Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/415

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wolf. From the AS. word is derived MidLat. guerulfus, OFr. garou, whence by tautology ModFr. loup-garou, ‘werewolf.’ The presupposed OTeut. werowulfo- means lit. ‘man-wolf,’ i.e., a man who roams about in the form of a wolf (Gr. λυκάνθρωπος). The first component is OHG., OSax., and AS. wër (Goth. waír), m., ‘man,’ primit. cognate with Lat. vir, Sans. vîras, ‘man.’

Wesen, n., ‘being, creature, nature, disposition, manners,’ from MidHG. wësen, n., ‘sojourn, domestic affairs, manner of living, quality, situation.’ An infinit. used as a subst.; MidHG. wësen, OHG. wësan (to which the ModHG. pret. forms of the vb. sein are allied), str. vb.; corresponding to Goth. wisan, ‘to be, tarry, stay’ (AS. wësan; E. was, belong to the sphere of grammar). The verbal rootves, ‘to be, abide,’ to which währen is allied, is found in non-Teut., in the Sans. root vas, ‘to stay, tarry, pass the night.’ — Allied to wesentlich adj., ‘essential,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wësentîch (wësenlîch); the t is excrescent.

Wespe, f., ‘wasp,’ from the equiv. MidHG. węspe, earlier węfse, f. (m.), OHG. węfsa (earlier wafsa), f.; a genuine Teut. word; comp. AS. wœfs, wœps, m., E. wasp. Hence we must probably assume a Teut. wafs-, beside which Teut. wabis-, wabit-, is presupposed by Bav. wębes, East Thuringian wêpschen, wêwetzchen (in West Thur. wispel). Aryan wops- (wobhes-), which points to the verbal root weben (see Wiebel), is almost as widely diffused in the Aryan languages as Hornisse; OBret. guohi, ‘wasps’ (from wops-), Lith. vapsà, ‘gadfly,’ OSlov. vosa, ‘wasp,’ and probably also by gradation Lat. vespa. In the MidHG. period a form vespe was borrowed from Lat. vespa; on the other hand, Fr. guêpe is probably due on account of its initial sound to Ger. influence.

Weste, f., ‘vest, waistcoat,’ adopted as a current term in the last cent. Since the word is unknown to the older dialects, it must have been borrowed from Fr. veste (Lat. vestis); had it, however, appeared earlier in the OTeut. dialects, it would have been primit. allied to Lat. vestis. The modern dial. form, MidHG. wester, ‘christening gown’ (found espec. in compounds), is based on the same Aryan root as Lat. vestis. With the Aryan root wes, ‘to clothe’ (equiv. to Sans. vas, Gr. ἔννυμι for *ϝεσ-νυμς, Lat. ves-tis), are also connected Goth. wasjan, ‘to dress,’ OHG. and AS. węrian, E. to wear.

Westen, m., ‘west,’ from the equiv. Mid

HG. wësten, OHG. wëstan, n.; also ModHG. West, which is found in OHG. and MidHG. only as the first part of compounds (e.g., OHG. Wästfâlo, MidHG. Wëstvâle, ‘Westphalian’). Comp. Du. west (in compounds), E. west (whence Fr. ouest), OIc. vestr, n. The explanation of the cognates is difficult, espec. on account of the old term Visegothae, ‘Visigoths, West Goths,’ transmitted by Lat. One is inclined to connect the word with Lat. ves-per, Gr. ἑσπέρα, ‘evening,’ and to regard it as the ‘evening quarter’; comp. the corresponding explanations of Süd and Ost (see also Abend).

wett, adj., ‘equal, even,’ from late MidHG. wętte, adj., ‘paid off.’ A recent derivative of the noun Wette, f., ‘bet, wager,’ MidHG. wętte, węte, węt (tt), n. and f., OHG. wętti, węti, n., ‘mortgage contract, legal obligation, pledge, stake (in a bet), compensation, fine’ (the last three meanings first occur in MidHG.). Comp. AS. wędd, OIc. veð, Goth. wadi, n., ‘pledge, earnest.’ From OTeut. wadjo-, the Romance cognates, Ital. gaggio and Fr. gage, ‘pledge,’ are borrowed. The following are also primit. allied to Teut. Wette; Lat. văs (vadis), ‘surety,’ vădimonium, ‘bail, security,’ Lith. vadůti, ‘to redeem a pledge,’ and perhaps also Gr. ἄεθλος (root ϝεθ), ‘prize (of contest),’ which point to an Aryan root wedh.

Wetter, n., ‘weather, storm, tempest,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wëter, OHG. wëtar, n.; corresponding to OSax. wëdar, ‘weather, tempest, storm,’ Du. weder, weêr, AS. wëder, E. weather, and the equiv. OIc. veðr (Goth. *widra- is wanting). If Teut. wedro- is based on pre-Teut. wedhro-, OSlov. vedro, n., ‘fair weather’ (vedrŭ, ‘bright, clear’), is related to it. It is possible, though less probable, that wetró- is the Aryan base, with which also OSlov. větrŭ, ‘air, wind’ (from the root wê, ‘to blow’), coincides. —

Wetterleuchten, n., ‘sheet lighting,’ corrupted from late MidHG. (so even now in ModHG. dials.) wëterleich (comp. Norw. vederleik), ‘lightning’; comp. MidHG. leichen, ‘to dance, skip’ (see Leich).

wetzen, vb., ‘to whet, sharpen,’ from MidHG. wętzen, OHG. węzzen (from *hwazzjan), wk. vb., ‘to sharpen’; comp. Du. wetten, AS. hwęttan, E. to whet, OIc. hvetja, ‘to sharpen.’ A common Teut. wk. vb., properly strong. The Teut. strong verbal root hwat, from Aryan kwod (by gradation