*word

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *wurda- and Orel as *wurđan.^[3][4] Its *o comes from the lowering of stressed *u before a nonhigh vowel in the next syllable, a Northwest Germanic change: Ringe and Taylor give Proto-Germanic *wurdą as an example, with Old Norse orð, Old English, Old Frisian and Old Saxon word and Old High German wort.^[2] Hogg and Fulk set up a Pre-Old English paradigm with *word in the nominative and accusative singular and *wordu in the plural.^[5]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[6][7]

Evidence

The noun is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English word,^[8] Old Frisian word,^[9] Old Saxon word^[7] and Old High German wort.^[10] In Old Dutch, ONW records wort in the Old Low and Middle Franconian psalms of the 10th century, in Williram's commentary of about 1100 and in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[11] Old Frisian also has the forms werd and wird.^[9]

Meanings

1. word^[1][2]

Old English also used the noun for "speech", "command", "story", "news" and "fame",^[8] Old Saxon for "talking" and "commandment",^[7] and Old High German for "report" and "order".^[10]

Derivatives

• *wordōn "to speak", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[12] Old English has wordian.^[13]
• *sanþaword "truthful word" and *huskaword "mockery, insult", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[14][15] Old Saxon has both compounds.^[6]

Reflexes

• Old English: word (“word, speech, command, story, news, fame”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: word (“word, saying, statement”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: word (“word, talking, speaking, commandment”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: wort (“word”)^[11]
• Old High German: wort (“word, speech, report, order”)^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *word
2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 27
3. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 600
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 475
5. ^ Hogg, Richard M.; Fulk, R. D. (2011), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 2: Morphology, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. §2.14
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. word
7. ^ a b c d Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. word
8. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. word 1
9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. word
10. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wort
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. wort
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wordōn
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wordian
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sanþaword
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *huskaword