LL-L "Etymology" 2003.03.03 (07) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 03.MAR.2003 (07) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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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
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject:  Etymology

I should have added Westerlauwer Frisian and Yiddish, and Afrikaans where I
forgot it:

W. Frisian: wier
> West Germanic: 'true':
> Dutch: waar
> Afrikaans: waar
> Lowlands Saxon (Low German): waar (~ wahr)
> German: wahr
Yiddish: vor (װאָר)

WF: klear
> LS klaar
> D klaar
A: klaar
> G klar
Y: klor (קלאָר)
> E clear
> S clair

WF: burd (labial assimilation?)
> LS baard
> D baard
A: baard
> G Bart
Y: bord (באָרד)
> E beard
> S baird

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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From: Global Moose Translations <globalmoose at t-online.de>
Subject:  LL-L "Etymology" 2003.03.03 (06) [E]

Ron wrote:

> I cannot come up with English and Scots cognates of the word group for
> "true" that appears to be derived from Indo-European *_u˘er-_ '(do a)
favor'
> (> "trustworthy" > "believable" > "true"):
>
> West Germanic: 'true':
> Dutch: waar
> Afrikaans: waar
> Lowlands Saxon (Low German): waar (~ wahr)
> German: wahr
>
> I would expect something like *_wear_ (with an "eer" sound as in 'deer')
in
> English and *_wair_ in Scots; cf. ...

Maybe this is a bit far-fetched, but what about the verb form "were",
especially in the construction "as it were"? This cannot be derived from "to
be", just as "waren" in German or Dutch is very different from "sein" or
"zijn".

Couldn't it be that things that happened have already "come true", and
therefore "were"?

Just a theory...
Gabriele Kahn

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