Transcript Document 7739065

Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
• try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be-
Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
• try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be• ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to
systematize their use
Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
• try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be• ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to
systematize their use
• similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to
replace it with g completely
Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
• try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be• ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to
systematize their use
• similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to
replace it with g completely
• vowels may be “less important” when looking up words, especially because of no
single standard in OE – if you can’t find a word, you may try varying the vowels
(this does not mean that the vowels are unimportant in other aspects!)
Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
• try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be• ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to
systematize their use
• similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to
replace it with g completely
• vowels may be “less important” when looking up words, especially because of no
single standard in OE – if you can’t find a word, you may try varying the vowels
(this does not mean that the vowels are unimportant in other aspects!)
• watch out for compounds (there is a great deal of them in OE), if you can identify
the parts of a compound, try looking them up separately
Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:
• try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be• ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to
systematize their use
• similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to
replace it with g completely
• vowels may be “less important” when looking up words, especially because of no
single standard in OE – if you can’t find a word, you may try varying the vowels
(this does not mean that the vowels are unimportant in other aspects!)
• watch out for compounds (there is a great deal of them in OE), if you can identify
the parts of a compound, try looking them up separately
• pay attention to possible paradigm membership to deduce the lema (basic
dictionary form) – see UVA’s Magic Sheet of OE Inflections
A simple fact about English historical dictionaries & handbooks:
Invariably, their target language is ModE
To find an etymon of a specific period,
you have to find the ModE etymon first.
A simple fact about English historical dictionaries & handbooks:
Invariably, their target language is ModE
To find an etymon of a specific period,
you have to find the ModE etymon first
For example: if you want to know a ME or IE etymon of OE lēas, you have to first
find the ModE etymon in BT or Hall, which is loose and then you can use an
etymological dictionary to find the respective ME or IE etymon.
ModE is thus a natural reference point for our study of earlier stages of English.
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
“Mouse” - The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.
Ed. T. F. Hoad
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
Wright, Joseph, Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1925): Old English Grammar
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED - spellings) and look for ME form
The Oxford English Dictionary OnLine
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
• in ME a major split between spoken & written language:
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
• in ME a major split between spoken & written language:
• for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass,
CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!)
Vachek, Josef (1991): Standard English in Historical Perspective.
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
• in ME a major split between spoken & written language:
• for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass,
CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!)
• Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of
additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass)
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
• in ME a major split between spoken & written language:
• for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass,
CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!)
• Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of
additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass)
• for development in writing, consider what the final –e does synchronically
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
• in ME a major split between spoken & written language:
• for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass,
CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!)
• Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of
additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass)
• for development in writing, consider what the final –e does synchronically
• open syllables, the final –e in fact indicates the change in pronunciation
Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?
1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)
• OE: mūs / mȳs
2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?
• consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological
change prior to OE)
• preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been
triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)
3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?
• consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form
• mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)
• in ME a major split between spoken & written language:
• for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass,
CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!)
• Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of
additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass)
• for development in writing, consider what the final –e does synchronically
• open syllables, the final –e in fact indicates the change in pronunciation
• s > c is an artificial change of small consequence signaling an irregular
plural
Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of
words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through,
but also:
Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of
words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through,
but also:
• find out whether a word is a borrowing and when the borrowing
happen
• follow the regular changes and when a change does not seem to
have affected the word without any obvious reason, the chance is
that it is a borrowing
• e.g. if ModE mint (OE mynet) is originally from L. monēta
through primOE munit, the i-umlaut must have happened
and the word had to have been adopted by that time (ca 7th
century AD)
Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of
words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through,
but also:
• find out whether a word is a borrowing and when the borrowing
happen
• follow the regular changes and when a change does not seem to
have affected the word without any obvious reason, the chance is
that it is a borrowing
• e.g. if ModE mint (OE mynet) is originally from L. monēta
through primOE munit, the i-umlaut must have happened
and the word had to have been adopted by that time (ca 7th
century AD)
• trace the etymons in other languages
• using etymological dictionaries of English & other languages, or
dictionaries of a common stage of language (IE roots)
Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of
words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through,
but also:
• find out whether a word is a borrowing and when the borrowing
happen
• follow the regular changes and when a change does not seem to
have affected the word without any obvious reason, the chance is
that it is a borrowing
• e.g. if ModE mint (OE mynet) is originally from L. monēta
through primOE munit, the i-umlaut must have happened
and the word had to have been adopted by that time (ca 7th
century AD)
• trace the etymons in other languages
• using etymological dictionaries of English & other languages, or
dictionaries of a common stage of language (IE roots)
• follow semantic change and the social change possibly with it
• e.g. OE biddan (to ask) adopted for L. precāre by early English
Christians only to be replaced by Normans Christians with
preecher and thus returned to its semantic origin in ModE bid