Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tunglą

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.

Of unclear origin. Usually connected to *tungǭ (“tongue”), though the putative semantic links (either the crescent moon resembling a tongue, or the twinkling of the stars bringing to mind the lolling and darting of someone's tongue) are rather speculative and tenuous, and appear to lack semantic parallels in other languages. An alternative theory deriving the word from Proto-Indo-European *dʰn̥ǵʰ- (“covering, overcast”) (whence Proto-Balto-Slavic *dangāˀ) is semantically more attractive but formally impossible.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtuŋ.ɡlɑ̃/

*tunglą n

1. luminary, orb
2. heavenly body, star

• Proto-West Germanic: *tungl
  • Old English: tungol
    • Middle English: tungol
    • ⇒ Old English: heofontungol
  • Old Saxon: tungal
    • ⇒ Old Saxon: hevantungal
    • ⇒ Old Saxon: himiltungal
  • Old High German: *zungal
    • ⇒ Old High German: himilzungal
• Old Norse: tungl
  • Icelandic: tungl
  • Faroese: tungl
  • Elfdalian: tunggel
  • Old Swedish: tungel
    • Swedish: (dated, dialectal) tungel
• Gothic: 𐍄𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌻 (tuggl)