*mōs

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *mōs "food" for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2] EWA sets up West Germanic *mōsa-.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *mōsą (“wet food, mush”),^[2] which Kroonen cites by its stem *mōsa-, Orel as *mōsan and Köbler as *mōsa-.^[4][5][6] Kroonen calls it a to-formation closely related to Proto-Germanic *matiz (“food”),^[4] and EWA too attaches it to that noun;^[3] Orel derives it, probably, from *mōđ-s-an, related to *matiz.^[5]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[7][3]

Evidence

The noun is attested in Old English mōs, Old Frisian mōs, Old Saxon mōs and Old High German muos, and Old Frisian also has the compound pipermōs (“peppered food”).^[1][8] Old Dutch has muos in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 10th century and mos in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[9] In Old High German it is found in the Abrogans and other glosses and in several texts.^[3]

Competing analyses

EWA finds the word only in West Germanic: the Old Danish, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish forms are borrowed from Middle Low German.^[3] Orel, on the other hand, lists an Old Danish form meaning "porridge" among its reflexes,^[5] and Wiktionary reconstructs a Proto-Germanic noun with a North Germanic branch.^[10]

Meanings

1. food^[1][4]
2. wet food, mush, porridge^[2]

Old High German used the word for "food, dish, meal",^[3] and Old Saxon for "food".^[7]

Derivatives

• *mōsijan "to eat": Old High German muosen, and with i-umlaut Old English mēsan, found in Riddle 40.^[1]

Reflexes

• Old English: mōs (“food, meal”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: mōs (“food”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: mōs (“food”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: muos (“food”)^[9]
• Old High German: muos (“food, dish, meal”)^[3]

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. 227
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *mōs
3. ^ 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. muos
4. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 372
5. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 274
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *mōsa-
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mōs
8. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. mōs
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. muos
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *mōsą
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mōs