garsecg

Uncertain. Almost always analyzed as a compound of gār +‎ seċġ, but there is significant disagreement about how to interpret these components. gār is usually glossed as "spear," but the sense "tempest" has been suggested,^[1] and Holthausen dubiously connected it to Old English gānian (“to gape”), Sanskrit विहायस् (vihāyas, “atmosphere”).^[2] seċġ may be glossed several ways:

• "sword" appears least likely.
• "sedge" has been suggested (e.g. by Grimm^[3]), but the derivation is opaque.
• "man; warrior" is perhaps most popular; in this case the sense is "the ocean personified as a warrior," but attempts to find links to spear-wielding water deities (Bosworth-Toller suggests Neptune^[4]) have not yielded definitive results.
• Some Latin-Old English glossaries have possible variants of secg glossing "sea" (e.g. the Épinal-Erfurt glossary has segg).

William Redbond suggested a possible loan from Welsh mor-gaseg (“ocean”), related to modern caseg.^[5] Dahlman suggested analysis as gārs (“world's”) +‎ eċġ (“edge”), but this cannot be correct as ecg is a feminine jō-stem.^[6]

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑːrˌsejj/,

gārseċġ m

1. ocean, sea
   • 10th century, "Exodus" in the Junius manuscript. Transcribed and translated in 1832, Thorpe, Benjamin (ed.), Cædmon's Metrical Praphrase of Parts of the Holy Scriptures, London: Society of Antiquaries of London; page 204–205, ll. 30–33, 1–4.

     his ƿuldres ƿord : ƿīddra ⁊ sīddra
     þonne befæðman mæᵹe : fōldan sceattas
     eorðan ȳmbhƿȳrft : ⁊ ūp-rodor
     ᵹārsecᵹes ᵹīn : ⁊ þeos ᵹeomre lȳft

     His glory's word : further and wiser spread
     than may embrace : earth's regions,
     the world's circumference, : and firmament above,
     ocean's expanse, : and this murmuring air.

Strong a-stem:

• ēa (“river”)
• mere (“lake”)
• sǣ (“sea”)
• strēam (“stream”)