Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/89

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from MidHG. ê, êwe, f., ‘customary right, justice, law, marriage,’ OHG. êwa, f., ‘law, marriage’; corresponds to OSax. êo, m., ‘law,’ Du. echt, ‘marriage’ (from ê-haft, see echt), AS. œ̂, œ̂w, f., ‘law, marriage.’ These West Teut. cognates aiwi- might be derived from aigwí-, aihwí-, and connected with Lat. aequum (base aiqo-). To this there is no objection from the linguistic standpoint, for it is probable that the cognates similar in sound and signifying ‘time, eternity,’ are totally different from those just quoted; comp. Goth. aiws, OHG. êwa, AS. œ̂, œ̂w, ‘time, eternity,’ which are allied to Lat. aevum, aeternus, Gr. αἰών, αἰεί; so too Sans. aỹas, ‘duration of life.’ Yet the first group might also perhaps be connected with Sans. êva, m., ‘progress, course, procedure, custom.’

eher, ehr, adv., ‘sooner, earlier, rather,’ from MidHG. and OHG. êr (ê), ‘formerly, previously,’ compar. adv.; comp. Goth. airis, ‘formerly,’ from air, ‘early,’ also AS. œ̂r, E. ere. See ehe, erst.

ehern, see Erz.

Ehni, see Ahn.

Ehre, f., ‘honour,’ from MidHG. êre, OHG. êra, f., ‘honour, fame, sense of honour’; corresponds to OSax. êra, f., ‘honour, protection, pardon, gift,’ AS. âr, f., ‘honour, help, pardon’ (ârian, ‘to spare, pardon’), OIc. eir, f., ‘pardon, gentleness.’ Goth. *aiza is by chance not recorded; it is probably allied to Goth. ais-tan, ‘to shun, respect,’ which is undoubtedly primit. akin to Lat. aes-tumare, ‘to acknowledge, value.’ It is probably connected with the Sans. root iš, ‘to desire, seek to obtain.’

Ei, m., ‘egg,’ from MidHG. and OHG. eì, n., ‘egg’; common to Teut. with the same meaning, although Goth. *addjis, n. (comp. OIc. egg), is wanting; ada, however, is found in Crim. Goth. Comp. OSax. ei, Du. ei, AS. œ̂g, n. E. egg is borrowed from Scand. egg. Between the Teut. aias (ajjas), n., ‘egg,’ and the corresponding terms in the West Aryan languages there is an unmistakable agreement of sound, although the phonetic justification for the comparison has not yet been found; comp. Lat. óvum (Low Lat. *ŏvum, on account of Fr. œuf), Gr. ὠόν, OSlov. jaje, aje (from the base *êjo-?), OIr. og, ‘egg.’ Arguing from these cognates, Teut. ajjas, n., has been derived from êwjo-, ôwjo-, and connected with Lat. avis, Sans. vi, ‘bird.’ In East Aryan no corresponding word is found.

Eibe, f., ‘yew,’ from the equiv. MidHG. îwe, OHG. îwa, f. (MidHG. also ‘a yew-tree bow’); comp. the corresponding AS. îw, eów, E. yew, and OIc. ýr, m., ‘yew’ (and ‘bow’). Goth. *eiws is by chance not recorded. Swiss îche, îge, OHG. îha, OLG. îch, AS. eoh, prove that the word had originally a medial guttural; hence the primary form Goth. *eihwa?. From the Teut. word, MidLat. îvus, Fr. if, Span. iva, ‘yew,’ are derived. The relation of OHG. îwa, îha, AS. îw, eoh, to OIr. éo, W. yw, ‘yew’ (Lith. jëvà, ‘bird-cherry tree,’ OSlov. iva, ‘willows’), has yet to be determined.

Eibisch, m., ‘marsh mallow,’ from MidHG. îbische, OHG. îbisca, f., ‘marsh mallow, dwarf mallow’; borrowed early from the equiv. Lat. ibiscum (Gr. ἰβίσκος).

Eiche, f., ‘oak, oak-tree,’ from the equiv. MidHG. eich, OHG. eih (hh), f.; a term common to Teut., but by chance not recorded in Goth. (*aiks, f.); comp. Du. eek (eik), AS. âc, f., E. oak. In Iceland, where there are no trees, the old word eik, f., received the general meaning ‘tree’ (for a similar change of meaning see Esche, Föhre, Tanne; comp. Gr. δρῦς, ‘oak, tree (generally).’ The term aik- is peculiar to Teut.; whether it is connected with OIc. eikenn, adj. ‘wild,’ and with the Sans. root êj, ‘to shake,’ is undecided.

Eichel, f., from the equiv. MidHG. eichel, OHG. eihhila, ‘acorn, fruit of the oak’ (corresponding to Du. eikel). The form was orig. a diminutive of Eiche, ‘the offspring of the oak,’ as it were; the derivative is wanting in E. and Scand. Eckern, ModHG., is not a cognate. —

Eichhorn, n., ‘squirrel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. eichorn, OHG. eihhorn (*eicchorn according to Swiss eikχer), but corrupted at an early period by connecting it with Horn. The primit. Teut. base cannot be discovered with any certainty, since the word has been transformed by popular etymology in all languages. Du. eekhoren corresponds to the HG. form. AS. âc-wern (earlier âcweorna), ‘squirrel,’ is abnormal, and apparently a compound; still more remote is the equiv. OIc. íkorne, from eik, ‘oak, tree.’ The implied Goth (primit. Teut.) word *aikawaírna (*eikawaírna) seems by its formation to resemble Goth. widuwaírna, OHG. diorna (see Dirne); in that case AS. âcweorna (OIc. íkorne) might be a diminutive of aik (îk?), ‘oak,’ meaning lit. ‘little oak--