LL-L "Etymology" 2003.11.12 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 12.NOV.2003 (04) * 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
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: John Duckworth <jcduckworth2003 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Etymology


Ben asked:

"Where did modern English get bird whereas the Germanic dialects have
vogel/fogel/variants? Could it come from Old English bridd?"

Modern English _bird_ derives from a form attested in the late Northumbrian
dialect of Old English, _brid_.

A commoner word in Old English would have been a cognate of the forms you
mention in other Germanic dialects, _fugol_ , which is the ancestor of
Modern English _fowl_. (Old Frisian _fugel_, Old Saxon _fugal_, Old High
German _fogal_ [Modern High German _Vogel_, Dutch _vogel_]; Old Norse
_fugl_, Gothic _fugls_). These Germanic forms probably come from a Germanic
root meaning 'to fly'.

I would be just as interested as Ben, however, if anyone could throw any
light on the origins of the Old English word _brid_.I seem to remember that
I read somewhere that it is one of the few words in English that come from
the language of the Pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain.

John Duckworth
Preston, UK.


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From: sam claire <samclaire at mybluelight.com>
Subject: LL-L bird


BIRD according to Skeat: Middle E. brid; very rarely byrde, which has been
formed from brid shifting letter r; plural briddes (Chaucer). AS brid,
bridd.  The manner it is used in early writers suggests the idea that it was
considered as 'a thing bred;' but it can hardly be connected with AS bredan,
to breed, as the Teutonic type would be bridjoz or bredjoz.

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