LL-L: "Etymology" LOWLANDS-L, 23.FEB.2001 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
L O W L A N D S - L * 23.FEB.2001 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
User's Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
=======================================================================
A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic, Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
=======================================================================

From: Stefan Israel [stefansfeder at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

Ron heff fraagt:

> Scots word _dook_ ~ _douk_ 'to dip', 'to bathe', 'to duck'

> the Low Saxon (Low German) cognate /duuk-/ _duken_ ['du:k=N]
> 'to duck', 'to dive (under water, not into the water)',

> Dutch _duiken_ 'to take a dive', 'to plunge', 'to hide (in
something)'

> German _tauchen_ 'to dive (under water, not into the water)'.
> Yet, German also has _ducken_ 'to duck'.  Are we talking about

> two word origins or two?
> Is German _ducken_ a Low Saxon loan?  It looks that way to me.

The Duden Herkunftswörterbuch lists Old High German
_iintu^hhan_, Dutch _duiken_, English _to duck_ and makes the
reasonable suggestion that _dukk-_ is an intensive.  It does not
mention Old High German _fertu^hhen_ "in Vergessenheit
versinken", a strong verb.
It also points out that the English bird the duck presumably
gets its name from this verb.

Thus the original verb would have been *du^kan, which gives us
_duiken_ and _tauchen_, and the intensive *dukjan > *dukkjan.
Usually a strong verb like this should have had -iu- (**diukan),
but some of them simply had long _u_, for reasons unknown, e.g.
_slutan_ 'to shut', _lukan_ 'to close', _bugan_ 'to bend, bow'
Intensives formed from such verbs have just the short -u-, and
the old ending -j- causes the consonant to double, e.g.
*skiotan/skuttjan > schiessen/schützen.
>>From this we get *dukkjan > duck (sort of).  The odd thing is
that you really should get umlaut there: *dükkjan > English
**ditch; I'm not sure why you'd get the long consonant with the
umlaut and palatalization.

Stefan

----------

From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

Thanks for your exhaustive explanation above, Stefan.

I wrote:

> /duuk-/ _duken_ ['du:k=N] 'to duck', 'to
> dive (under water, not into the water)', 'to dip' (> _duuknackt_ ~
> _duuknackig_ "duck-necked" = 'with hanging head')

There is another alternative form: _duuknacksch_ (with _-sch_ expressing
manner).  And there is another one with a short vowel: _ducknackig_!

I have always wondered about the Low Saxon (Low German) masculine noun
_Dückdalben_ ['dYkda.lb=m] ~ _Düükdalben_ ['dy:kda.lb=m] ~ _Duckdalben_
['dUkda.lb=m] (pl. same) and if it is related to the former, in this case
having umlauting in some dialects.  It denotes a group or row of large poles
or posts, partly submerge in water, to which  moored ships are tied.

I have never come across *_Dalben_ or *_Dalven_ by itself.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

==================================END===================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 * Please submit contributions to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Contributions will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
   to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
=======================================================================