*felt

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

EWA and Köbler set up inherited from Proto-Germanic *feltaz (“felt”): EWA as an old neuter s-stem *feltaz : *filtiz, which would account for the root vowel e in some daughters and i in others, and Köbler as *felta-, *feltaz beside an i-stem *felti-.^[2][3] Orel calls *feltaz West Germanic.^[4]

Morphology

Old High German filz is a masculine a-stem,^[2] and Köbler gives Old Saxon filt as a strong neuter of the a- or i-stems.^[5]

Evidence

EWA finds the word only in West Germanic: Old Saxon filt, recorded in a register of the abbey of Werden, Old English felt and Old High German filz, which is attested from the end of the 8th century in the Benedictine Rule and in glosses; it lists no Old Frisian form.^[2] Scandinavian words for felt are loans from Middle Low German or English.^[2] Gamillscheg derives French feutre, recorded from the 11th century, from Frankish *filtir.^[6] EWA traces the Romance words for felt to Medieval Latin filtrum, recorded from the 8th century, which it takes for a borrowing of a pre-Old High German plural *filtir.^[2]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary derives the word from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, hide”), and gives as an alternative a derivation from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to beat".^[1] Orel too lists West Germanic *feltaz under *fellan "skin".^[4] EWA instead puts *feltaz : *filtiz in ablaut with *faltan "to beat, to push", the source of Old High German falzan (“to strike firmly”) and of anafalz (“anvil”), and takes the original sense to be "what is stamped or fulled", because felt is pressed and not woven; it reconstructs a verbal root *felt- : *falt-.^[2][7] Holthausen likewise connects Old English felt with Middle High German valzen and Latin pellō (“to push, to strike”).^[8]

Meanings

1. felt^[1][3]

Old High German filz meant "coarse woollen cloth, felt blanket, cloak of coarse wool",^[2] and Old Saxon filt also "wool".^[5]

Reflexes

• Old English: felt (“felt”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: filt (“felt, wool”)^[5]
• Old High German: filz (“coarse woollen cloth, felt blanket, cloak”)^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *felt
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. filz
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *felta-
4. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 97
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. filt
6. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 452
7. ^ 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. falzan
8. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. felt