LL-L "Etymology" 2007.12.08 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  07 December 2007 - Volume 05
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology"

Beste Ron,


You wrote:

> Furthermore, I wonder if the following Sanskrit word is related to
> this: बिस- /bi// s-/ (बिस्यति /bi//syati/ ) 'to move (about/onward)',
> 'to go (about/onward)', 'to urge on', 'to incite'.

According to etymologist Jan De Vries, a connection with बिस्यति is
indeed possible, but he translates this as "he scares", and बिस as
"fear", which could then be applied to cattle being plagued by gadflies.
These Sanskrit words would relate to an Indo-European root *bhei, to
tremble.

The oldest Germanic meaning however, is already one that describes the
agitated movement of animals in heat, like in Old High German "bison".
Since the verb itself is exclusively Western Germanic (apart from Old
Swedish "bisa": to run), it is therefore also possible that its origin
lies in a substrate language [French "bezer" < Middle Dutch].

There's a number of cognate words:

  1. Bise (G), bise (F): north(east) wind, twister; bijs (southern)
     Dutch: rainstorm..."breeze" is (probably) another word < Old
     Spanish briza (strikingly also northeast wind though)
  2. bies, bijs (D): a swing
  3. bijster (D), Middle Saxon bister, Old Frisian biusterlik, West
     Flemish biester: savage, wild, frenetic ?~? boisterous (E)

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Wow! See our Lucster go! Brilliance abounds around here.

More related stuff:

Low Saxon:
*biester* 'confused', 'dark', 'confusing'; *biester gahn* 'to err'
*Biester* ~ *Biesternis *'confusion', 'darkness', 'unfamiliar area'
*biesterig* 'confused', 'dizzy', 'light-headed', 'demented'
*verbiestern* 'to confuse', reflexive 'to get confused'

OK, so "beast" and its Germanic (and Celtic) cognates are supposed to be
derived from Latin *bestia* or from its other Romance cognates, and the
vowel is different in Low Saxon: *Beest* (*beyst*). But I do wonder if this
group is related to the words we've been talking about -- "wild animal,"
"running around wildly," "frightened" ...

What do you think, folks?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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