samr

Forms

samr (feminine sǫm, neuter samt)^[1] The weak forms (sami, sama, plural sǫmu) are usual; the strong forms survive mostly in set phrases such as sams konar and the neuter samt.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *samaz (“same”),^[1][3] the source also of Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌼𐌰 (sama), Old High German samo and Old Saxon sama;^[3][4] Old English has only the adverbial phrase swā same (“in the same way”).^[4][5]

Kroonen traces it to Proto-Indo-European *somH-o-,^[3] and Orel compares Ancient Greek ὁμός (homós, “one and the same”) and the Sanskrit and Avestan words for “equal, the same”.^[4] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon and Torp add Latin similis (“like”) and simul (“together”), related by ablaut, and the root is Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, together”).^[6][7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated records are the weak forms sami and same in the Norwegian fragment NRA norr fragm 81 A, of 1150–1250.^[8] The word is common in the oldest Icelandic manuscripts, among them the Icelandic Homily Book.^[9]

Semantic evolution

From “the same” the adjective took the sense “unchanged, constant” and “agreeing, of one mind”.^[10][11] In poetry it means “fitting, suited to” and, with an infinitive, “ready, willing”, as in the Eddic samr lézk Atli “Atli said he was willing”;^[12][13] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon derives these senses from “the same, matching, what fits”.^[6] The neuter samt became an adverb “together, continuously”, as in í samt.^[10][14]

The word lives on in Icelandic samur and in the weak forms Swedish samma and Danish samme.^[6][15] English same is held to be a Norse loan, since Old English had no such adjective and used ilca instead.^[5][16]

Timeline

• 1150–1250 – sami in the Norwegian fragment NRA norr fragm 81 A.^[8]
• 1200–1225 – sama, sǫmu and the neuter samt in the Icelandic manuscript AM 677 4to.^[17]
• 1200–1225 – samu, sama in AM 619 4to.^[18]
• 1225 – sama in the Norwegian charter DN 1:8.^[19]

Meanings

Adjective

1. the same; usually in the weak form, often with the article: inn sami, it sama “the same thing, likewise”.^[10][2]
2. unchanged, constant.^[11][14]
3. agreeing, of one mind.^[10]
4. (poetic) fitting, suited; willing, ready (to do something).^[12][20][13]
5. í samt (adverb) together, continuously.^[10][14]

Descendants

• Icelandic samur^[1]
• Faroese samur^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk same^[1]
• Old Swedish samber^[1]
• Swedish samma^[1]
• Old Danish samæ^[1]
• Danish samme^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål samme^[1]
• Middle English same (→ English same)^[1]

Related words

• saman
• sem
• sómi
• sama

Usage notes

The poetic word samr “sea” of the þulur is probably the same word used as a euphemism for a calm sea, according to Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon.^[6] The adjective sámr “dark grey” is a separate word.^[21]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 512
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 425
4. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 317
5. ^ a b Dance, Richard; Pons-Sanz, Sara; Schorn, Brittany, eds., The Gersum Project: The Scandinavian Influence on English Vocabulary, gersum.org, p. s.v. same
6. ^ a b c d Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. samur
7. ^ Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 432
8. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. NRA norr fragm 81 A
9. ^ Larsson, Ludvig (1891), Ordförrådet i de älsta islänska handskrifterna, Lund: Ph. Lindstedt, p. 279
10. ^ a b c d e Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. samr
11. ^ a b Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. samr
12. ^ a b Finnur Jónsson (1931), Lexicon Poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis, 2nd ed., Copenhagen: S. L. Møller, p. 480
13. ^ a b Gering, Hugo (1903), Vollständiges Wörterbuch zu den Liedern der Edda, Halle: Waisenhaus, p. col. 980
14. ^ a b c Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 517
15. ^ Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. samma
16. ^ Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1910–1911), Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg, p. s.v. samme
17. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 677 4to
18. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 619 4to
19. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. DN 1:8
20. ^ 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. samr
21. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 462