Drus Griutinge (salws)

[llama_nom]

--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, "thiudans" <thiudans at ...> wrote:
>

> Isn't it too bad that the only attested *salw- is Go. salwa "unhurt",
> prob. from Lat. salvus -a -um? I think there could have been a *salus or
> *salws (like Go. falws) but cannot tell if the meaning would be
> "yellow", "dark" or what. I wonder btw where this verbal Go. saul- with
> meaning "dirt, mud" comes from. Something to do with "dark" > "stained"?


Under this headword *salwa, Köbler cites only a personal name from
Spain, Gondisalvez (whence Gonzalez).  This is derived (with the
patronymic -ez, ultimately of Basque origin?) from the precursor of
modern Gonzalo, attested earlier as Gundisalvus.  The Latin
interpretation of the second element is given as "salvus?" -- so I
guess the existence of such a loanword in Gothic itself is a bit
speculative.  If the interpretation is correct, maybe it was borrowed
simply as a naming element, a tribute to some Latin relative who bore
the name Salvus.  Or does Gondisalvez contain the native Germanic root
*salw-, after all, reinterpreted by Latin/Romance speaking scribes? 
And can we even be sure that either Gondisalvez or Gundisalvus was
borne by a Gothic speaker?  Maybe the combining of Germanic and
Romance elements happened in Romance.

The Latin root is attested in Biblical Gothic as salb-, in the verb
'salbon' "to anoint" and the noun 'salbons' "ointment, salve."  So
maybe no confusion with Germanic salw- there.  *Gunþisalbs?  As far as
I know, that would account for the Spanish forms as well as
*Gunþisalws (or similar).  Compare the Latin spellings of names of
Goths: Liuva, Erelieva, Silva (Braune/Helm 54.1); and the Gothic
spellings of Latin loans: Silbanus, Naubaimbair (Braune/Helm 54.2). 
Unless it was a very early loan (cf. Go. wein).

Go. -saul-.  Any relation of OE sol, n., solu/solwe/sylu/syle, f.
"mire, miry place"; sol, adjective "filthy", solian "to make/become
dirty", sylian "to make dirty"?  Also the Old English month-name
identified with February: solmonaþ "mud-month".

Modern English 'sully' and 'soil' are loans from French: the former
from Anglo French soil, soyl "apparently representing L. solium
(whence also OF. soil, suel), taken in the sense of L. solum (F. sol)
ground"; the latter from "OF. suill(i)er, soill(i)er, etc. (mod.F.
souiller), = Prov. sulhar < pop. Lat. *sucula:re, f. L. suculus or
sucula, diminutive of sus pig."  So says the OED.

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