lopt

Forms

lopt n^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *luftuz (“roof, air”),^[1][2] with cognates in Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (luftus, “air”), Old English lyft (“air, sky”), Old Saxon luft (“air”) and Old High German luft (“air”).^[2][3] Unlike the Gothic word, a ⟨u⟩-stem, the Norse noun is a neuter ⟨a⟩-stem, from a by-form in ⟨-an⟩.^[3][4]

Kroonen derives the noun from the same root as Proto-Germanic *laubą (“foliage”); he takes the original sense to have been “roof”, perhaps one made of bark, comparing Russian луб (lub, “bast”) and Old Prussian lubbo (“bast, plank”).^[2] De Vries and Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon likewise start from a roof of bark or shingles, with Old High German louft (“bark, bast”) and Lithuanian lùbos (“board ceiling”), and derive “sky, air” from it as the “roof of the world”.^[5][6] Orel holds that the change may equally have gone the other way.^[3]

The spelling ⟨lopt⟩ stands for /loft/, and both spellings are found.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's first dated record is from 1175, in the Old Icelandic Elucidarius (ONP's Eluc674), where the word names air as one of the four elements: man is a small world because he has hold af iorþo eɴ bloþ af vatne blost af lofste eɴ hita af elde “flesh from earth, blood from water, breath from air and heat from fire”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

ONP's eleven senses run from “air” and “the space between sky and earth” through “sky, heaven”, “height” and “opening, gap” to the senses of the house: an attic, an upper room or a free-standing building with an upper floor (by far the most frequent), and a gallery.^[8] Set phrases are á lopti “aloft, in the air”, í lopt upp “up into the air”, lopt ok lǫgr “sky and sea” and bera á lopt “to make known”.^[8][9] The verbs lypta and lofta were formed from the noun.^[6]

Icelandic keeps loft in both senses, and the mainland languages loft “attic”, beside luft “air”, which Jóhannesson takes from German and Low German,^[10] and Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon as perhaps influenced by German.^[6] English loft is from Norse: a single late Old English record has the sense “sky”, and “upper chamber” follows about 1300.^[4][7] De Vries also lists loans into Manx, Scottish Gaelic and Irish,^[5] and Cox considers the Gaelic lobhta “raised platform, floor, loft” a likely Norse loan.^[11]

Timeline

• 1175 – air as one of the four elements in the Elucidarius.^[8]
• 1212 – i lopti “in the air” (ONP's Hóm677), and loptit of an upper floor that collapsed in Gregory's Dialogues (ONP's GregDialA).^[8]
• 1225 – í loftom nocqvorom “in a certain upper room” in a saga of St Óláfr (ONP's ÓHÆ).^[8]
• 1250–1300 – lopti in the Eddic poem Vǫluspá in the manuscript GKS 2365 4to.^[12]
• c. 1300 – English loft “upper chamber”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. air, as one of the four elements.^[8]
2. the air, the space between sky and earth;^[8][9] á lopti “aloft”.^[8][9]
3. the sky, heaven;^[8][13] (astronomy) a heavenly sphere.^[8][13]
4. height;^[8][9] lopt var mikit til jarðar “it was a long way down”.^[8][9]
5. an opening, gap or air hole.^[8][14]
6. (figurative) public knowledge, publicity.^[8][14]
7. an attic; an upper room, often used for sleeping, or a building with an upper floor.^[8][9][14]
8. a gallery on a house or castle.^[8]

Word family

• svefnlopt
• steinlopt
• miðlopt
• skemmulopt
• himinlopt

Descendants

• Icelandic loft^[1]
• Faroese loft^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk loft^[1]
• Swedish loft^[1]
• Danish loft^[1]
• Middle English lofte^[4]
• English loft^[7]
• Scottish Gaelic lobhta^[11]

Related words

• lauf

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 342
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 249
4. ^ a b c Dance, Richard; Pons-Sanz, Sara; Schorn, Brittany, eds., The Gersum Project: The Scandinavian Influence on English Vocabulary, gersum.org
5. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 366
6. ^ a b c Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. loft
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. lopt
9. ^ a b c d e f Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. lopt
10. ^ Jóhannesson, Alexander (1956), Isländisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern, p. 747
11. ^ a b Cox, Richard A. V. (2024–2026), Old Norse Loan-Words in Scottish Gaelic, Clann Tuirc, richardavcox.scot/ONlwSG, p. s.v. lobhta
12. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. GKS 2365 4to
13. ^ a b 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. lopt
14. ^ a b c Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 391