Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/416

---

kud), seems to be equiv. to the Sans. root cud, ‘to whet, sharpen, set on fire, incite’ (comp. AS. hwęttan, OIc. hvetja, ‘to excite, incite,’ prop. ‘to sharpen’). The older Teut. periods preserve the adjs. hwassa- (Goth. hwass, OHG. and MidHG. was) and hwato- (AS. hwœt, OHG. waȥ), ‘sharp,’ from the root hwat.

wichsen, vb., ‘to black, polish (boots), wax (thread), from late MidHG. wihsen, OHG. wahsen, giwęhsen, wk. vb., ‘to wax’; a derivative of Wachs.

Wicht, m., ‘wight, creature, ragamuffin,’ from MidHG. wiht, m. and n., ‘creature, being, thing’ (used espec. of hobgoblins, dwarfs, &c.), OHG. wiht, m. and n., ‘thing, being, person’; comp. also the meanings of Bösewicht. Corresponding to OSax. wiht, ‘thing’ (plur. ‘demons’), Du. wicht, ‘little child, AS. wiht, ‘being, thing, demon,’ E. wight. Goth distinguishes between waihts, f., ‘thing,’ and ni-waiht, n., ‘nothing’ on which Ger. nicht and nichts are based). The meaning ‘personal or living being’ is probably derived from the primary sense ‘thing,’ for the early history of which the cognate languages give no clue except through OSlov. veštĭ, ‘thing,’ which, like Teut. wihti-, is based upon Aryan wekti-. The cognates can scarcely be explained by wiegen and wägen. MidHG. wihtelîn, wihtelmęnnelîn are still used dial. for ‘hobgoblins, dwarfs.’

wichtig, adj., ‘weighty, important,’ ModHG. only; a recent variant of gewichtig, lit. ‘having weight.’ See Gewicht.

Wicke (1.), f., ‘vetch, tare,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wicke, OHG. wiccha, f.; corresponding to Du. wikke. Borrowed from Lat. vicia, ‘vetch,’ whence the equiv. Ital. veccia, Fr. vesce (E. vetch). The period at which it was borrowed (contemporaneous with Spelt?) is fixed by the representation of Lat. v by w (comp. Pfau, Pfühl with Vogt and Veilchen), as well as the retention of the Lat. c as k (comp. Kreuz).

Wicke (2.), f. ‘wick,’ see Wieche.

Wickel, m. and n., ‘roll, curl-paper, distaff-ful (of flax),’ from MidHG. wickel, wickelin, OHG. wicchilî, wicchilîn, n., ‘roll, a quantity of flax or wool to spin off’; cognate with Wicke, ‘wick.’ Further cognates are wanting to explain the early history of the word. Allied to wickeln, vb. ‘to roll, wind, swathe,’ from late MidHG. wickeln, lit. ‘to make into the form of a roll’; also ModHG. Wickel, f., ‘swaddling clothes.’

Widder, m., ‘ram,’ from MidHG. wider, OHG. widar, m.; corresponding to Goth. wiþrus, m. (ram? lamb?), AS. wëðer, E. wether, Du. weder, ‘ram, wether.’ Teut. weþru-, from pre-Teut. wétru-, is primit. allied to Lat. vitulus, ‘calf,’ Sans. vatsá, ‘calf, young animal,’ which are derived from Aryan wet-,‘year’; comp. Lat. vetus, ‘aged,’ Gr. ἔτος, Sans. vatsara, ‘year.’ Hence Widder means lit. ‘young animal, yearling.’

wider, prep. and adv., ‘against,’ from MidHG. wider, OHG. widar, ‘against, towards, back, once more’; corresponding to Goth. wiþra, prep., ‘against, before,’ OSax. wiðar (and wið), prep., ‘against,’ Du. weder, weêr, AS. wiðer (and wið), ‘against’ (hence E. with). Teut. wiþrô, ‘against,’ and the equiv. wiþe are based on the Aryan prep. wi, ‘against,’ which is preserved in Sans. vi, ‘asunder, apart’ (to which vitarám, ‘further,’ is allied). Comp. hinter. — Allied to widern, anwidern, vb., ‘to loathe, be offensive,’ lit. ‘to be opposed,’ from MidHG. widern, ‘to be opposite.’ —

Widerpart, m., ‘opponent, opposition,’ from MidHG. widerparte, f. and m., ‘opposing party, enmity, enemy, opponent,’ allied to MidHG. part, ‘part,’ which is based on Lat. pars (Fr. part). —

Widersacher, m., ‘adversary,’ from MidHG. widersache, OHG. widarsahho, m., ‘opponent in a lawsuit, accused, opponent (generally)’; allied to Sache, which orig. meant ‘legal dispute.’ —

widerspenstig, adj., ‘refractory, perverse, obstinate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (rare) widerspęnstec, usually widerspœne, widerspœnec; allied to MidHG. widerspân, also spân, span (nn), ‘dispute, quarrel.’ —

Widerthon, m., ‘spleenwort,’ from the equiv. MidHG. widertân (-tât, -tôt); an obscure word; it has probably been corrupted. —

widerwärtig, adj., ‘adverse, repugnant, repulsive,’ from MidHG. widerwertic, -wartic (widërwert, -wart), adj., ‘striving against, refractory, hostile,’ OHG. widarwart, wartic (g), ‘opposed.’ Comp. wärts —

widrig, adj., ‘contrary, adverse, repugnant,’ ModHG. only.

widmen, vb., ‘to dedicate, devote, consecrate,’ from MidHG. widemen, OHG. widimen, ‘to furnish with a dowry, endow’; allied to OHG. widamo, ‘wedding present’ (see Wittum).

wie, adv., ‘how, in what way,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wie, OHG. wio, which is derived from *hwêu for *hewu, hwaiwô; the last form is indicated only by Goth.