Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/110

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Finte, f., lit. ‘feint,’ also ‘trick, fib,’ first occurs in ModHG., from Ital. finta, ‘cunning’ (Fr. feinte).

Firlefanz, m., ‘nonsense, drollery,’ from MidHG. virlefanz, m., ‘a sort of dance,’ whence the meaning in ModHG. ‘foppish, silly manner.’ Some have tried to connect it with Norw. fillefant, ‘scoundrel,’ fantefolk, ‘gipsies,’ which would make it akin to Fant. On account of the late appearance of the word it is impossible to decide, however, whether AS. fyrlen, ‘far, distant,’ is the basis of the first part of the compound, or rather MidHG. firlei, ‘a dance’ (Fr. virelai, ‘virelay’). See Fant.

firn, adj., ‘old, of last year,’ from MidHG. virne, adj., ‘old,’ also ‘experienced,’ OHG. firni, ‘old’; corresponds to Goth. faírneis, ‘old,’ AS. fyrn, ‘old,’ OSax. fërn, ‘past’ (of years). The reference to the year gone by exists in the Goth. and OSax. words, but does not appear to be found in OHG. and MidHG., although the stem is known to modern UpG. dialects; comp. Alem. fernig, ‘of last year.’ ‘In the preceding year’ is MidHG. vërt, vërne; MidG. and UpG. preserve even now an OTeut. adv. fert, fered, ‘in the preceding year’; comp. OIc. fjǫrþ, adv., ‘in the preceding year,’ from Goth. *faíruþ, pre-Teut. peruti (perouti), Gr. πέρυτι, πέρυσι, ‘in the preceding year,’ OIr. onn-urid, ‘from the preceding year onwards,’ Lith. pernai, ‘in the preceding year,’ Sans. pa-rut. Hence the idea of ‘the preceding year’ is primit. inherent in the stem per, Teut. fer; the general sense of time gone by appears in the Teut. adj. fern and its cognates.

Firn, Firne, m., ‘snow of the preceding year or years, glacier,’ prop. an adjectival subst. in the sense of ‘old snow,’ first recorded in the last century; see the preceding word. —

Firnewein, ‘last year's wine’; see firn.

Firnis, m., ‘varnish,’ from MidHG. firnîs, ‘varnish, rouge’; from Fr. vernis (whence also E. varnish), Ital. vernice. Finally derived from Lat. vitrum, vitrînus.

First, m., f., from the equiv. MidHG. virst, OHG. first, m., ‘ridge of a roof, summit’; comp. LG. and Du. (with gradation), vorst, ‘ridge of a roof,’ AS. first, fyrst, f.; Goth. *faírsti- or fairshti- is wanting. Allied to Sans. pṛšṭhá-m, n., ‘back, summit, mountain-peak,’ which is nearest in sound to Du. vorst. From Teut., OFr. freste, Prov. frest, ‘gable,’ are derived.

Fisch, m., ‘fish,’ from the equiv. MidHG. visch, OHG. fisk, m.; a common Teut. term; comp. Goth. fisks, OIc. fiskr, AS. fisc, E. fish, Du. visch, OSax. fisc. Teut. fiska-z, from pre-Teut. pisko-s, corresponds to Lat. piscis and OIr. iasc (with the normal loss of p from prehistoric peiskos). The word belongs to the three most western groups of the Aryan division, which have also the word Meer in common; in East Aryan matsya. Further, there are no names of fishes common to Teut. and Lat.-Kelt. Perhaps the term was a migratory word of early civilization, the source of which cannot be discovered.

Fist, m., ‘fart,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vist, m.; akin to the equiv. Du. veest, AS. fist. A common Aryan root pezd appears in Lat. pêdo for pezdo, as well as in Gr. βδέω, from *βσδέω, Lith. bezdù (bezděti), Hence Teut. fisti- is to be explained by Aryan pezd-i-. From the verbal noun fist a verbal root fī̆s, ‘pedere,’ was inferred in very early times. Comp. OIc. físa.

Fistel, f., ‘fistula, reed, falsetto,’ from MidHG. fistel, f., ‘a deep abscess in ducts or passages,’ even in OHG. fistul, formed from the equiv. Lat. fistula; the term was first applied to the voice in ModHG.

Fittich, m., from the equiv. MidHG. vittich, vëttach, m., n., vëttache, f., m., ‘wing, pinion,’ OHG. fëtah, older fëthdhah, m.; in meaning a collective of Feder; comp. OSax. fëtherac, OHG. fëderah, MidHG. fëdrach, ‘wing’; the formation of OHG. fëthdhah is not clear; was the Goth. form *fiþþaks? The dentals are obscure, yet the word is undoubtedly related to Feder.

Fitze, f., ‘knot of yarn, skein, wrinkle,’ from MidHG. vitze, OHG. fizza, f., ‘a number of reeled threads tied together, skein, yarn’; akin to OIc. fǫt, ‘clothes,’ MidHG. vaȥȥen, ‘to dress,’ root fat, fet? ‘to spin’? ‘to weave’?. Yet it is more closely connected with OSax. fittea, AS. fitt, ‘chapters, divisions in poems.’

fix, adj., ‘quick, smart,’ first occurs in ModHG.; Lat. fixus and its Romance derivatives are not used in this sense; whether borrowed from it or not is doubtful.

flach, adj., ‘flat, shallow, superficial,’ from MidHG. vlach, OHG. flah(hh), adj., ‘flat, smooth’; comp. Du. vlak, ‘even.’ Akin to the graded forms AS. flôc, E. flook, fluke (‘flounder’), North E. flook-footed, ‘flat-footed.’ This suggests Lat. plaga, ‘district,’ or more probably, on account of its