly, familiar, good" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *failijaz (“true, friendly, good”),^[2] which Köbler writes *failja-, *failjaz "familiar, good" and calls of unknown origin.^[3] Wiktionary too calls the origin uncertain.^[2] EWA traces the Old High German, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch and Old Frisian adjectives for "for sale" to a Proto-Germanic adjective and finds no convincing connection beyond it.^[4]

Morphology

An adjective, a ja-stem in Old English and Old High German.^[5][4]

Evidence

Old English has fǣle "faithful, good, dear", with the negative unfǣle (“bad”).^[5][6] Old Frisian has fēle "for sale", used of a troop serving for pay.^[7] Old High German has feili "for sale", glossing Latin vēnālis, from the 9th century and only in glosses.^[4] Wiktionary gives the Old Saxon and Old Dutch forms only as reconstructions.^[1]

Competing analyses

Old English has the senses "faithful, good", while Old Frisian and Old High German have "for sale".^[5][7][4] Köbler puts both under one Proto-Germanic adjective.^[3] EWA's list of the words that correspond to the Old High German adjective names Middle Low German, Middle Dutch and Old Frisian, not Old English.^[4] Wiktionary itself glosses the adjective "venal, to be sold" where it derives *failōn from it.^[8]

EWA reports that the Old High German adjective is generally connected with Old High German fāli (“for sale”), though the vowels are held to be difficult: de Vries assumed a secondary sound change, Seebold a derailment of the ablaut on the German side, while Matzel separates the two adjectives.^[4] EWA itself offers, as a vague possibility, a connection with a root meaning "to be fat", a pre-Proto-Germanic *poi̯li- "swelling (after fattening)", said of cattle and pigs, being understood as "for sale".^[4]

Meanings

1. true, faithful, good^[1]
2. friendly, familiar^[1]

The continental and Frisian words mean "for sale".^[4]

Derivatives

• *failōn "to sell, to offer for sale", which Wiktionary reconstructs from the adjective with the suffix *-ōn and finds in Middle Low German and Middle Dutch.^[8]
• Köbler sets up Proto-Germanic *failīgaz (“protected, safe”), behind Old Frisian fēlich (“safe”), and Proto-Germanic *failisōn (“to cleanse”), behind Old English fǣlsian (“to atone, to purify”), and refers both to *failja-.^[9][10]

Reflexes

• Old English: fǣle (“faithful, good, dear, precious”)^[5]
• Old Frisian: fēle (“for sale, serving for pay”)^[7]
• Old High German: feili (“for sale”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *failī
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *failijaz
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *failja-
4. ^ 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. feili
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. fǣle
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. unfǣle
7. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. fēle
8. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *failōn
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *failīga-
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *failisōn