LL-L "Etymology" 2004.07.28 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 28.JUL.2004 (03) * 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: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Oops!  I added my "Idiomatica" comment to the "Etymology" issues.  It's too
early in the day to keep it straight apparently.  Sorry.

Peter Snepvangers asked about garden:

> I was wondering if you could help me understand about the origins of the
> English word "Garden". I have noticed there are at least 3 variations used
> by different languages with probably more variants used by these languages
> that I am not aware of.
> English - Garden
> German - Garten
> Limburgs 1 - Gaart
> Dutch - Tuin
> Afrikaans - Tuin
> Frisian - Tun
> Norwegian - Hage
> Danish - Have
> Limburgs 2 - Haof
> Has the meaning of garden changed throughout history?

I think so, Peter.  I think that flower gardens, pleasure gardens etc. are
fairly new concepts in Europe, starting in and around medieval palaces,
monasteries and convents, perhaps in part developed out of need (medicinal
herbs, etc.) and in part inspired by the gardens of the "Orient" (i.e., most
of sub-Siberian Asia) where they had been developed for millenia.  I'm
pretty certain that among ordinary people gardens as we know them now
started out as what we call "kitchen gardens" used for growing herbs and
vegetables.  They were planted just outside a house, namely out in the
"yard," a word apparently related to "garden" and still often used in
American English where Europeans would be more prone toward saying "garden."

The other words for "garden" you listed clearly point toward an origin as
just an enclosure (Continental Lowlandic _tuin_ etc.) and as a paddock or
grazing corral (North Germanic _hage_, _have_), as still in Swedish _haga_;
but note Icelandic _garður_ for both 'yard' and 'garden'.  I assume these
words are related to Continental _haag_ and English "haw," denoting 'grove',
'piece of land with plant growth', etc.

Lowlands Saxon has two words for "garden," depending on the dialect.  In the
extreme west (which includes most of Eastern Friesland in Germany and all
dialects of the Eastern Netherlands) it is _tuun_ (Netherlands spelling
_toen_) [tu:n].  In the other dialects it is _gaarden_ [gQ:3`dn], _gaarn_
[g@:3`n], etc., and in these dialects _tuun_ (<Tun>, <Tuun>) means 'fence'.
Thus, this word (like Dutch _tuin_, Afrikaans _tuin_, W. Frisian _tun_,
etc., also dialectal Scandinavian _tūn_ 'farm-yard', in the sense of
'garden', 'yard', point toward the idea of 'enclosure', as do the English
and Scots cognates "town" and _toon (< Old English _tuun_, _tún_ and Old
Saxon _tūn_, also starting off as "enclosure," "fortified place," thus
cognate with Celtic *_dūn_ "fortified place" = 'fortress', 'camp' > 'town'.

Note also that Scots has _gairden_ for "garden," as well as _yaird_ for both
'yard' and 'garden', also _kailyaird_ for 'kitchen garden' (lit. "cabbage
yard" or "soup yard").

Finally note the following:

Germanic *_gardos_ > Old English _ƽeard_, Old Saxon _gard_, Old German
_gart_, Gothic _gards_, Old Norse _garðr_; cf. Old Northern French _gardin_
(< Latin _gardīnum_ < _gardum_)

The Germanic words clearly point toward enclosure ("safe place") also.  Old
English _ƽeard_ means 'fence', 'dwelling', 'house' and 'region'.  Old Saxon
_gard_ means 'enclosure', '(enclosed) field' and 'dwelling', Middle Dutch
_gaard_ and Old German _gart_ mean 'circle' or 'ring' (thus also
"enclosure").  Hence also Swedish _gård_ and Danish _gard_ (dialectal ~
_gård_) in the sense of 'yard' and 'farm', thus just like Limburgish _haof_,
Lowlands Saxon _hov_ (<Hoff>, <hof> [hOf]) and German _Hof_.

So it seems to me that it all goes back to the semantic base *"enclosure."

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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