*sikur

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the adjective *sikur "secure, safe" for Proto-West Germanic, with the masculine nominative plural *sikurē,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“without worry, tranquil, secure”).^[3] Ringe and Taylor count it among at least two Latin adjectives that might have been borrowed into Proto-West Germanic, the other being *sūbrī "sober, chaste, clean", from sōbrius (“sober”).^[3] Holthausen, Berr and Köbler also derive the daughters' words from the Latin adjective.^[4][5][6]

Morphology

An adjective.^[3] Its first syllable is light, so Old English had no syncope in its inflected forms: *sikur, *sikurē became sicor, sicore.^[1]

Evidence

The adjective is attested as Old English sicor, Old Frisian sikur, Old Saxon sikor and Old High German sihhur.^[3] The Heliand has the forms ⟨sikur⟩, ⟨sicor⟩, ⟨sicur⟩ and the accusative ⟨sicoran⟩.^[6] Old Frisian also has siker, with a weakened second vowel.^[7]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor place the loan in Proto-West Germanic,^[3] while Boutkan and Siebinga set up a Proto-Frisian *sikur borrowed from the Late Latin form sicurus, and list the Old English, Old Saxon and Old High German words beside it.^[7]

Meanings

1. secure, safe^[1][2]
2. sure, certain^[2]

Old English used the word for "secure, certain",^[3] Old Saxon also for "free (from guilt)",^[5] Old Frisian for "not guilty", "reliable" and "undisputed",^[7][8] and Old High German for "carefree", "fearless" and "free from".^[9]

Derivatives

• *sikurōn "to make secure", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[10] Boutkan and Siebinga list the verbs Old Saxon sikoron, Old High German sihhorōn and Old Frisian sikuria.^[7]

Reflexes

• Old English: sicor (“secure, certain”)^[4]
• Old Frisian: sikur (“free of guilt, reliable, undisputed”)^[7][8]
• Old Saxon: sikor (“sure, free (from guilt)”)^[5]
• Old High German: sihhur (“secure, carefree, fearless, free from”)^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 272
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sikur
3. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 137
4. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sicor
5. ^ a b c Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 347
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sikor
7. ^ a b c d e Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. sikur
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sikur
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sihhur
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sikurōn