Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/haliþaz

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps related to Proto-Slavic *xvala (“praise, thanks”). Kluge suggests a derivation from a Proto-Indo-European *kal- (“hard”), see also Old Church Slavonic калити (kaliti, “to harden, cool”), Old Irish calath (“hard”), Sanskrit कलिका (kalikā, “bud”). Kroonen, comparing Old Irish caur (“warrior, hero”), reconstructs a quasi-Indo-European substrate term *karut- from which both the Celtic and Germanic borrowed from (note that the Celtic descendant of this root, *karuts-, is not to be confused with Proto-Celtic *kawaros, which collapsed onto the same form in Old Irish); whether Tocharian B kālśke (“youth, young brahmin”) is connected is unclear.

Johan Ernst Rietz compared the presumed Swedish descendants to the cognate häla (sig) (“to cover, protect, defend (oneself)”), hälande, hälanne (“courage”) stemming from Proto-Germanic *helaną (“to cover, hide, conceal, protect etc”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɑ.li.θɑz/
• Rhymes: -ɑ.li.θɑz

Noun

*haliþaz m

1. protector?
2. hero
3. fighter, warrior
4. free man

Inflection

Declension of *haliþaz (masculine a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	*haliþaz	*haliþōz, *haliþōs
vocative	*haliþ	*haliþōz, *haliþōs
accusative	*haliþą	*haliþanz
genitive	*haliþas, *haliþis	*haliþǫ̂
dative	*haliþai	*haliþamaz
instrumental	*haliþō	*haliþamiz

Related terms

• *helaną

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *haliþ
  • Old English: hæle, hæleþ, hæleð
    • Middle English: heleð, haleð, hæleð; hathel (conflation with athel (“nobleman”))
      • English: (obsolete) health
      • Middle Scots: hathill
  • Old Frisian: *heleth
    • Saterland Frisian: Häld
    • West Frisian: held
  • Old Saxon: helith, helid, helið
    • Middle Low German: helt
      • German Low German: Held
      • Plautdietsch: Helt
      • → Danish: helt
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: helt
      • → Norwegian Nynorsk: helt
  • Old Dutch: *helit
    • Middle Dutch: helet, helt
      • Dutch: held
        • Afrikaans: held
  • Old High German: helid
    • Middle High German: helt, helet
      • German: Held
      • Yiddish: העלד (held), האָלד (hold)
• >? Old East Norse: *hælaði (“protector”) (derivative of *hæla (“to protect”))
  • Old Swedish: hæladhe, helade, hælædhe, hæladh, hælædh, hælæth, hælæd, heled, hælith, hellit, helte (effected by Low German)
    • Swedish: hjälte
• Old Norse: halr (“man”); hǫlðr, hǫldr (“hero”)
  • Icelandic: halur (“man”); höldur (“hero”)
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hauld (“land owner”)
  • Scanian: halare (“strong working man, horse”)
    • Swedish: (dialectal) halare (“strong working man, horse”)