Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/419

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Winkel, m., ‘angle, corner, nook,’ from the equiv. MidHG. winkel, OHG. winchil, m.; corresponding to Du. winkel, AS. wincel, ‘angle,’ to which Goth. waíhsta, m., ‘angle, corner,’ formed from a nasalised root, is allied. The primary meaning of the word is probably ‘bend.’ See Wink.

winken, see Wink.

winseln, vb., ‘to whine, whimper,’ from the equiv. MidHG. winseln, an intensive of MidHG. winsen, OHG. winsôn, winisôn, wk. vb., ‘to lament.’ Probably derived, like wimmern (wiehern), from the Teut. root hwī̆. Its connection with weinen is less probable.

Winter, m., ‘winter,’ from the equiv. MidHG. winter, OHG. wintar, m.; a common Teut. term, wanting in the other Aryan languages. Comp. Goth. wintrus, AS. and E. winter, OSax. wintar. The allied languages used a stem ghī̆m (ghiem); comp. Lat. hiems, Gr. χειμών, OSlov. and Zend zima, Sans. hêmanta (also in the Lex Salica ingimus, ‘anniculus’). These Aryan cognates, which may also signify ‘snow’ and ‘storm’ (comp. Gr. χεῖμα, ‘storm’), cannot, for phonological reasons, be allied to the Teut. group. They suggest, however, a connection between Winter and Wind; yet the Teut. bases wintru- and windo- do not agree phonologically. Perhaps those are right who regard Winter as the ‘white period,’ referring it to OGall. vindo-, ‘white’ as in Vindo-bona, Vindo-magus, Vindo-nissa); comp. OIr. find, ‘white.’ In the OTeut. languages Winter also signifies ‘year,’ which is still retained in the ModHG. dial. Einwinter, ‘yearling kid, steer’ (AS. œ̂netre, ‘of one year’).

Winzer, m., ‘vintager, vine-dresser,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wī̆nzürl, wī̆nzürle, OHG. wînzuril (wînzurnil), m. It can hardly have been borrowed from Lat. vînitor, which must have produced the OHG. form *wînizâri (MidHG. wī̆nzœre, wī̆nzer). OHG. wînzuril is more probably, however, a compound slightly influenced by the Lat. term; its second component is derived from OHG. zëran, ‘to tear or pluck off.’ Comp. Wein, and for the accented vowel Wingert.

winzig, adj., ‘tiny, diminutive, petty,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. winzic (g). A recent diminutive derivative of wenig (comp. einzig from einig, ein); yet note Swab. and Alem. wunzig.

Wipfel, m., ‘top (of a tree), summit,’ from MidHG. wipfel (wiffel), OHG. wipfil (wiffil), m., ‘top of a tree’; lit. perhaps

‘that which rocks, swing,’ for the word is based on the Teut. root wip, ‘to tremble, move, rock’ (see Wippe).

Wippe, f., ‘critical point, see-saw, seat (of a swing), crane,’ ModHG. only, borrowed from LG.; comp. Du. wippen, ‘to let fly, jerk, rock.’ The genuine HG. form is OHG. and MidHG. wipf, ‘swing, quick movement’; in MidHG. also wîfen, str. vb., ‘to swing’ (see weifen). The Teut. root wī̆p, ‘to move with a rocking motion,’ contained in these cognates (and in Wipfel), is based on pre-Teut. wī̆b, whence also Lat. vibrare, ‘to vibrate’; allied to the earlier Aryan variant wī̆p, in Sans. vip, ‘to tremble,’ OHG. weibôn, ‘to totter.’

wir, pron., ‘we,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. wir; corresponding to Goth. weis, OSax. wî, Du. wij, AS. wê, E. we. The common Teut. wîz, with a secondary nomin. suffix s, is based on Aryan wei, whence Sans. vayám, ‘we.’ The declension of wir, which is supplemented by uns, belongs to grammar.

Wirbel, m., ‘whirl, vortex, whirlpool, bustle, crown (of the head),’ from MidHG. wirbel, m., ‘vortex, crown (of the head), whirl,’ OHG. wirbil, wirfil, m., ‘whirlwind’; comp. OIc. hvirfell, ‘vortex, E. whirl. Derivatives of the Teut. root hwerb (hwerf), ‘to turn’ (see werben). With regard to Ropfwirbel note the evolution of meaning in Scheitel.

wirken, vb., ‘to work, effect, produce,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wirken (würken), OHG. wirken (wurchen). This verb, properly strong, is common to Teut. in the forms wirkjan, wurkjan; comp. Goth. waúrkjan, AS. wyrčęan, also OSax. wirkian, Du. werken. The Teut. verbal root werk, work, to which ModHG. Werk belongs, is based on an old Aryan root werg (worg), which occurs in several dialects. With Gr. ἔργον, ‘work,’ are connected ῥέζω (for *ϝρεγιω), ‘to do, perform,’ ὄργανον, ‘instrument,’ ὄργιον, ‘sacred rite’; so too the Zend root vṛz, verez, ‘to work, toil.’ The meanings, ‘to prepare by sewing, embroidering, weaving,’ incipient in MidHG., have been preserved in ModHG. There is also in Ger. a compound derivative OHG. scuoh-wurhto, MidHG. schuochwürte, ‘shoemaker,’ whence ModHG. proper names such as Schubert, Schuchardt.

wirr, adj., ‘confused, entangled,’ a ModHG. derivative of wirren, ‘to twist, entangle, confuse’ (mostly now verwirren).