LL-L "Etymology" 2004.03.04 (12) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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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

Fowk,

OK, here’s the deal (or part thereof) with Danish _vrøvle_, Lowlands Saxon
(Low German) _vrevel_ ~ _vrövel_, etc.  At least I think so.

First of all, the Danish form and probably also the other Scandinavian forms
denote 'to gossip', 'to talk behind someone's back'.  While they are
undoubtedly related to the LS and German words, they seem to have gone into
a specific semantic direction other than those of their LS and German
counterparts.

According to etymological sources, the origin of the word group does not
seem to be completely clear, although old forms are known.  Middle Saxon has
the adjective/adverb _vrevel_, which developed from Old Saxon _fraƀol_,
while German has the adjective/adverb _frevel_ (becoming obsolete in favor
of _frevelhaft_), derived from Middle ("High") German _vrevel_ and
ultimately from Old German _fravali_.  These have the meanings '(overly)
daring', 'foolhardy', 'hotheaded', 'imprudent', '(too) clever (for one's own
good)', 'defiant', 'contrary', 'flouting', etc.  From this, nouns (_vrevel_
~ _vrövel_, _Frevel_) and verbs (_vreveln_ ~ _vröveln_, _freveln_) were
derived, denoting pretty much the expected actions and deeds.  Furthermore,
at some point in time a semantic extension to 'transgression', 'wrongdoing',
'sin', etc., occurred

I have a feeling that the underlying semantic theme is *"wrongdoing,"
"aggression," "aggressive," "unseemly," etc., considering the
above-mentioned meanings and the frequent use of Middle German _vrevelen_ in
the sense of 'to commit an aggressive act', 'to commit rape'.  However, this
may not be the original meaning.  I somehow doubt that it is.

Old English has the cognate _frævel_ 'clever', 'mischievous', 'cheeky',
'silly'.  Can anyone come up with Modern English and/or Scots derivations?
I can't.

However, I wonder if there is a relationship -- genealogical or loan-wise --
between these words and English "frivolous" and its now rare or obsolete
derivation "fribble" ('trifling', 'fickle', 'not serious', 'silly',
'irresponsible'), Scots _frevoll_ ~ _frivole_ ~ _fruel_ ('trifling',
'fickle', 'unreliable', 'irresponsible'), and German _frivol_ ('trifling',
'suggestive', 'risqué', 'irresponsible').  These are supposed to be derived
from French _frivole_ ('frivolous', 'shallow', 'flighty') and Latin
_frīvolus_ ('trifling', 'silly').

Germanic _vrevel_, _fraƀol_, _fravali_, _frævel_, etc., with semantic ranges
related to those of Romance _frivole_ and _frīvolus_ ... Coincident?

So what is the etymology of Latin _frīvolus_?  _Frīvol-_ 'trifling',
'silly'.  This doesn't seem to get us much farther now, does it?  I would
expect us to be able to dissected this root further.

So, might there be an ancient, perhaps Indo-European, connection?  Or are we
dealing with loaning?  If loaning, then which way?  Is it an early, poorly
explained Latin loan, or could it be a Germanic (or other) loan in Latin
even, which then made its way back into Germanic?

What do you think, folks?  Am I barking up the wrong tree, pushing the
envelop, going over the edge?  (It wouldn't be the first time, to be sure.)
I didn't see anything about it in any of the etymological sources I
consulted.

To push the envelop even a tad farther, let me ask you if you think that
"free" (Germanic *_frijaz_, Icelandic _frjáls_) and "reign" (Old English
_wealdan_ < Germanic *_wald-_ < I-E *_ŭal-dh­­­-_), or perhaps a word akin
to "will," might be lurking behind the backdrop.

Thanks for thinking about it.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

P.S.: By the way, when I was a child (which seems like eons ago) grown-ups
would use German _frei_ or LS _vrey_ 'free' to mean 'risqué', 'adults-only',
etc.  For example, a certain movie or TV show was considered "too free" for
us kids to watch (which meant that we had to go to bed); i.e., it was not
PG13 (which at that time was just about 75% of movie and TV offerings).  I
haven't come across this usage lately.  Was this one of my uptight clan's
idiosyncrasies, or are some of you familiar with it too?

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