LL-L "Etymology" 2004.10.22 (04) [E]

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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Ingmar Roerdinkholder <ingmar.roerdinkholder at worldonline.nl>
Subject: LL-L "False friends" 2004.10.22 (02) [E]

> R. F. Hahn,  about false friends:
> Lowlands Saxon (Low German): > _wikker_ (<Wicker> ['vIk3`])> 'warlock',
'male practioner of the Wicca religion'
> (> feminine _wikkersch(e)_ <Wickersch(e)> ['vIk3`S(e)] 'witch') > (both
are related to English "witch" < Old English _wicca_ & _wicce_)
> > English (especially non-rhotic dialects: > "vicar" ['vIk3`] > 'Christian
priest', often 'Anglican/Episcopalian priest/pastor'> (< Old French
_vikere_, _vicare_, _vicaire_ < Latin _vicārius_> "substitute/representative
(for/or God)")


>>>>>Maybe these are false friends metaphoricval, because vicars and wikkers
would be the same in real life too!

By the way, in Dutch we only know the verb _wikken_  = to weigh, the
expression _wikken en wegen_ = to weigh pro and contra of something
But the word _wikker_ is not used with a special meaning. It is possible to
say _hij is een echte wikker en weger_ but that only means he's always
comparing pros and cons, or he is a real doubter.

There are also Dutch  _wichelen_ ["WIx at l@] soothsay , _wichelarij_
["WIx at la:rEi] soothsaying/augury, and I was told that my great-grandmother
knew how to look for things or water with her  _wichelroede_ ["WIx at lrud@]
i.e. divining-rod. I think this was a catapult like, forked shaped piece of
wood.
Maybe those _wichel_words  are from the same root as _wikken/wikker_?
(Ingmar)

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Hi, Ingmar, folks!

> There are also Dutch  _wichelen_ ["WIx at l@] soothsay , _wichelarij_
> ["WIx at la:rEi] soothsaying/augury, and I was told that my great-grandmother
> knew how to look for things or water with her  _wichelroede_ ["WIx at lrud@]
> i.e. divining-rod. I think this was a catapult like, forked shaped piece
of
> wood.
> Maybe those _wichel_words  are from the same root as _wikken/wikker_?

I wonder.

The activity is called "dowsing" in English (from the verb "to dowse"), and
the instrument is a "dowsing rod" or a "divining rod."   In German, the
instrument is a _Wünschelrute_, and the diviner or geomancer, the "dowser,"
who uses it is a _Wünschelrutengänger_ or just _Rutengänger_ ("rod-walker").

The derivation of "dowse" (first found in writing in 1691: "Not of the
nature of the deusing-rod, or virgula divina, able to discover mines of gold
and silver.") appears to be unknown, also that of _Wünschel..._.

I vaguely remember hearing something like *_wichel-ruut_ ['vICl=ru:t] in
Lowlands Saxon (Low German) also.  My automatic assumption is that this
means literally "willow rod," since in our dialects 'willow' is _wichel_
['vICl=].

 Apparently, this word has undergone metathesis of /l/ and /g/; cf. Dutch
_wilg_ (< Middle Dutch _wilge_), Afrikaans _wilgerboom_ and English _willow_
(< Old English _weliƽ_; cf. Frisian _wylch_, _wil(l)ig_).  Old Saxon has
_wilgia_, and Middle Saxon and a few archaic Modern dialects have _wilge_.
So, _wilge_ developed into _wigel_ and then into (/wigl/) _wichel_
(considering that syllable-final /g/ is fricativized, as in Frisian).

What is the word for "willow" in *your* dialect?

I'm not categorically saying that _wichelroede_ (and the possibly derived
verb _wichelen_) has anything to do with willows.  However, I am tempted to
consider this as a possibility, given that dowsers tend to prefer rods cut
from willows, the "water-seeking" trees.

Kumpelmenten,
Reinhard/Ron

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