*stahl

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *stahl "steel" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *stahlą (“steel”),^[1][2] which Kroonen cites as *stahla-, Orel as *staxlan, EWA as *staχla- and Köbler as *stahala- or *stahla-.^[2][3][4][5]

Morphology

A neuter in Proto-Germanic;^[2] Old High German stahal is a masculine or neuter a-stem.^[4]

Evidence

The continental languages have Old High German stahal, in glosses from the 10th century,^[4] and Old Dutch stāl, recorded in Latin contexts in documents of 1128–1199.^[6] EWA also lists Old Saxon stahal.^[4] The northern languages have a collective in *-ja- instead: Old Saxon stehli, Old English stīele and the Old Frisian adjective stēlen (“of steel”).^[4][2] Ringe and Taylor trace Old English stīele and early Mercian stēli to northern West Germanic *stahlī "steel weapon", which Old Saxon has as stehli "ax".^[7] Outside West Germanic, Old Norse has stál, which Orel suggests may be a loan from West Germanic.^[3]

Competing analyses

The age of the collective is put differently:^[4][2][7] EWA assigns *staχlija- to Proto-Germanic or North Sea Germanic,^[4] Kroonen calls it a Saxonic collective,^[2] and Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *stahlī for northern West Germanic.^[7] Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Germanic *stahliją.^[8]

Meanings

1. steel^[1]

Old High German also used the word for "iron",^[4] and EWA glosses the Old Dutch word "steel, metal".^[4]

Derivatives

• *stahlī, a collective which Wiktionary reconstructs as a variant of *stahl;^[8] Ringe and Taylor print it as northern West Germanic *stahlī.^[7]
• *stahlijan "to temper, to steel", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[9] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *staxljanan from *staxlan, with Old English stīlan and Middle High German stahelen.^[3]

Reflexes

• Old Dutch: stāl (“steel”)^[6]
• Old High German: stahal (“steel, iron”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stahl
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. 472
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 369
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. stahal
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. stahal
6. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. stāl
7. ^ 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. 241
8. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stahlī
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stahlijan