líkr

Forms

líkr^[1] Older glíkr, the usual form in the oldest manuscripts and in alliterating verse.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”),^[1][4] the older Norse form being glíkr; the ⟨g⟩ was sounded in alliteration in the old poems, while the manuscripts have both forms, the one with ⟨g⟩ more often in the older ones.^[2][5] The cognates are Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (galeiks), Old English ġelīc, Old Saxon gilīk and Old High German gilīh.^[6][7] The usual view takes it as a compound of Proto-Germanic *ga- with the noun behind lík (“body”), so “having the same shape”.^[8][7]

Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon doubts that the prefixed form is the older, since the stem means the same without it.^[9] De Vries says the Norse word can go back to a form either with or without the prefix.^[10] Kroonen sets up an adjective *līka- (“similar”) from Proto-Indo-European *leig-o-, from which the noun “body” is derived, and compares Lithuanian lýgus (“even, equal”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated records are in the Icelandic Elucidarius of about 1175, still with g in the main text and likr in a later copy: hann vilde vesa glicʀ goþe “he wished to be like God”, and sonr es feþr glikare an dotter “a son is more like his father than a daughter is”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Beside “like, resembling”, with the dative, the adjective meant “of such a kind”, and as líkt and því líkt it served as an adverb, “likewise, as if”.^[3][11] “Likely, probable” and “promising, fit” are common in the sagas, and in the laws líkastr is the one most likely to have done a deed.^[12][13] In poetry the form with g held on longest.^[5]

It continues as Icelandic líkur, beside archaic glíkur, Faroese líkur, Swedish lik and Danish lig.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1175 – glicʀ, likr “like” in the Elucidarius manuscript AM 674 a 4to.^[3]
• 1200–1225 – lícr, lict in the manuscript AM 619 4to and glíkr in AM 677 4to.^[14][15]
• 1250–1270 – líkt in the Norwegian fragment NRA norr fragm 58 C.^[16]

Meanings

Adjective

1. like, resembling, similar (with the dative).^[12][3]
2. of such a kind, corresponding, equal.^[3][11]
3. likely, probable.^[12][17]
4. promising, fit, useful.^[12][13]

Word family

• úlíkr
• alllíkr
• jafnlíkr
• þvílíkr
• líkligr
• líkindi

Descendants

• Icelandic líkur^[1]
• Faroese líkur^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål lik^[1]
• Swedish lik^[1]
• Danish lig^[10]

Related words

• lík
• slíkr
• hvílíkr

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 204
3. ^ 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. glíkr
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
5. ^ a b Finnur Jónsson (1931), Lexicon Poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis, 2nd ed., Copenhagen: S. L. Møller, p. 189
6. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 336
7. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 174
8. ^ Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 119
9. ^ a b Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. líkur
10. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 356
11. ^ a b Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. líkr
12. ^ a b c d Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. líkr
13. ^ a b Hertzberg, Ebbe (1895), Glossarium, in Norges gamle Love indtil 1387, vol. 5, Christiania, p. 405
14. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 619 4to
15. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 677 4to
16. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. NRA norr fragm 58 C
17. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 202