*luftu

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *luftu.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *luftuz (“roof, air”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *luftu-, and de Vaan derives Dutch lucht from *luftu-.^[2][4] EWA notes that the tu-stem *luftu- passed into the i-declension in the West Germanic languages and into the a-declension in North Germanic.^[5]

Morphology

A noun of varying gender: Old English lyft is masculine, feminine and neuter,^[6] Old Saxon luft masculine and feminine,^[7] Old High German luft a masculine i- or a-stem and a feminine i-stem,^[5] and Old Frisian lufte feminine.^[8]

Evidence

The word is attested in Old English lyft, Old Frisian lufte, Old Saxon luft and Old High German luft, beside Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (luftus, “air”).^[2][5] Old Saxon has it in the Heliand,^[7] and Old High German in the Vocabularius and the Abrogans glosses and later texts.^[5] No Old Dutch form is recorded: EWA begins the Dutch evidence with early Middle Dutch lucht of 1240, which, like Middle Low German lucht, shows the change of ⟨ft⟩ to ⟨cht⟩.^[5] Old Frisian has lucht beside luft.^[8] De Vaan finds o in early Middle Dutch in Brabant and Limburg but only u in West Flanders.^[4]

Competing analyses

Kroonen derives *luftu-, a tu-stem, from the root of *lauba- "foliage" and takes the original meaning to have been "roof", perhaps one made from patches of bark.^[2] Orel also allows "porch" or "upper floor" as the original meaning, but holds the reverse development, from "air", equally possible.^[3] EWA explains the word as "the sky as the upper ceiling", finds no cognates outside Germanic, and rejects the derivation from a root meaning "to peel" on semantic grounds.^[5]

Meanings

1. air, atmosphere^[1][2]

Wiktionary also gives "roof",^[1] the meaning Kroonen takes for the original one;^[2] the West Germanic languages have "air" and "sky",^[6][9] and Old English also "height".^[6]

Reflexes

• Old English: lyft (“air, sky, height”)^[6]
• Old Frisian: lufte (“air”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: luft (“air”)^[7]
• Old High German: luft (“air, breeze, sky, atmosphere”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *luftu
2. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 342
3. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 249
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2017), The Dawn of Dutch: Language Contact in the Western Low Countries before 1200, NOWELE Supplement Series 30, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 332
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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. luft
6. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. lyft
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. luft
8. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. lufte
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. luft 1