dengja

Forms

dengja (weak class 1 (long stem))^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *dangijaną (“to beat”),^[1][2] a causative of the strong verb Proto-Germanic *dingwaną seen in Old Swedish diunga (“to beat”).^[1][3][4] Related West Germanic forms are Middle High German tengen and tengeln (“to beat, knock”), German dengeln (“to hammer out a scythe”) and the noun Old High German tangal (“hammer”).^[3][5][6] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon also lists an Old English dencgan, but Hellquist, following Björkman, holds that no such verb existed.^[5][4]

The deeper origin is uncertain: de Vries says so plainly, mentions a comparison with Ancient Greek θήγω (thḗgō, “to whet”), and cites Hellquist's view that the word imitates the sound of blows.^[3] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon derives the Germanic strong verb from a root *dhen-gh-,^[5] and Torp sets it under an extension of a root *den-.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's earliest dated citation is from the Konungsbók of Grágás, of about 1250, where a tenant may take wood for houses and charcoal at dengia liá við “to hammer out the scythe with”.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The plain sense “to beat metal with a hammer” appears in Barlaams saga, of an idol af malme blasenn oc með hamrum dengdan “cast of metal and hammered”, and the special use of a scythe blade beaten thin to give it an edge stands beside it in the laws.^[7][9] A figurative sense “to press someone hard to do something” is recorded once, in a manuscript of 1362.^[7][9]

Icelandic dengja keeps the sense of beating a scythe and adds “to fling” and “to rush along”;^[5] Swedish dänga and Danish dænge mean to beat or thrash.^[4][10] de Vries and Etymonline take Middle English dingen (“to beat”) (English ding) from the Norse verb,^[3][11] while the MED prefers an Old English *dingan, comparing dengja.^[12]

Timeline

• 1250 – dengia liá “to hammer out a scythe” in Grágás (GrgKonᴵᴵ).^[7]
• 1250–1300 – dengdan “hammered” in the manuscript Holm perg 6 fol.^[13]
• 1362 – the figurative sense “to urge, press someone”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. to beat, hammer (metal), to forge.^[7][14]
2. dengja ljá: to sharpen a scythe by hammering out the edge.^[7][8]
3. to urge or press someone persistently (to do something).^[7][14]

Descendants

• Norwegian Nynorsk denga^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål denge^[1]
• Old Swedish dængia^[1]
• Swedish dänga^[1]
• Danish dænge^[1]

Related words

• dangandi

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. dengja
3. ^ a b c d de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 75
4. ^ a b c Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. dänga
5. ^ a b c d Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. dengja
6. ^ a b Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 200
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. dengja
8. ^ a b Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 99
9. ^ a b Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. dengja
10. ^ Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1910–1911), Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg, p. s.v. denge
11. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
13. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. Holm perg 6 fol
14. ^ a b Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. dengja