*kalk

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *kalk "lime, limestone" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin calx (“lime, limestone”), from the accusative singular calcem.^[2][3] Green counts it among the words that came with Roman building in stone, and calls it a relatively early loan, because it presupposes that Latin c before e was still pronounced as a velar.^[3] Köbler sets up a Germanic *kalk- "lime, chalk" from the Latin word.^[4]

Morphology

A masculine noun: an a-stem in Old High German,^[2] an a- or i-stem in Old Saxon,^[5] and a strong masculine in Old English.^[6]

Evidence

The word is attested as Old English cealc,^[7] Old Frisian kalk,^[8] Old Saxon kalk^[5] and Old High German kalc, the last from the 8th century in glosses.^[2] Old Dutch has it only as an element of place names, recorded from 1190.^[9] EWA notes that Gothic has only a derived noun meaning "whore", explained as "the chalky one" after the chalked feet of slaves offered for sale.^[2] The Scandinavian words for "lime" are borrowings from Middle Low German.^[2]

Meanings

1. lime, limestone^[1][2]

Old English also used the word for "pebble" and "whitewash",^[7] and Old High German for "mortar" and, figuratively, for "final stroke, end".^[2][10]

Derivatives

• *kalkijan and *kalkōn "to cover with chalk, to whitewash", which Wiktionary reconstructs as formed from *kalk;^[1] Holthausen puts Old English cielcan (“to whitewash”) with cealc and compares Old Saxon kelkian,^[11] and Old English also has gecealcian (“to whitewash”).^[12] EWA instead takes Old Saxon kelkian and its Old English counterpart for borrowings of the Latin verb calicō (“to whitewash”).^[2]

Reflexes

• Old English: cealc (“lime, limestone, pebble, whitewash”)^[7]
• Old Frisian: kalk (“lime (as building material)”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: kalk (“lime”)^[5]
• Old Dutch: kalk (“lime, limestone”), in place names only^[9]
• Old High German: kalc (“lime, mortar, limestone”)^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kalk
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. kalc
3. ^ a b Green, D. H. (1998), Language and History in the Early Germanic World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 210–211
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *kalk-
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kalk
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. cealc
7. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. cealc
8. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. kalk
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. kalk
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kalk
11. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. cielcan
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gecealcian