skrækja

Forms

skrækja v (past skrækti), weak^[1]

Etymology

It is an imitative word,^[2] inherited from Proto-Germanic *skrēk- (“to shout, make noise”), beside Proto-Germanic *skrak-.^[3][4] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon compares Nynorsk skræa (“to cough up”) and Latin screō (“to hawk, clear the throat”), and relates it to skríkja (“to shriek”) with a different vowel;^[4] de Vries compares Middle Low German schrēken (“to laugh loudly”) and places it in a wide family of words for cries going back to an imitative root Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the manuscripts AM 619 4to and AM 677 4to, both of 1200–1225, in the past tense: ſcræcte and skrǽkti “screeched”.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The verb is used above all of birds: a raven that perched on the louvre and screeched loudly, a crow that flew over a ship and screeched;^[9][10] it is also used of people shouting.^[9] It appears in the Prose Edda and in the rímur.^[1][11]

Derived from it are skrækta (“to screech”), from Proto-Norse *skrēkatjan, and the noun skrækr (“a shriek”).^[5][12] It lives on as Icelandic skrækja “to shriek, howl”,^[13] Nynorsk skrækja, used of birds,^[14] and Swedish dialect skräka.^[4] De Vries derives Middle English skriken and the English words screak and screech from it, after Björkman;^[5] Etymonline gives screak “to utter a shrill cry”, c. 1500, as from the Norse verb, but explains screech otherwise.^[15]

Timeline

• 1200–1225 – ſcræcte in AM 619 4to and skrǽkti in AM 677 4to.^[7][8]
• 1250–1350 – skrǽkti in the Norwegian fragment NRA norr fragm 77.^[16]
• c. 1500 – English screak, from the Norse verb.^[15]

Meanings

Verb

1. to screech, shriek, squeal; of ravens, crows and people.^[17][9][18]

Word family

• skrækta

Descendants

• Icelandic skrækja^[2]
• Norwegian Nynorsk skrækja^[2]
• Swedish skräka^[2]
• Danish skrække^[2]

Related words

• skríkja
• skrækr

References

1. ^ 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. skrækja
2. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. skrækja
4. ^ a b c Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. skrækja
5. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 505
6. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 211
7. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 619 4to
8. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 677 4to
9. ^ a b c Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. skrækja
10. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 559
11. ^ Finnur Jónsson (1926–1928), Ordbog til de af Samfund til udg. af gammel nordisk litteratur udgivne rímur samt til de af Dr. O. Jiriczek udgivne Bósarímur, Copenhagen, p. 331
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. skrækta
13. ^ Sigfús Blöndal (1920–1924), Islandsk-dansk ordbog, Reykjavík, p. 743
14. ^ Hægstad, Marius; Torp, Alf (1909), Gamalnorsk ordbok med nynorsk tyding, Kristiania: Det norske samlaget, p. 401
15. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com, p. s.v. screech
16. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. NRA norr fragm 77
17. ^ Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. skrækja
18. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 565