*hailag

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *hailag for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2] It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz (“holy”), which Ringe and Taylor give as Proto-Northwest Germanic *hailagaz, the source of Old Norse heilagr,^[1] and Köbler as *hailaga-, *hailagaz.^[3]

Morphology

An adjective with the suffix *-ag-.^[4][5] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the strong masculine accusative singular *hailaganā, which became Old English hāliġne by syncope.^[6] In Old English the suffix developed as *-ag > *-æġ > *-eġ > -iġ, so that *hailag became *hālæġ, *hāleġ and then hāliġ; the last stage was reached long after i-umlaut, so the suffix caused no umlaut.^[7]

Evidence

The adjective is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English hāliġ, Old Frisian hēlich, Old Saxon hēlag and Old High German heilag,^[1] and Old Dutch heilig in the psalms, which Köbler dates to the 9th century.^[8] Old High German has it from the 8th or 9th century.^[5] Outside West Germanic, Heidermanns lists Old Norse heilagr and a Gothic *hailags on the ring of Pietroassa.^[9]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary analyses the word as *hail with a suffix *-g.^[2] EWA derives it with the suffix -ag, -īg either from the noun Old High German heil or from the adjective,^[5] and Heidermanns lists the formation with the noun, the Proto-West Germanic *hail².^[9] Boutkan and Siebinga take Old Frisian hēlich for a derivative in *-īh- of hēl, like Old English hǣlig and Old Dutch heilig, against the different suffix of Gothic, Old Norse, Old Saxon and Old High German; for them the different suffixes confirm the substrate origin they propose for the base word.^[10] Ringe and Taylor, by contrast, derive the Old Frisian form from *hailag.^[1]

Meanings

1. holy^[1][2]
2. sacred^[2][5]

Heidermanns notes that the old adjective for "holy", Proto-Germanic *weiha-, survives as a simple adjective only in Gothic and Old High German, though indirectly in all the Germanic languages, and refers to Baetke and Scardigli for its replacement by *hailaga-.^[11] Old English also used the adjective for "venerated, divine",^[12] and Old High German for "consecrated, pious".^[5]

Derivatives

• *hailagōn "to hallow", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Old Saxon has hēlagon "to bless".^[14]
• *hailagnassī "holiness", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[15] Old English has hāliġnes.^[16]

Reflexes

• Old English: hāliġ (“holy, consecrated, venerated, divine”)^[12]
• Old Frisian: hēlich (“holy”)^[17]
• Old Saxon: hēlag (“holy”)^[14]
• Old Dutch: heilig (“holy”)^[8]
• Old High German: heilag (“holy, consecrated, pious”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 335
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hailag
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hailaga-
4. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 334
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. heilag
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 264
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 334–335
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. heilig
9. ^ a b Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. haila-
10. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. helich
11. ^ Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. weiha-
12. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hālig
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hailagōn
14. ^ a b Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 188
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hailagnassī
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hālig
17. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēlich