Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/235

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HG. lîse, OHG. *lîsi (adv. lîso), ‘low,’ also ‘slow.’ Under lehren, List, and lernen, a Teut. root, orig. meaning ‘to go,’ is discussed, with which Goth. leis, ‘familiar,’ seems to be connected. The HG. word can, however, scarcely be directly allied to this adj., since the difference in meaning is too great. It is also questionable whether leise belongs at all to the root lis. Perhaps it is connected with Gr. λεῖος, λιαρός, ‘soft, gentle, mild’; both, however, are better referred to Lat. lêvis, ‘smooth.’ The nasal in Suab. lins (lœñs), ‘low,’ presents a difficulty.

Leiste (1.), f., ‘list, border, selvage,’ from MidHG. lîste, OHG. lîsta, f., ‘long strip, edge, lace, list’; comp. AS. lîst, f., E. list; Ic. lísta (lĭsta?), f., ‘border, strip’; in the non-Teut. languages there are no cognates. Note, however, the words borrowed in Rom. Ital. lista, Fr. liste, ‘strip, lace.’

Leiste (2.), f., ‘groin,’ ModHG. only, probably not connected with the preceding word, but with Goth. *laistô, f. The latter is indicated also by E. last (dial.), ‘groin.’ The equiv. AS. leósca, MidE. lêske, ModDu. liesche, OSwed. liuske, Dan. lŷske, diverge too widely in sound from the HG. form; the attempt to connect it with MidLat. laisius, ‘lap’ (Lex Salica), is also dubious.

Leisten, Leiste, m., from the equiv. MidHG. leist, m., ‘last’; OHG. leist (n.?), ‘forma.’ Corresponding to AS. lâst, lœ̂st, m., ‘footprint, track, forma,’ E. last, Goth. laists, m., ‘track, goal,’ with the facts mentioned under leisten, indicate that ‘footprint’ is the orig. meaning of the HG. and E. words; this is probably an important fact in the history of the word. It is true that OIc. leistr, m., signifies ‘foot,’ and ‘short stocking, sock.’

leisten, vb., ‘to perform, accomplish,’ from MidHG. and OHG. leisten, ‘to adhere to and execute an order, fulfil one's promise or duty’; corresponds to Goth. laistjan, ‘to pursue, yield.’ On account of its kinship with Gleise and Leisten, m., the meaning of the HG. word (as well as the equiv. OSax. lêstan) must be based on the Goth. vb. AS. lœ̂stan, ‘to perform, accomplish, hold, sustain, endure,’ whence E. to last. The common Teut. wk. vb. laistjan, lit. ‘to pursue’ (whence Span. and Port. lastar, ‘to pay on behalf of another,’ was borrowed), is derived from Goth. laists, m., AS. lâst, m., ‘footprint’ (see under Leisten), which are again derived from a root lis, ‘to go.’

This root has a constant tendency to pass from the sensuous meaning ‘to go, follow,’ into an intellectual notion (see Lehre, lernen, and List); comp. also leise.

Leite, f., from the equiv. MidHG. lîte, f., ‘mountain, slope, declivity,’ OHG. lîta, from an earlier *hlîta, f. (Goth. *hleida, f.). The Teut. root hlî is discussed more fully under lehnen, where also the allied terms signifying ‘hill’ may be compared.

leiten, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. ‘to lead, guide’; corresponding to OSax. lêdan, Du. leiden, AS. lœ̂dan, E. to lead, OIc. leiða. All point to a non-recorded Goth. *laidjan, which (as factitive of the OTeut. lîþan, ‘to go,’ discussed under leiden) signifies lit. ‘to cause to go’; comp. senden, which also had orig. this same meaning. With the factitive *laidjan is connected a Teut. laidô-, f., ‘leading,’ whence AS. lâd, ‘road, journey,’ in E. current only in loadstar, loadstone, and loadsman (AS. lâdmann), equiv. to ModHG. Lotse. ModHG. Leitstern, MidHG. leitstërne, m., ‘the polar star that guides the mariners, loadstar.’

Leiter, f., from the equiv. MidHG. leiter, leitere, OHG. leitara (earlier *hleitir), f., ‘ladder.’ It corresponds to Du. ladder, leer, AS. hlœ̂dder, hlœ̂der, f., E. ladder; the Goth. term *hlai-dri (gen. -drjôs), f., ‘ladder,’ with a fem. suffix identical with Gr. -τρια, is wanting; *hlaí-dri is based on the hlī̆ (pre-Teut. klī̆) discussed under lehnen, and in Gr. κλῖ-μαξ this root has a meaning corresponding to that of the West Teut. word; Leiter is as it were ‘that which slants or leans.’ Scand. hleiðr, ‘tent,’ may be connected with the equiv. Goth. hleiþra, f., and Gr. κλισία. Comp. Lehne, lehnen, and Leite.

Lende, f., ‘loins,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lęnde, OHG. lęntin, f.; corresponding to Du. lende, AS. lęnden, f. (in the plur. lęndenu, m.); OIc. lend, Dan. lynd, ‘loins’ (allied to Ic. lundir, ‘sirloin, saddle of mutton’?); in Goth. perhaps *landini, f. In case the b of Lat. lumbus, ‘loins,’ represented Aryan dh, or rather dhw (for Lat. barba, representing bhardhâ, see Bart, and Lat. ruber, representing Aryan rudhros, ἐρυθρός, see rot), HG. Lende might be compared with it. The prim. form lndhwî- is also indicated by OSlov. lędvija, f., ‘loins, kidney.’

lenken, vb., ‘to guide, direct,’ from MidHG. lęnken, ‘to bend, turn, direct’; a denominative of MidHG. lanke, OHG.