Haiku & Toponymics

[David Kiltz]

On 30.03.2006, at 10:00, Fredrik wrote:

> Feminine Gothic *thiwairno
> F. -on "thrall's daughter" can be guessed from OHG diorna etc. (s.
> Koebler) > NHG Dirne "whore". I think both *thiwiliggs and *thiwairna
> could have mostly pejorative meaning in actual Gothic (cf. the German
> semantics).

Note, however, that the negative connotation is absent from the  
oldest Germanic dialects (unless you take 'servant girl' as  
pejorative in itself). The German semantics you adduce aren't old.  
OHG _diorna_ means 'girl, virgin, maid'. The word is even used for  
the Blessed Virgin Mary. The meaning 'servant girl' is only attested  
in MHG. Finally, the meaning 'whore' only develops in the 16th  
century. And even so, it's not exclusive as German dialects (NLG  
_deern_, Bavarian _dirndl_) preserve the meaning 'girl' with no  
pejorative connotation whatsoever.
Icelandic _therna_, Danisch _tärna_ 'maid, girl-servant' are often  
thought to be loans from MLG.
Indeed, some have thought PG *_thegwerna_ to derive from a PIE root  
*_tek'-_ 'to fashion; give birth' (cf. Gr. _teknon_ 'child') as OE  
_thegn_,OIc. _thegn_, MHG _degen_ 'servant; pupil; noble; hero; man.  
While I'll admit that lumping _thegwerna_ into this group isn't a  
stellar etymology (one would have to assume for the -w- to have been  
carried over from *_weduwernôn_) it's a possibility. What's  
important, is that there is nothing in Old Germanic that points into  
the direction of 'whore'.

Best,
David

Note that I consistently use M for 'middle' never for 'modern'.  
Recent languages are marked N = 'new' so as to avoid confusion.

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