Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/173

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Hokuspokus, m., ‘hocus-pocus,’ ModHG. only. It became current in England, where a book on conjuring, with the title ‘Hocus Pocus junior,’ appeared in 1634 A.D. The early history of this apparently fantastic and jocose expression is still obscure; its connection with the phrase used in the celebration of mass, ‘hoc enim est corpus meum,’ cannot be established.

hold, adj., ‘favourable, gracious, charming, lovely,’ from MidHG. holt (gen. holdes), OHG. hold, adj., ‘gracious, condescending, favourable, faithful’; Goth. hulþs, ‘gracious,’ OIc. hollr, ‘gracious, faithful, healthy,’ AS. and OSax. hold. The common Teut. adj. originally denoted the relation of the feudal lord and his retainers (‘condescending, gracious,’ on the one side, ‘faithful, devoted,’ on the other); comp. MidHG. holde, m., ‘vassal.’ The idea expressed by hold was also current in the religious sphere — Goth. unhulþôns, f., lit. ‘fiends, devils,’ OHG. holdo, ‘genius,’ MidHG. die guoten holden, ‘penates.’ Hold is usually connected with an OTeut. root hal, ‘to bow,’ to which OHG. hald, ‘inclined,’ is allied; see Halde. It has also been referred to hal-ten on the supposition that the dental is derivative; hold, adj., ‘guarded, nursed’?. From the phonetic point of view there is no important objection to either of these derivations.

Holder, UpG., the same as Holunder.

holen, vb., to fetch,’ from MidHG. holn (variant haln), vb., OHG. holôn (halôn), ‘to call, invite, lead or fetch (hither).’ Comp. OSax. halôn, OFris. halia, Du. halen, ‘to fetch’; AS. geholian and *gehalian, E. to hale. The Teut. root hal, hol, corresponds to Lat. calâre, ‘to convoke,’ Gr. καλεῖν. Comp. further Hall, hell, which probably belong also to the same root.

Holfter, Hulfter (rarely Halfter), f., ‘holster,’ in which sense it is ModHG. only; MidHG. hulfter, ‘quiver,’ a derivative of hulft, ‘sheath, covering, case’ (OHG. huluft). These cognates are often wrongly connected with Goth. hulistr, n., ‘sheath, covering,’ which is said to be supported by the MidHG. variant huls, ‘sheath, covering,’ Du. holster and its equiv. E. holster. By such an assumption the f of the OHG., MidHG., and ModHG. form still remains obscure. It is more probably allied to forms with f, such as Goth. hwilftrjôs, ‘coffin.’ It is possible, of course, that there has been a confusion with the words from the

stem hul (Goth. hulistr, ‘sheath, covering’).

Holk, m., ‘large, heavy ship,’ from MidHG. holche, OHG. hoicho, transport ship; comp. LG. holk, Du. hulk, ‘transport ship,’ E. hulk. This word, like other nautical terms (see Helm), appears earliest in E., in which hulc, ‘liburna,’ is found in the 9th cent. MidLat. holcas is scarcely derived from ὁλκάς?. It is true that some etymologists also ascribe other Teut. naval terns to a Gr. origin. Comp. Barke.

Hölle, f., ‘hell,’ from the equiv. MidHG. hęlle, OHG. hęlla, f., from hallja; comp. Goth. halja, AS. and E. hell, OSax. hęlla; a common Teut. term applied by Christianity to ‘hades, infernum’; the Scand. hel shows that the earlier word upon which it is based was also used in prehistoric times for a heathen ‘infernum.’ Comp. also OIc. Hel, the goddess of the dead. It was possible for Christianity to adopt the old heathen word in all the Teut. languages; in this case it is quite unnecessary to assume the diffusion of a Goth. or other term (comp. Heide). It is usually connected with the root hel, hal, ‘to cover for concealment,’ hence Hölle, ‘the hiding-place.’ See hehlen, Hülle.

Holm, m., ‘holm,’ first occurs in ModHG.; a LG. word; comp. OSax., AS., and E. holm (AS. ‘sea, lake,’ OSax. ‘hill’), OIc. holmr, ‘small island in a bay or river.’ Apart from the divergent sense in AS., the words (whence Russ. cholmŭ, ‘hill,’ from Slav. *chŭlmŭ, is borrowed) are related to the cognates of E. hill (allied to Lat. collis, culmen). See Halde.

holpern, vb., ‘to jolt,’ ModHG. only (Alem. hülpen), for which in late MidHG. holpeln once occurs. Of imitative origin.

Holunder, m., from the equiv. MidHG. holunder, holder, OHG. holantar, holuntar, m., ‘elder’; for OHG. -tar as a suffix see Wachholder, Maßholder. Its relation to the equiv. AS. ellen, E. elder, is dubious. It is most closely allied to the equiv. Russ. kalína.

Holz, n., ‘wood, timber,’ from MidHG. and OHG. holz, n., ‘forest, thicket, timber.’ In the remaining dialects the meaning ‘forest’ preponderates. Comp. OIc. holt, n., ‘forest, thicket,’ so too AS. and MidE. holt, n., (wanting in E.), but Du. hout, ‘thicket, wood (as material).’ Teut. type hultos, from pre-Teut. kldos; comp. OSlov. (with a different stage of gradation) klada, f., ‘beam,