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Certain Old Norse Secondary Formations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Albert Morey Sturtevant
Albert Morey Sturtevant*
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
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Abstract

The primary type of these two consonant clusters represents the PGmc. status when the two consonants were not due to the contraction of an intermediate vowel, whereas the secondary was the result of this contraction. In the primary type both Gothic and Old Norse show that l exerted an occlusive force on the following ð; cf. PGmc. *stĕ-staðĕ > *stĕ-stal-ð > Goth, stai-stal-d [not *stai-stal-þ] ‘acquired’; PGmc. *halðĕ > PN *hal-ð > *hal-d [not *hal-þ] > ON halt ‘hold’. Only Gothic shows that r exerted an occlusive force upon ð; cf. Goth, waur-d [not *waur-þ] ‘word’, but ON or-ð. For Old Norse we may then postulate the primary status as ld : rð.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 29 , Issue 1: January-March , March 1953 , pp. 26 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © 1953 Linguistic Society of America

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References

1 The corresponding WGmc. forms of the primary type are omitted, since in West Germanic original *ð suffered a spontaneous shift to d, which has no bearing upon the occlusive force of l and r.

2 Cf. Noreen, Aisl. Gram. 4 §238 Anm. 2: ‘Spätere formen wie hirta (aus hirð-ta) haben zur Verdeutlichung des tempus nach der analogie anderer verba mit lautgesetzlichem t (wie rǽna rauben, pret, rǽnta) t angenommen.‘

3 Cf. Heusler, Aisl. Elementar buch3 §188; Ludvig Larsson, Ordförrådet i de älsta islänska handskrifterna 368a (Lund, 1891).

4 Cf. herr tegask verja land, þormóðr Kolbrúnarskáld 2.18.

5 The primary form mær was the regular form in both poetry and prose; the secondary form mey appeared only in late prose. On the other hand, the primary form þír (> þýr) was retained only occasionally in poetry and the þulur; elsewhere it was completely discarded for the secondary form pý in both poetry and prose. The retention of the original form mær (with the case ending -r) during the whole ON literary period, contrary to the pattern of þír, may be explained as due to the formal influence of ær, which contained the original *r-ending of the nom. sing, case of the jō-declension (cf. *awīr > ær, *mawīr > mær). This formal association checked the leveling tendency, which was unrestricted in the case of þír.

6 Cf. the substitution of the particles of and urn for the *ga-prefix in connection with both verbs and substantives. This substitution, however, does not explain the loss of the prefix.

7 See Fritzner, Ordbog over dei gamie norske sprog2 707a.

8 Cf.

9 Cf. Noreen §285 Anm. 2.

10 Cf. Noreen §126 Anm. 2: ‘Die seit. prät.-formen séra, su⇛ statt sera (got. saísō) säete, snøra wandte haben wol die länge aus dem inf. sá, snúa, resp. dem präs. und part, entlehnt.‘

11 On the relation of these reduplicating verbs to one another seen Scandinavian studies 23.64-5 (1951).

12 The forms téða and téðr were based upon the infinitive form téa, tjáða and tjáðr upon the infinitive form tjá.