kið

Forms

kið n (genitive kiðs, plural kið) (strong ja-stem)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *kidją (“kid”),^[1][2] beside a variant with ⟨t⟩ in Old High German kizzī (“kid”).^[3][4]

Its origin is unclear.^[4] De Vries thinks it most likely grew out of a call to the animals, which would explain why the ⟨k⟩ escaped the Germanic sound shift, and compares Old Irish cit (“sheep”).^[5][4] Hellquist and Falk–Torp take it for a pet word or call word for the goat and note the likeness of Albanian qith (“he-goat”) without assuming kinship.^[6][7][4] Orel derives it from an unknown Indo-European source continuing Proto-Indo-European *ghaido- (“goat”),^[8] and Wiktionary from a substrate language.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is in the Konungsbók of Grágás, dated 1250 by ONP, in a list of livestock values: Geitr vi. með kiðom “six goats with their kids”, and havðnor … oc ale kið sin “she-goats … that rear their kids”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The sense stayed the same: the young of a goat.^[10][9] ONP finds it most in religious and legal texts,^[9] and it occurs in place names such as Kiðey and Kiðafell.^[11]

It continues as Icelandic kið, Swedish and Danish kid.^[5][4] English kid comes from Old Norse: Middle English kide is first recorded about 1200, and Old English has no native form of the word.^[12][13][14]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – Middle English kide “young goat”, from Old Norse.^[14][12]
• 1250 – kiðom in the Konungsbók of Grágás.^[9]
• 1250–1300 – kiðium in Holm perg 6 fol.^[15]
• 1275 – kið in Barlaams saga and Morkinskinna.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. a kid, the young of a goat.^[9][10][16]

Word family

• kiðlingr

Descendants

• Icelandic kið^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk kje^[1]
• Old Swedish kiþ^[1]
• Swedish kid^[1]
• Old Danish kith^[1]
• Danish kid^[1]
• Middle English kide (→ English kid)^[13][12][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b c d e Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. kið
5. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 308
6. ^ Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. kid
7. ^ Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1910–1911), Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg, p. s.v. kid
8. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 214
9. ^ a b c d e f Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. kið
10. ^ a b Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. kið
11. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 338
12. ^ a b c Dance, Richard; Pons-Sanz, Sara; Schorn, Brittany, eds., The Gersum Project: The Scandinavian Influence on English Vocabulary, gersum.org, p. s.v. kid
13. ^ a b 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)
14. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
15. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. Holm perg 6 fol
16. ^ Faulkes, Anthony (2011), A New Introduction to Old Norse III: Glossary and Index of Names, 4th ed., London: Viking Society for Northern Research, p. s.v. kið