lypta

Forms

lypta (singular past indicative lypti, plural past indicative lyptu, past participle lyptr) (weak class 1 (long stem))^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *luftijaną (“to raise into the air, lift”),^[1] a verb made to Proto-Germanic *luftuz (“air”), the source of lopt.^[1][2][3] Its West Germanic counterparts are Middle Low German luchten and Middle High German lüften.^[2][3] The ⟨pt⟩ is a spelling of /ft/, so the word is also written ⟨lyfta⟩.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is in the Old Norwegian manuscript AM 619 4to of 1200–1225, in the mediopassive lyptisk.^[6] ONP's first dated citation is from 1270, in Pamphilus (ONP's Pamph), in the sense “to lift”: vél fellir stóra stolpa. vél lyftir þungri byrðe “craft fells great pillars, craft lifts a heavy load”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The verb takes the dative of what is lifted.^[7] From “to lift, raise” it came to mean “to set in motion, begin”: lypta ferð sinni “to set out on a journey”, lypta her “to raise an army”, and in the mediopassive lyptask “to move, stir”.^[5][7][8] The impersonal lyptir af is used of fog lifting.^[5] The noun lypting “raised afterdeck” is formed from the verb.^[2][3]

It continues as Icelandic lyfta, Swedish lyfta and Danish løfte.^[3] English lift is always derived from the Norse verb, since Old English has no such verb, and it is first recorded in the Ormulum and Havelok.^[9][2]

Timeline

• 1200–1225 – lyptisk in the manuscript AM 619 4to.^[6]
• c. 1200 – English lift “to exalt”.^[4]
• 1270 – lyftir þungri byrðe “lifts a heavy load” in Pamphilus.^[5]
• 1287 – Lyftir hann nu hærrenom “now he raises the army” in Þiðreks saga (ONP's Þiðr).^[5]
• 1300 – lypt augum “raised our eyes” in Barlaams saga (ONP's BarlB).^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. to lift, raise (with dative); lypta augum “to raise one's eyes”.^[5][7]
2. to set in motion, begin;^[5][8] lypta ferð sinni “to set out”, lypta her “to raise an army”.^[5][8]
3. to lift off, remove; impersonal lyptir af “it clears” (of fog).^[5]
4. (mediopassive) lyptask to move, stir.^[7][10]

Word family

• upplypta
• lypting

Descendants

• Icelandic lyfta^[1]
• Faroese lyfta^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk lyfta^[1]
• Swedish lyfta^[1]
• Danish løfte^[1]
• Middle English lyften^[9]
• English lift^[4]

Related words

• lopt

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 370
3. ^ a b c d Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. lyfta
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. lypta
6. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 619 4to
7. ^ a b c d Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. lypta
8. ^ a b c Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 395
9. ^ a b Dance, Richard; Pons-Sanz, Sara; Schorn, Brittany, eds., The Gersum Project: The Scandinavian Influence on English Vocabulary, gersum.org
10. ^ Hægstad, Marius; Torp, Alf (1909), Gamalnorsk ordbok med nynorsk tyding, Kristiania: Det norske samlaget, p. 267