*haifsti

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *haifsti "conflict, struggle" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *haifstiz (“conflict”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *haifsti- and EWA as *χai̯fsti-.^[2][3] Köbler sets up *haifsti- beside *haifti- and *haisti-.^[4] Casaretto analyses it as *haif-s-ti-: the root, which always has the vowel a, points to a strong verb of class VII, *haifa- or *haiba-, and the s was probably carried over by analogy from roots ending in a dental.^[5]

Morphology

A feminine noun,^[2] an i-stem in Gothic.^[5] Köbler gives Old English hǣst as a strong feminine, with a query on its stem class.^[6]

Evidence

In West Germanic the noun is attested in Old English hǣst (“violence, fury”) and Old Frisian hāst (“anger; haste”),^[2][3] and in Middle Low German heist (“vehemence”).^[2] EWA cites no Old Saxon or Old High German noun.^[3] It derives the adjective Old High German heifti (“violent”) from a Proto-Germanic noun without s, *χai̯fti-, and heisti (“shrill, sharp”) from an adjective formed from *χai̯fsti-.^[3][7] Kroonen notes for this adjective, *haifstja-, that the f was lost in Ingvaeonic, while the s disappeared in the other West Germanic dialects.^[2] Köbler compares Old High German heisterahanti (“violent, hot-tempered”) with Lombardic haist.^[8]

Old French haste (“haste”), recorded from the 11th century, is a Frankish loan: Gamillscheg derives it from Frankish *haist (“vehemence”),^[9] EWA takes it from Old Low Franconian *χai̯fsti-,^[3] and ONW lists the source as Old Dutch *hēst, after the FEW.^[10] From French the word was borrowed back into Middle Dutch, Middle English, Middle Low German and German.^[3]

Competing analyses

Köbler takes Old Frisian hāst for a loan from the Old French word,^[11] while Kroonen and EWA list it with the inherited forms.^[2][3] EWA sets up two Proto-Germanic nouns, *χai̯fti-, continued in Old Norse, and *χai̯fsti- with the suffix *-sti-; it reports that Heidermanns starts from a single form *haifsta- for the adjectives, and objects that the different treatment of the consonants in the Old High German adjectives is then hard to explain.^[3]

Meanings

1. conflict, struggle^[2][1]

Old English used the word for "violence, fury" or "vehemence, strife",^[3][6] and Old Frisian for "rashness, anger" and "haste".^[12]

Reflexes

• Old English: hǣst (“vehemence, violence, strife”)^[6]
• Old Frisian: hāst (“rashness, anger, haste”)^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haifsti
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 200
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. heifti
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haifsti-
5. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. haifsts
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hǣst
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. heisti
8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. heisterahanti
9. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 551
10. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hēst
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hāst
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hāst