Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/gaist

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysd-os, from *ǵʰeysd- (“anger, agitation”). Cognate with Sanskrit हेड (héḍa).

Noun

*gaist m^[1]^[2]

ghost, spirit

Inflection

Masculine a-stem
	Singular
Nominative	*gaist
Genitive	*gaistas
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*gaist	gaistō, gaistōs
Accusative	*gaist	*gaistā
Genitive	*gaistas	*gaistō
Dative	*gaistē	*gaistum
Instrumental	*gaistu	*gaistum

Descendants

Old English: gāst, gǣst, gaast
- Middle English: gost, gast, gaast, goost, goste
  - English: ghost
  - Scots: gaist, gast, ghaist
  - Yola: gaast
Old Frisian: gāst, gēst
- Saterland Frisian: Gäist, Jeest
- West Frisian: geast
Old Saxon: gēst, *gast
- Middle Low German: gêst, geist
  - German Low German: Geest, Geist
  - Low German: geest
  - Plautdietsch: Jeist
  - → Norwegian Bokmål: gast
  - → Old Danish: gast (or from Frisian)
    - Danish: gast
  - → Swedish: gast
Old Dutch: geist, *gēst, gast
- Middle Dutch: gêest
  - Dutch: geest
    - Afrikaans: gees
    - Negerhollands: geest
Old High German: geist, gheist, keist
- Middle High German: geist
  - German: Geist
    - → English: geist
    - → Danish: gejst
    - → Swedish: geist
    - → Norwegian Bokmål: geist
  - Hunsrik: Geest, Geist
  - Luxembourgish: Geescht
  - Yiddish: גײַסט (gayst)

References

^ Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 126: “*gaist”
^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “Geist”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 253: “wg. *gaista-”

[1] Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 126: “*gaist”

[2] Friedrich Kluge (1989) “Geist”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 253: “wg. *gaista-”

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