*hāring

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *hāring "herring" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1] EWA sets up two ablaut grades in West Germanic, *χēringa- and *χaringa-.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hēringaz (“herring”),^[3][2] which Köbler also cites as *hēringa-, beside *haringa-, *haringaz.^[3][4] EWA explains the Proto-Germanic *χē/aringa- as a derivative in the suffix *-inga-, which forms names of animals, from a base *χē/ar-, and calls its further etymology unclear;^[2] Köbler calls it unknown.^[3]

Morphology

A masculine a-stem.^[2][5]

Evidence

EWA assigns Old High German hâring, Old Frisian hēreng and Old English hǣring to *χēringa-, and Old High German hering and Old Saxon hering to *χaringa-.^[2] Old High German has the word from the 10th century in glosses,^[2] and Old Saxon in an 11th-century gloss on Latin sardina.^[5][6] ONW records Old Dutch harink in Latin context in 1101–1200, and takes French hareng, recorded from the 12th century, as borrowed from it.^[7] Gamillscheg derives the French word from Frankish *haring, which he finds latinised as haringus in the 6th century;^[8] EWA gives the 6th-century Latin form as aringus, in Pseudo-Gargilius Martialis, and adds Italian aringa, Spanish arenque and Portuguese arenque as early Romance borrowings.^[2]

Competing analyses

EWA finds the difference in vowel length the main difficulty and lists the proposals.^[2] A derivative of Proto-Germanic *χēra- "hair", in an original sense "growth, crowd", would make *χēringa- "the fish that belongs to the shoal", but it leaves *χaringa- unexplained, and EWA finds the interpretation of "hair" as "fish bone" unlikely.^[2] A substrate word is hard to square with the changing vowel, and a link with Latin prōcērus (“tall, slender”) gives an unclear sense.^[2] EWA itself prefers, with reservations, the root *(s)k/k̂er- "to leap, to swing", after the quick, agile movements of the fish, with the ē-grade as a collective formation.^[2] Wiktionary calls the origin unknown and gives as a possibility *hār "hair" with *-ing, named for its hair-like bones.^[1] LÄGLOS mentions as a second possibility a connection of Old English hǣring with hār (“grey”).^[9]

Meanings

1. herring^[1][2]

Old High German also used the word for "salted fish".^[10]

Reflexes

• Old English: hǣring (“herring”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: hēring (“herring”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: hering (“herring”)^[6]
• Old Dutch: harink (“herring”)^[7]
• Old High German: hāring (“herring, salted fish”)^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hāring
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. hâring
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hēringa-
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haringa-
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hėring
6. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. hering
7. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. harink
8. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 549
9. ^ Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 61
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hāring
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hǣring
12. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēring