el-1, ol-, el-

    el-1, ol-, el-

    English meaning: red, brown (in names of trees and animals)

    Deutsche Übersetzung: Farbwurzel with der meaning “rot, braun”, bildet Tier- and Baumnamen

    Note: mostly i-, u- and n- (also m-) stem, rare from the bare root, which seems extended then with g or k̂. In names of swan and other sea birds the meaning is “white, gleaming”, as in al-bho- “white” refined names (above S. 30 f), thus both roots are probably identical originally.

    Material: A. Adjektiva: O.Ind. aruṇá-ḥ “reddish, golden “, aruṣá-ḥ “ fire-color “, Av. auruša- “white”; Gmc. *elwa- “brown, yellow” in O.H.G. elo (elawēr), M.H.G. el (elwer); compare also Gaul. VN Helvii, Helvetii, perhaps also Swiss FlN Ilfis (*Elvisi̯ü). B. el- in tree names for “ alder “, “elm” and “ juniper “: 1. “ alder” Lat. alnus “ alder” (from *alsnos or *alenos; the anlaut al goes back to older el-); Maced. (Illyr.?) ἄλιζα (*elisü) “ abele, white poplar “; after Bertoldi (ZfceltPh. 17, 184 ff.) places Proto-Gaul. *alisü “ alder “ in many PN and FlN; besides die later dominant meaning “ service tree “ in *alisia, Fr. alise, Ger. Else; Illyr.- ligur. origin is proved through frequent occurence in Corsica (FlN Aliso, Alistro etc., alzo “ alder “); compare Gaul. PN Alisia, FlN Alisontia, Fr. Aussonce, Auzance, Ger. Elsenz, etc.; for Goth. is according to spO.N. aliso “ alder “ ein *alisa “ alder “ must be assumed; O.H.G. elira and with metathesis erila, Ger. Eller, Erle, M.N.Ger. elre (*alizō), else (*alisō), Dutch els ds., O.N. elri n., elrir m.; alr, ǫlr (*aluz-) ds., O.E. alor ds.; IE e root is guaranteed through O.Ice. jǫlstr (*elustrü) “ alder “ and ilstri “ willow, Salix pentandra” (*elis-tr-i̯o-; M.H.G. dial. hilster, halster ds. with secondary h, as Swe. (h)ilster); an adj. formation is O.H.G. erlīn “of alder “; perhaps to compare also O.E. ellen, ellern, Eng. elder “elder”; It is to be compared further Lith. al̃ksnis, elksnis, Ltv. àlksnis, E.Ltv. èlksnis, E.Lith. alìksnis, O.Pruss. alskande (Hs. abskande) “ alder”, yet one will have to assume various basic forms *alsni̯a, *elsni̯a (with ablaut) and *alisni̯a (Trautmann Bal.-Slav. Wb. 6, yet compare v. d. Osten-Sacken IF. 33, 192). The suffix from O.Pruss. alskande reminds after Trautmann an Slav.*jagnędь “ black poplar “; also the Slavic shows old e/o-ablaut; go back to Slav. *jelьcha (*elisü): O.Bulg. jelьcha “ alder “, Bulg. (j)elhá ds.; on Slav. *olьcha (*olisü): Pol. olcha, Russ. ólьcha “ alder “ (dial. also ëlcha, elócha, volьcha); Maybe Alb. (*vel) ver “ alder” : Russ. dial. also ëlcha, elócha, volьcha “ alder “ [common Alb. prothetic v- : Slav. j- before bare initial vowels]. Slav. *jelьša, respectively *olьša lies before in Ser.-Cr. dial. jȅlśa (compare jèlüšje “ alder bush “ from *jelьšьje), Sloven. ję́ɫša, dial. ǫ́ɫša, jóɫša ds., Russ. dial. olьša, olьší na, elьší na and leší na (compare Pedersen KZ. 38, 310, 317). As derived adj. appears Balt-Slav. *al(i)seina- : Lith. alksnìnis, E.Lith. alìksninis, O.Bulg. jelьšinъ (compare O.H.G. erlīn). 2. “elm”: elem-. Lat. ulmus “an elm, elm-tree” goes to IE *ol-mo-s or to zero grades *l̥-mó-s back; full grade (but s. S. 309) in M.Ir. lem “elm” (*lemos). There, one puts Gaul. Lemo-, Limo- etc.; Welsh llwyf “elm” falls out of the frame, that due to the basic form *leimü must be placed probably to elē̆ i- “bend” (see 309). Compare further O.H.G. ëlmboum “elm”, O.N. almr (with o-grade), M.L.G. O.E. elm ds.; Ger. Ulme, M.H.G. ulmboum should derive from Lat. (Kluge), what is not sure at all, because compare O.E. ulmtréow, M.L.G. olm, so that possibly the Gmc. contains all three abl.-grades contains; Russ. ílim, G. íl”ma etc. derives from Gmc. 3. juniper and other conifers: el-eu-, el-en-. Arm. eɫevin, gen. eɫevni “ cedar “; perhaps Gk. ἐλάτη “fir, spruce” (*el-n̥-tü); Lith. e ̃glius m. (for *élus after ẽglė “fir”) “ juniper “, Ltv. pa-egle f. ds.; Slav. *ělovьcь “ juniper “ in Cz. jalovec, Russ. jáɫovec ds., besides n-forms in wRuss. jelen- ec etc. C. el- in animal names: 1. “deer and similar to animal.” a. with k̂-forms (Gmc. Slav. olk̂is): O.H.G. ëlho, ëlaho “elk”, O.E. eolh, Eng. elk ds.; with o-gradation (*olk̂ís) O.N. elgr ds.; from an initial stressed form Gmc. *álχis derives Lat. alcēs, alcē f. and Gk. ἄλκη f. “elk”; Russ. losь, Cz. los, Pol. ɫoś, O.Sor. ɫos “elk” (from *olkis); zero grade: O.Ind. r̥śa-ḥ ŕ̥śya-ḥ “ male antelope “, pam. rus “wild mountain sheep “. b. stem el-en-, el-n̥- (elǝnī “ hind “); zero grade l-ō̆n-: Arm. eɫn, gen. eɫin “deer”; Gk. ἔλαφος m. f. “deer” (*eln̥-bho-s), ἐλλός “young deer” (*elno-s); Welsh elain “ hind “ (*elǝnī = O.Bulg. alъni, lani ds.), O.Ir. elit “roe deer” (*eln̥-tī) perhaps also M.Ir. ell f. “herd” (*elnü); ablaut. *lon- in Gael. lon m. “ elk “; Gaul. month name Elembiu (: Gk. Ώ᾽Ελαφηβολιών); Lith. élnis and élnias, O.Lith. ellenis m. “deer” (out of it M.H.G. elent, Ger. Elen), Ltv. al̂nis “elk”; O.C.S. (j)elenь “deer” (older consonant-stem), Russ. olénь etc. Femin. *elǝnī- and *alǝnī- “ hind “ in: Lith. élnė and álnė ds., O.Pruss. alne “animal”; O.Bulg. alъni, lani “ hind “ (= Welsh elain), Russ. (with junction in die ĭ-Decl.) lanь, Cz. laní etc.; in addition further very probably as *l-on-bho-s (with the same suffix as ἔλαφος) also Goth. lamb ‘sheep”, O.N. lamb “lamb, sheep”, O.H.G. lamb “lamb” (mostly neutr. -es-stem, what appears basic Gmc. innovation after calf); As rearrangement from *elen- understands Niedermann IA. 18, 78 f. Gk. ἔνελος νεβρός Hes.; Lat. (h)inuleus borrowed out of it. 2. waterfowl: el-, ol-, with guttural extension or r- and u-stem. Gk. 1. ἐλέᾱ f. “ a kind of owl, a small marsh bird “ (to ἕλος n. ‘swamp, marsh”?); 2. ἑλώριος “ rotfũßiger Stelzenläufer “ (not quite supported word, leg. ἐρῳδιός?); Lat. olor ‘swan” (*elōr); O.Ir. elae (*elou̯io-) ds., with k-suffix O.Corn. elerhc, Welsh alarch (a- from e-, s. Pedersen KG. I 40); older Swe. and Swe. dial. alle, al(l)a, al(l) (finn. Lw. allo), Swe. written-linguistic alfågel “ long-tailed duck “, Nor. dial. hav-al, -ella; with IE g-derivative: O.N. alka “black and white North Atlantic auk, razorbill, penguin “; alka could also belong to onomatopoeic word roots el-, ol- “cry” (see 306); Maybe Alb.Gheg alka, alkë (*alkʷha) “ white cream, dirt, spot, fat of wool”. because IE -k(o)- suffix is common in animal names (above Corn. elerhc), could be also added perhaps: Gk. ἀλκυών “ kingfisher “ (Lat. alcēdo seems reshaped out of it), Swiss wīss-elg and birch-ilge from variant kinds of duck. 3. “polecat”? Perhaps here the 1. component from O.H.G. illi(n)tī̆ so, Ger. Iltis and O.H.G. elledī̆ so (Ger. dial. elledeis), N.Ger. ũllek “polecat”, if from *illit-wī̆ so (to Ger. Wiesel); Gmc. *ella- from *elna-, because of the red-yellow hair; different sees Kluge¹¹ therein O.H.G. ellenti (from elilenti, see above S. 25) “ strange “.

    References: WP. I 151 f., 154 f., WH. I 28, 31, Specht Decl. 37, 58 f., 116, Trautmann 6, 68 f., Pokorny Urillyrier 137 f.