*kāsī

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *kāsī for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *kāsijaz (“cheese”),^[2] which Kroonen cites as Proto-Northwest Germanic *kāsja-, borrowed from Latin cāseus (“cheese”).^[3] Kroonen counts it, beside *baltja- "belt", among the Latin loans of great antiquity.^[4] Green explains that the Latin word denoted a solid rennet cheese, as distinct from the native liquid kind made from sour milk.^[5] In Old English the word went through the fronting of *ā, palatalization, palatal diphthongization and i-umlaut: *kāsī > *kǣsī > *ċǣsī > *ċēasī > early West Saxon *ċīese > late West Saxon ċȳse, while Anglian and Kentish have ċēse.^[6] Ringe and Taylor call it the only example of an i-umlauted *ēa that arose in West Saxon by palatal diphthongization.^[7]

Morphology

A masculine ja-stem.^[1][8] Köbler tentatively gives the Old English noun as a masculine ja-stem and a weak feminine,^[9] and Old Frisian has a neuter.^[10]

Evidence

The word is attested as Old English ċēse in Anglian and Kentish and as West Saxon *ċīese > ċȳse, Old Saxon kēsi and Old High German kāsi,^[1] and as Old Frisian tzīse.^[10] Old High German has it in glosses from the end of the 8th century.^[8] Old Saxon has accusative plurals such as kiesos and kiesas.^[11] Old Dutch has it only as a byname, ⟨Kazh⟩, recorded between 1088 and 1200.^[12]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary and Kroonen place the borrowing before West Germanic, Wiktionary deriving *kāsī from Proto-Germanic *kāsijaz^[2] and Kroonen setting up Proto-Northwest Germanic *kāsja-,^[3] while Ringe and Taylor list it among the Latin loans into Proto-West Germanic itself.^[1] Köbler sets up a Germanic *kasjus.^[13] Wiktionary counts Old Norse kæsir among the descendants of *kāsijaz,^[14] but Kroonen holds that the Nordic words for "rennet", which seem to continue the same *kāsja-, are really agent nouns to Old Norse kæsa (“to allow to ferment”).^[3]

Meanings

1. cheese^[6][2]

In the Old High German glosses the word also means "shaped cheese".^[8]

Derivatives

• *kāsijalubi "rennet", formed with *lubi, which Wiktionary reconstructs.^[15]

Reflexes

• Old English: cīese (“cheese”)^[16]
• Old Frisian: tzīse (“cheese”)^[10]
• Old Saxon: kāsi (“cheese”)^[11]
• Old Dutch: Kazh (“cheese”)^[12]
• Old High German: kāsi (“cheese, shaped cheese”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 135
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kāsī
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 275
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 50
5. ^ Green, D. H. (1998), Language and History in the Early Germanic World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 212
6. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 216
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 246
8. ^ a b c d 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. kâsi
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. cīese
10. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. tzīse
11. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. kāsi
12. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. kāsi
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kāsi
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kāsijaz
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kāsijalubi
16. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. cīese