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.

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”).^[1] 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.^[2]

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɑ.li.θɑz/

*haliþaz m

1. hero

• Proto-West Germanic: *haliþ
  • Old English: hæle, hæleþ, hæleð
    • Middle English: heleð, haleð, hæleð; hathel (conflation with athel (“nobleman”))
      • English: health
      • Middle Scots: hathill
  • Old Frisian: *heleth
    • Saterland Frisian: Häld
    • West Frisian: held
  • Old Saxon: helith, helid
    • Middle Low German: helt
      • German Low German: Held
      • → Danish: helt
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: helt
      • → Norwegian Nynorsk: helt
      • → Swedish: hjälte
  • Old Dutch: *helit
    • Middle Dutch: helet, helt
      • Dutch: held
        • Afrikaans: held
  • Old High German: helid
    • Middle High German: helt
      • German: Held
      • Yiddish: העלד (held), האָלד (hold)
• Old Norse: halr, hǫldr
  • Icelandic: halur, höldur
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hauld