An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/V (full text)
V.
Vater, masculine, ‘father,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vater, Old High German fater; common to Teutonic and Aryan in the same sense; compare Gothic (rare) fadar (usually atta), Old Icelandic faðer, Anglo-Saxon fœder, English father, Dutch vader, vaar, Old Saxon fadar. Teutonic fadêr, from Aryan patḗr; compare Latin pater, Greek πατήρ, Sanscrit pitṛ (for patṛ), ‘father.’ Aryan pa-tḗr has been derived from the Sanscrit root pâ, ‘to guard, protect,’ so that Vater would mean literally ‘protector.’ An English preacher of the 12th century connected the word in a similar way with Anglo-Saxon fêdan, English to feed (see füttern); hence Vater, literally ‘nourisher.’ Neither interpretation is historically certain, since Aryan pa-ter is probably based on an instinctive sound (compare Greek dialectic πᾶ, ‘father,’ πάππα); compare Mutter, Bruder, and Schwester. For a derivative of Vater see under Vetter, Baas, and Base.
Veilchen, neuter, ‘violet’ (plant), diminutive of earlier Modern High German Veil, from Middle High German vîel, older viôl, neuter, vîole, feminine. Borrowed in the early Middle High German period from Latin viola (with v equal to f, as in Vers, Käfig, Brief, and Vogt). Compare Italian viola, diminutive violetta, French violette; also to Dutch viool, English violet.
Veitsbohne, feminine, ‘kidney-bean,’ Modern High German only; it is so called because it begins to bloom on St. Vitus's day (June 15). —
Veitstanz, masculine, ‘St. Vitus's dance’ (Modern High German only), Middle Latin chorea sancti Vîti, thus named because the help of St. Vitus was implored.
ver-, prefix; in its most frequent significations it is derived from Middle High German ver-, Old High German fir- (far-), which are probably a combination of several other unaccented forms. Compare the unaccented prefixes Gothic faír-, fra-, faúr- (see also fressen), which appeared in Old High German as fir- (far-). Gothic faír, fra, and faur appear to correspond respectively to Greek περί, πρό, and παρα, though their meanings do not coincide. Compare Sanscrit pári, ‘round about,’ párâ, ‘away,’ purâ, ‘before,’ prá, ‘before, away.’ — Most of the compounds with ver- (English for-) are based on Gothic fra-, which denoted ‘the opposite, deterioration, change.’
verblüffen, verb, ‘to disconcert, confuse,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch verbluffen, ‘to stun, dishearten.’ Early history obscure. —
verbrämen, verb, ‘to border, fringe,’ from late Middle High German brëm, verbrëmen, neuter, ‘border, trimming,’ older Modern High German Brame, ‘border, skirts of a wood,’ English brim (Anglo-Saxon brimme).
verdammen, verb, ‘to condemn, anathematise,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verdamnen, Old High German firdamnôn; borrowed, like other ecclesiastical terms in the Old High German period, from Latin damnâre (compare French damner, Italian damnare), with the prefix ver- to give a bad sense to the word. —
verdauen, verb, ‘to digest,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verdöuwen (verdöun), verdouwen, with the simple forms döuwen, douwen, Old High German douwen (dęwen), firdouwen, ‘to digest’; compare Dutch verduwen. The assumed Teutonic þaujan, ‘to digest,’ is probably connected with tauen (literally ‘to dissolve’). —
verderben, strong verb, ‘to spoil, destroy, corrupt,’ from Middle High German verdërben, strong verb, ‘to come to nought, perish, die,’ with which the corresponding causative Middle High German verdęrben, ‘to ruin, kill,’ was confused in Modern High German Old High German *dërban, Gothic *þaírban, strong verb, ‘to perish, die,’ is wanting. The meaning of the Middle High German words points to a connection with sterben, so that we must assume a double root, Aryan terbh, sterbh (compare Stier and Drossel (2) ); in that case neither derb, with its divergent meaning, nor dürfen can be allied. —
Verderben, neuter, ‘destruction,’ from Middle High German verdërben, neuter, properly an infinitive used as a substantive —
verdrießen, verb, ‘to grieve, vex, trouble,’ from Middle High German verdrieȥen, strong verb, ‘to excite anger, produce weariness’; also the equivalent Middle High German be-, erdrieȥen, from Old High German bi-, irdrioȥan, strong verb. Compare Gothic usþriutan, ‘to molest, revile,’ Anglo-Saxon þreátian (English to threaten), with â-þreótan, ‘to be disgusted,’ Dutch droten, ‘to threaten,’ with verdrieten, ‘to vex,’ Old Icelandic þrjóta, ‘to want, fail’ (þrot, ‘want,’ þraut, ‘hard task, trouble.’ The great development of the strong verbal root, Teutonic þrū̆t, makes it difficult to find undoubted cognates in non-Teutonic; Old Slovenian trudŭ, ‘pain, trouble,’ truzdą, ‘to torment,’ Latin trûdo, ‘to crowd, push,’ point to an Aryan root trū̆d. —
Modern High German Verdruß, masculine, ‘vexation, annoyance’; in Middle High German usually urdruȥ, urdrütze, verdrieȥ. —
verdutzt, adjective, ‘disconcerted, abashed,’ from Middle High German vertutzt, a participle of Middle High German vertutzen, vertuȥȥen, ‘to be deafened, become silent’; remoter history obscure. See vertuschen.
vergällen, verb, ‘to embitter,’ from Middle High German vergellen, weak verb, ‘to make as bitter as gall, embitter’; allied to Galle. —
verganten, see Gant. —
vergattern, verb, ‘to enclose with trellis-work, assemble (soldiers) by beat of drum,’ from late Middle High German (LRhen.) vergatern, ‘to assemble.’ Properly a Low German word; compare Dutch vergaderen, to which the cognates of English to gather (see Gatte) are connected. —
vergebens, adverb, ‘in vain, to no purpose,’ from Middle High German vergëbene (-gëbenes), ‘gratis, in vain’; allied to vergëben (Old High German firgëban), ‘useless, to no purpose,’ literally ‘given away,’ a participle used as an adjective —
vergessen, verb, ‘to forget,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vergëȥȥen, Old High German firgëȥȥan, strong verb; a West Teutonic word; compare Dutch vergeten, Anglo-Saxon forgitan, English to forget. Also the equivalent Old High German irgëzzan, Middle High German ergëȥȥen. The compound verb is the relic of a strong verbal root get, ‘to reach, attain,’ whence English to get; compare Gothic bigitan, ‘to find, Old Icelandic ‘to reach, attain,’ In non-Teutonic, Latin prae-hendere, ‘to group,’ Greek χανδάνω (Aryan root ghed, ghend), are connected with the root get. Hence vergessen means literally ‘to get beyond one's reach, lose possession of.’ —
vergeuden, verb, ‘to squander, dissipate,’ from Middle High German giuden (übergiuden), weak verb, ‘to boast, make a parade, squander with ostentation’; unknown to Old High German Gothic *giwiþa might refer to Old High German gëwôn, ‘to open one's mouth wide’ (see gähnen).
Vergnügen, n ‘pleasure, enjoyment, amusement,’ Modern High German only, from late Middle High German vernüegen and genüegen, ‘to content, satisfy.’
verheeren, verb, ‘to ravage, devastate,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verhęrn (verhęrgen), Old High German firhęrjôn; literally ‘to destroy by war.’ See Heer.
verlangen, verb, ‘to claim, demand,’ from Middle High German (rare) verlangen, ‘to desire ardently,’ usually Middle High German belangen, ‘to desire, long for.’ Old Saxon langôn, Dutch verlangen, Anglo-Saxon lǫngian, English to long, show the correspondence of the Teutonic languages. The word is usually regarded as an old derivative of lang, but this is opposed by the meaning; it might be rather compared with the cognates of gelingen, the primary meaning of which is ‘to aim, strive.’ —
verletzen, verb, ‘to hurt, injure,’ from Middle High German verlętzten, ‘to check, injure, wound’; allied to letzen. —
verläumden, verb, ‘to calumniate, slander,’ from Middle High German verliumden; see Leumund. —
verlieren, verb, ‘to lose,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verliesen, Old High German virliosan; a common Teutonic strong verb, to which the equivalent Gothic fraliusan, Anglo-Saxon forleósan, Dutch verliezen correspond. Greek λύω, ‘to loosen’ (ἀλεύω, ‘to avoid, keep far away’?), Latin solvo (participle so-lû-tus), ‘to loosen’ (Sanscrit lû, ‘to tear to pieces’), and Gothic luns, ‘ransom,’ which point to an Aryan lū̆, are closely connected with the Teutonic root lus, to which los and lösen are also related. —
Verlies, neuter, ‘subterranean cave, dungeon, Modern High German only, literally ‘place where one is lost’ (compare Middle High German verliesen, ‘to kill’?). —
verloben, verb ‘to engage, affiance, betroth,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verloben; literally ‘to promise,’ in which sense Middle High German geloben also occurs; see geloben and Lob. —
Verlust, masculine, ‘loss, damage, injury,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verlust, Old High German virlust, feminine; a verbal abstract of verlieren (compare Frost with frieren).
vermählen, verb, ‘to marry, unite,’ from late Middle High German vermęhelen, usually męhelen, mahelen, literally ‘to give in marriage to a man,’ also ‘to take to wife,’ whence generally ‘to affiance, betroth.’ The word is usually based on Old High German mahal, ‘hall of justice’ (see Mahl and Gemahl); it is better to proceed from the equivalent Middle High German gemahelen, Old High German gimahalen, which are derivatives of Old High German gimahala, ‘spouse.’ For other details concerning its early history see Gemahl. —
vermessen, adjective, ‘daring, presumptuous,’ from Middle High German vermëȥȥen, Old High German firmëȥȥan, ‘daring, bold’; a participle of Middle High German veṛmëȥȥąn, Old High German firmëȥȥan, reflexive ‘to estimate one's strength too high, have an overweening opinion of oneself.’ —
Vermögen, neuter, ‘ability, power, wealth,’ from Middle High German vermügen, neuter, ‘power, might, capability,’ An infinit. used as a substantive, Middle High German vermägen, vermugen, ‘to be in a position, have power,’ Old High German furimugan; allied to mögen, Macht. The preposition vermöge, ‘in virtue of’ (Modern High German only), is based on Middle High German vermüge, feminine, ‘might, power,’ and is developed like kraft.
vernichten, verb ‘to annihilate, annul,’ from Middle High German vernihten, ‘to annihilate, think lightly of’; allied to nicht. —
Vernunft, feminine, ‘reason, understanding,’ from Middle High German vernunft, Old High German firnunft, feminine, ‘activity of perception, sensual perception, comprehension, insight, understanding’; abstract of vernehmen, ‘to hear, perceive, understand,’ Middle High German vernëmen, Old High German firnëman, ‘to perceive, hear, experience, grasp, seize, understand.’ These figurative meanings are based on some such meaning as in Gothic franiman, ‘to take possession of, seize.’ For a similar evolution see vergessen (with different senses attached to the prefix); begreifen has been similarly developed in its figurative senses.
verplämpern, verb, ‘to spill, waste foolishly,’ Modern High German only, properly a Low German word, of onomatopoetic origin. —
verpönen, verb, ‘to forbid (under penalties), proscribe,’ Modern High German only, from Latin poena (whence also Pein).
verquicken, verb, ‘to amalgamate (with),’ Modern High German only, literally perhaps ‘to combine with quicksilver’; allied to Quecksilber (see also erquicken). —
verquisten, verb, ‘to spend foolishly,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch kwisten, verkwisten, ‘to squander, lavish’; compare Gothic fraqistjan, ‘to destroy, annihilate’ (usqistjan, ‘to kill’). Early history obscure.
verraten, verb, ‘to. betray, reveal,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verrâten, Old High German firrâtan; literally ‘to lead astray by wrong advice.’ —
verrecken, verb, ‘to die’ (of cattle), from Middle High German (rare) verrecken, ‘to stretch out the limbs rigidly in death’; allied to recken. —
verrucht, adjective, ‘infamous, atrocious,’ from Middle High German verruochet, ‘heedless, careless,’ allied to Middle High German verruochen, ‘to pay no heed, forget.’ The meaning of the Modern High German adjective, like that of the cognate ruchlos, is under the influence of anrüchig, berüchtigt, Gerücht, ruchbar. —
verrückt, adjective, ‘mad, crazy,’ Modern High German only; allied to Middle High German verrücken, ‘to move from the spot, confuse, disconcert.’
Vers, masculine, ‘verse, couplet,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German vërs, fërs, masculine and neuter, which was adopted in the Old High German period (as early as the 9th century) from Latin versus, perhaps contemporaneously with Schule and Meister. Compare Käfig, Brief, and Vesper for the representation of Latin v by High German f (compare Anglo-Saxon fers, and Dutch vers).
verschieden, adjective, ‘different, distinct, various,’ Modern High German only; not from verscheiden, which even in Middle High German (verscheiden) signifies specially ‘to die,’ but from a Low German word; compare Dutch verscheiden (for which underscheiden is found in Middle High German). —
verschlagen, adjective, ‘cunning, crafty, sly,’ properly a participle of Middle High German verslahen, which also means ‘to cheat.’ —
verschmitzt, adjective, see schmitzen. —
verschroben, adjective, ‘distorted, perverse, intricate,’ literally ‘screwed the wrong way’; an inorganic participle of schrauben; see Schraube. —
verschwenden, verb, ‘to squander, waste,’ from Middle High German verswęnden, ‘to break to pieces, annihilate, consume,’ which as a factitive of Middle High German verswinden, Modern High German verschwinden, ‘to disappear,’ signifies literally ‘to cause something to disappear.’
versehren, verb, ‘to wound, injure, damage,’ from the equivalent Middle High German sêren, literally ‘to cause pain’; allied to Middle High German and Old High German sêr, ‘pain’; see sehr. —
versiegen, verb, ‘to dry up,’ Modern High German only; allied to Middle High German sîgen, Old High German sîgan, strong verb, ‘to fall, sink, flow, trickle’ (see seihen, sickern); versiegen, literally ‘to flow out or away.’ —
versöhnen (same as versühnen), verb, ‘to reconcile, atone for,’ from the equivalent Middle High German versüenen; allied to Sühne. The accented vowel is derived either from Low German or probably from Old Bavarian and Old Swabian, in which, late in the Middle Ages, œ appears before n., instead of üe (grön for grün; tön for tün).
Verstand, masculine, ‘understanding, intelligence, sense,’ from Middle High German verstant (d), which is used only rarely (in the sense of ‘explanation, information’); compare Middle High German verstantnisse, ‘intelligence, insight, understanding,’ to which Middle High German verstęndic, ‘intelligent,’ is allied. In Old High German too firstantnissi is most frequently used. To this word is allied Modern High German verstehen, verb, ‘to understand, comprehend,’ from Middle High German verstân, Old High German firstân (firstantan), ‘to perceive, see into, notice, understand’; compare Dutch verstaan, Anglo-Saxon forstǫndan (in English to understand). How the meaning can be derived from the root of stehen is not clear; it is usually referred to Greek ἐπίσταμαι, ‘to understand,’ compared with the root στα, ‘to stand.’ —
verstümmeln, verb, ‘to mutilate,’ from late Middle High German verstümbelen; see Stummel.
verteidigen, verb, ‘to defend, maintain, justify,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verteidingen, vertagedingen (usually tagedingen), weak verb, of which the most frequent meaning is ‘to plead before a tribunal, settle and adjust by agreement.’ Allied to Middle High German tagedinc, teidinc (g), ‘a lawsuit fixed for a certain date, court-day, negotiation, assembly’ (with the meaning ‘gossip, talk,’ compare Teiding). Old High German tagading, ‘legal summons, negotiations,’ is based on tag in the sense of ‘fixed period,’ and ding, ‘judicial proceedings,’ Compare Dutch verdedigen.
vertrackt, adjective, ‘distorted, twisted, odd, strange,’ properly a participle of vertrecken, ‘to confuse.’ —
vertragen, verb, ‘to carry away, wear out, tolerate,’ from Middle High German vertregen, strong verb, ‘to tolerate, endure, be indulgent’; hence late Middle High German vertrac, Modern High German Vertrag, masculine, ‘agreement, treaty.’ —
vertuschen, verb, ‘to hush up,’ from Middle High German vertuschen, ‘to cover, conceal, keep secret, reduce to silence’ (to which verdutzt, literally ‘stunned,’ is allied’); an onomatopoetic term.
verwahrlost, adjective, ‘neglected, spoilt,’ properly a participle of Middle High German verwárlôsen, ‘to treat negligently,’ based on Old High German waralôs, ‘careless, negligent’ (Middle High German warlœse, ‘carelessness, negligence’). For the first part of the compound compare wahrnehmen. —
verwandt, adjective, ‘related, allied, cognate,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German (rare) verwant, which is a participle of Middle High German verwęnden (with the rare signification ‘to marry’); the usual term in Middle High German was sippe (Old High German sippi), adjective. Compare also Middle High German and Old High German mâc, masculine, ‘relative, kinsman.’ —
verwegen, adjective, ‘bold, daring, rash,’ from Middle High German verwëgen, ‘quick and decided,’ a participle of verwëgen, ‘to decide quickly.’
Verweis, masculine, ‘reprimand, censure,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German verwîȥ, masculine; allied to verweisen, from Middle High German verwîȥen, Old High German firwîȥan, strong verb, ‘to reprimand, censure.’ Compare Dutch verwijt, neuter, ‘reprimand,’ and verwijten, ‘to reproach, upbraid,’ Gothic fraweitan, ‘to revenge. The meaning ‘to punish ‘also belonged to the simple stem, as is shown by Old Saxon wîti, Old High German wîȥȥi (wîzzi), Middle High German wîȥe (wîtze), neuter, ‘punishment, tortures of hell.’ The Teutonic root wī̆t, ‘to punish,’ is based on the common Aryan root wid, ‘to see,’ on which are based Latin videre, Greek ἰδεῖν (for further cognates of this root see wissen); compare Gothic faírweitjan, ‘to look around,’ and witan, ‘to observe.’ The development of meaning is usually compared with that of Latin animadvertere, ‘to perceive, punish.’ Hence Verweis is not directly connected with weisen; to the latter verweisen, ‘to misdirect’ (obsolete), is allied. —
verwesen, verb, ‘to decay, rot,’ from Middle High German verwësen (Old High German *firwësan), strong verb, ‘to come to nothing, pass away, destroy.’ Compare Gothic frawisan, ‘to consume, waste, squander’ (note frawaírþan, ‘to be destroyed’). However clearly these seem to point to a connection with Wesen (root wës, ‘to be’), yet Old High German wësanên, ‘to get dry, rotten,’ Old Icelandic visenn, ‘faded, decayed,’ and Anglo-Saxon weornían, ‘to destroy,’ suggest a Teutonic and Aryan root wī̆s, ‘to decay,’ from which Greek ἰός, Latin virus (for *visus), Sanscrit viša, ‘poison,’ are derived. —
Verweser, masculine, ‘administrator, manager,’ cannot of course be derived from the preceding word; it belongs to Middle High German verwësen, ‘to manage, provide, look after’; Gothic *faúrawisan, ‘to manage,’ recalls Gothic *faúragaggja, ‘steward’ (literally ‘predecessor’); thus the prefixes ver- of the two Middle High German words verwësen are of different origin.
verwichen, participle, ‘past, late, former,’ from verweichen.
verwirren, see wirr.
verwittern, verb, ‘to decompose, decay,’ Modern High German only. Allied to English ‘to wither,’ from Middle English widren, ‘to wither, vanish’; also primitively to Lithuanian výstu (výsti), ‘to wither,’ pavaitínti, ‘to cause to wither.’
verzeihen, verb, ‘to pardon, excuse,’ from the equivalent Middle High German verzîhen, which usually means ‘to deny, refuse,’ then ‘to renounce, abandon.’ To this Verzicht and verzichten are allied.
Vesper, feminine, ‘vespers, evening,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vësper, Old High German vëspera, feminine, which was adopted contemporaneously with monastic institutions (compare Mette and None), from Latin vespera (whence also Italian vespro, French vêpre). The primitive kinship of the Latin with the Middle High German and Old High German word is inconceivable, because the correspondence of Latin v with Old High German v (f) is found only in Old High German loan-words (see Vogt and Käfig).
Vettel, feminine, ‘slut,’ from late Middle High German vëtel, feminine; formed from the equivalent Latin vetula.
Vetter, masculine, ‘cousin,’ from Middle High German vęter, vętere, masculine, ‘father's brother, brother's son,’ Old High German fętiro, faterro, fatureo, masculine, ‘uncle’; for the change of meanings compare Neffe and Oheim. The earlier meaning is ‘father's brother,’ as is indicated by the clear connection with Vater, by Anglo-Saxon fœdera, ‘uncle’ (with faðu, ‘aunt’), and also by the non-Teutonic correspondences which point to Aryan paturyo-, patrwyo-, ‘uncle on the father's side.’ Compare Latin patruus, Greek πάτρως (from *πάτραος), Sanscrit pîtṛvya, Zend tûirya (from *ptûrya), ‘fathers brother.’ In Modern High German dialects Vetter has acquired the signification of Pfetter, ‘sponsor, godfather’ (Middle High German pfętter, equivalent to Italian patrino, see Pate), perhaps by connecting it with Gevatter.
Vieh, neuter, ‘cattle, beast,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vihe, vëhe (with the dialectic variant vich, Modern High German Viech), Old High German fihu, fëhu, neuter. The word is common to Teutonic and Aryan; compare Gothic faíhu, Anglo-Saxon feoh, Dutch vee, ‘cattle.’ Corresponding to the equivalent Sanscrit paçu, Latin pecu, pecus, which point to Aryan péku, ‘cattle.’ The word was probably applied originally only to domestic cattle (compare also Tier, Mann), for Sanscrit paçu has the special sense ‘flock,’ and Latin pecus, ‘small cattle, sheep.’ Hence it is easily explicable how the word acquired in several groups the meanings ‘goods, possession, money’ (concerning the system of barter compare also Schaf); compare Latin pecûlium, ‘property,’ pecûnia, ‘property, money,’ Gothic faíhu, ‘money,’ Anglo-Saxon feoh, ‘cattle, money,’ English fee.
viel, adverb and adjective, ‘much,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vil, vile, Old High German filu, substantive and adverb; properly the neuter of a pre-Teutonic adjective felu-, of which, however, the Old Teutonic dialects have preserved only scanty relics; compare Gothic filu (and the genitive filaus, adverb, ‘by much’), Anglo-Saxon feolu (feala), Dutch veel, Old Saxon filu, ‘much.’ The Teutonic adjective filu, from *fëlu-, is based on Aryan adjective pelu (polú-), from which Sanscrit purú, Old Persian paru, Greek πολύ-, Old Irish il, ‘much,’ are derived; so too Latin pollere, ‘to be strong.’ The root of these cognates is the same as in voll, which see. The disappearance of the old adjective felu- was due chiefly to the cognates of mancher (Gothic manags); yet the other Aryan languages use the adjective only sparingly. —
Vielfraß, masculine, ‘glutton, Ursus gulo,’ Modern High German only, a corruption of Scandinavian fjallfress, masculine, ‘mountain bear.’ —
vielleicht, adverb, from Middle High German vil lîhte, literally ‘very easy,’ then ‘probably,’ finally ‘perhaps.’
vier, numeral, ‘four,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vier, Old High German fior; corresponding to Old Saxon fiwar, Dutch vier, Anglo-Saxon feower, feówer, English four; the Anglo-Saxon variant fyðer- (in compounds) points, like the corresponding Gothic fidwôr ( fidur-), to a primary form detwor, petur, for qetwor, qetur. The latter forms show that Teutonic vier is connected with Latin quattuor, Greek τέσσαρες (πίσυρες), Sanscrit catur, Old Slovenian četyri, ‘four.’ The common Aryan qetur-, ktru-, is also indicated by Modern High German Raute (from hrûdô-, equivalent to krû-tā́, literally ‘quaternity.’ —
Vierteil, neuter, ‘quarter’; for the suffix, see Teil.
Visier, neuter ‘visor,’ borrowed in the 15th century from the equivalent Italian visiera, French visière.
Vizdom, masculine, ‘viceregent,’ from Middle High German viztuom, masculine, ‘governor, administrator’; formed from vicedominus, whence also French vidame.
Vließ, see Flies.
Vogel, masculine, ‘bird, fowl,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vogel, Old High German fogal, masculine; a common Teutonic term; compare Gothic fugls, Anglo-Saxon fugol. English fowl, Dutch vogel, Old Saxon fugal, masculine, ‘bird.’ This specifically Teutonic word has no exact correspondence in non-Teutonic. Teutonic fugla- is perhaps derived from the Teutonic root flug, ‘to fly,’ thus connecting the word with Geflügel (for which gevügele occurs, however, in Middle High German) as the collective of Vogel. Others prefer to connect it with Fuchs, which is regarded as ‘the animal with a tail.’ There is no term in Teutonic corresponding to Latin avis, Sanscrit vi, ‘bird.’
Vogt, masculine, ‘overseer, steward, bailiff,’ from Middle High German vogt, voget, Old High German fógat (*fogā́t), masculine; from Middle Latin vocâtus, with the pronunciation of the Latin v like f, as in Vers, Vesper (compare Käfig). The Middle Latin term is for advocatus (whence Old High German pfogát); compare French avoué, ‘defender of a church or abbey, attorney.’ Middle Latin advocatus signified literally ‘legal assistant,’ whence the meanings ‘guardian’ (Middle High German and Modern High German dialectic) and ‘patron, protector.’ Middle High German voget denotes also ‘the protector of the Romish Church, King or Emperor of Rome, king and ruler (generally),’ and further ‘governor, legal official.’
Volk, neuter, ‘people, nation, soldiery, troops,’ from the equivalent Middle High German volc (k), Old High German folc, neuter (rarely masculine); corresponding to Old Saxon folk, Dutch volk, Anglo-Saxon folc, English folk; Old Icelandic fólk, ‘people, troops, detachment.’ The latter seems to be the primary meaning, from which Lithuanian pulkas, ‘heap, crowd,’ and Old Slovenian plŭkŭ, ‘troops,’ are borrowed. The connection of the word with Latin vulgus is uncertain, for it is very dubious whether the Latin word and the Teutonic cognates can be based on a primary form, qelgos, qolgos.
voll, adjective, ‘full, complete, entire,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vol (ll), Old High German fol (ll); a common Teutonic adjective, corresponding to the equivalent Gothic fulls, Anglo-Saxon and English full, Dutch vol, and Old Saxon full. Allied to füllen, which see. The other Aryan languages also preserve a corresponding plno- (ln becomes Teutonic ll); compare Sanscrit pûrṇá, Zend parena, Lithuanian pìlnas, Old Slovenian plŭnŭ, Old Irish lán (for plôno-), Latin plênus, ‘full’ (manipulus, ‘handful’). The Latin adjective is a participle in no-, from the root plê, ‘to till’ (Latin complêre, implêre; Greek πίμπλημι, from the root πλη), which appears in Sanscrit as pur, prâ, ‘to fill.’ The cognates of viel belong to the similar root pel. —
vollkommen, adjective, ‘perfect, complete,’ from Middle High German volkumen, ‘accomplished, grown up, complete’; properly a participle of Middle High German volkumen, ‘to reach the end or goal.’
von, preposition, ‘of, from, concerning,’ from the equivalent Middle High German von, vone (dialectic van), Old High German fona (fana); corresponding to Old Saxon fon, fan, fana, ‘of,’ Dutch van. The pre-Teutonic pana, on which the word is based, is rightly regarded as an extension of the shortened Aryan form apo, which is discussed under ab.
vor, adverb and preposition, ‘before,’ from Middle High German vor, vore, Old High German fora; corresponding to Gothic faúr and faúra, ‘before,’ Old Saxon for, fora, Dutch vor, Anglo-Saxon and English for. In non-Teutonic are found the correspondences Sanscrit purâ and purás, ‘before,’ with pra, Greek πάρος with πρό; Modern High German für, as well as Latin pro, are more remotely allied.
vorder, adjective, ‘front, anterior, foremost,’ from Middle High German vorder, Old High German fordar, adjective, ‘standing at the head of, former, anterior'; an old comparative with the Aryan suffix tero- (Greek -τερο-; compare ander from anþero-). Gothic *faúrþara- is wanting; the connection with the root of Gothic faúra (see vor) is apparent; compare Sanscrit pûrva, ‘being before or in front,’ with purás, purâ, ‘before.’ Fürst, fordern, and fördern (compare also Altvordern) are also allied.
vorhanden, adverb, ‘at hand, extant,’ from vor Handen, literally ‘before the hands’; compare abhanden (and behende).
Vormund, masculine, ‘guardian, tutor,’ from Middle High German vormunt (d), also vormunde, vormünde, masculine, ‘intercessor, protector, guardian,’ Old High German foramunto, masculine, ‘intercessor.’ Allied to Mund (2), under which another equivalent word is mentioned (compare also Vogt).
vorn, adverb, ‘in front, before,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vorn, vorne (vornen, vornân); in Old High German the equivalent forna is used only in dialects as an adverb of place. A derivative of Teutonic for-, appearing in vor and für.
vornehm, adjective, ‘distinguished, aristocratic,’ from Middle High German vürnœme, ‘preferable, distinguished’; compare angenehm.