*līkahamō

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *līkahamō for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *līkahamô (“the human body”),^[1][2] which Köbler writes *līkahamō-, *līkahamōn, with the variants *līkhamō-, *līkhaman.^[2] EWA reconstructs Proto-Germanic *līk(a)-χaman-, literally "body covering", a determinative compound with a noun as each member.^[3] Its first part is *līk "body", which Ringe and Taylor trace from Proto-Germanic *līką through Proto-West Germanic *līk to Old Saxon līk, Old High German līh and Old English līċ.^[4] Its second part is *hamō: Kroonen reconstructs Proto-Germanic *hama(n)- "shape, physical form", continued by Old English hama and Old Saxon hamo "covering" and Old High German hamo (“skin, covering, net”).^[5]

Morphology

A weak masculine noun, an n-stem.^[3][6][7] EWA takes the Old High German variant līchinamo to point to an older form *līkin-χaman-.^[3] Old Dutch also has a variant līknamo.^[3]

Evidence

The compound is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English līchama, Old Frisian līkhoma, also līkoma and līkma, Old Saxon līkhamo, Old Dutch līkhamo and Old High German līchamo.^[3] Old High German has it in the Abrogans and in Alemannic glosses of the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century.^[3] Old Saxon has it many times in the Heliand,^[7] and Old Dutch in Williram's commentary on the Song of Songs of 1100 and the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[8]

Meanings

1. body, trunk^[1]
2. corpse^[1]

Köbler gives the Proto-Germanic meanings as "body, bodily frame, corpse".^[2] Old High German also used the word for the body of Christ, for fleshliness and for human nature,^[3] and Old Frisian for the host.^[3]

Reflexes

• Old English: līchama (“body, corpse”)^[6]
• Old Frisian: līkhama (“body”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: līkhamo (“body, corpse”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: līkhamo (“body”)^[8]
• Old High German: līchamo (“body, bodily shape, corpse”)^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *līkahamō
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *līkahamō-
3. ^ 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. lîchamo
4. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 210
5. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 206
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. līchama
7. ^ a b c Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. līkhamo
8. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. līkhamo
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. līkhama