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The West Germanic Heritage of Yorkshire English

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Medieval English in a Multilingual Context

Part of the book series: New Approaches to English Historical Linguistics ((NAEHL))

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Abstract

Many English words, including everyday words, have been labelled as Norse loanwords in scholarly work on English etymology. The number and semantic range of these words is used as a key to reconstruct the sociolinguistic and demographic setting of the language contact situation in the Danelaw at the time. However, it has been pointed out on various occasions that the number of Norse loanwords may be overestimated through sole fixation on a Standard English-Old Norse comparison and contrast. This study considers a series of reasons why claimed Norse loanwords may need a reinterpretation as inherited West Germanic words. This approach is subsequently applied to hundred terms presumed to be Norse loanwords from a Yorkshire dialect dictionary, reflecting older scholarship. Their etymologies are scrutinised and compared with the ones given in the current version of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), involving more evidence from West Germanic varieties, in particular from English’s historically closest relative, Frisian. While the OED sees a West Germanic origin for a quarter of the hundred words, this study finds West Germanic evidence of another quarter, reducing the number of positively identified Norse loanwords in traditional scholarship by approximately 50%.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In the Gersum database, both and call are assigned to category C, which ‘indicates that the root is known in early Old English (or there is an unambiguous form-source in a third language), but some aspect of form, sense or usage suggests Scandinavian influence’. The latest online edition of the OED acknowledges that the origin of the word call (v.) is disputable and for both it mentions: ‘Partly (i) formed within English, by compounding. Partly (ii) a borrowing from early Scandinavian’ [all accessed 22 January 2023].

  2. 2.

    An example of what can be called an urban legend is the story found in Bragg (2004: 28): ‘A young soldier [from South Cumbria] went to Iceland […]. In Iceland […] he used words from his home dialect and made himself understood. Within a week or two he was conversant with the Icelanders. Old Norse was that deeply bitten into the Old North’.

  3. 3.

    At various places in the text, reference will be made to the classifications of loan word status in the database of the Gersum project (Dance et al. 2019). There are four main categories with multiple subtypes, allowing for 230 different code combinations. The explanation of all the labels can be found at https://www.gersum.org/about/explanation_of_summary_categories# [accessed 28 May 2023]. Relevant definitions are quoted in the text.

  4. 4.

    See http://archive.org/details/scandinavianloan00bjuoft [accessed 28 May 2023].

  5. 5.

    ‘The common vernacular in Scotland […] offers an analogy with that of the Saterland Frisians as well, which shows how far the Anglo-Saxon-Frisian element has penetrated into the north of Great Britain and has passed into the vernacular’ (my translation).

  6. 6.

    See Munske (2001) for a comprehensive coverage of many aspects of linguistic and sociocultural history of Frisian.

  7. 7.

    One can mention the following dictionaries: West Frisian (WFri.): main dialect: van der Veen and de Boer (1984–2011); Hindeloopen: Blom and Dyk (2019); Schiermonnikoog: Spenter (1968) and Visser and Dyk (2002); East Frisian (EFri.): Saterland (Sat.): Fort (2015); Wangerooge (Wang.): Ehrentraut (1849, 1854); North Frisian (NFri.): Föhr and Amrum (FA): Sjölin (2002); Sylt: Möller (1916) and Kellner (2006); Bökingharde: Sjölin et al. (1988); Wiedingharde: Jensen et al. (1994); Halligen and Nordergoesharde: Löfstedt (1928, 1931). Cited examples from varieties of (Old) Frisian that appear as entries in these dictionaries will be quoted without further reference, unless specific remarks have been made or words are found under different entries.

    A proper pan-Frisian etymological dictionary does not exist. Spenter (1968) and Löfstedt (1928, 1931) are lexicological studies organised on the basis of historical phonology and ipse facto providing form-etymologies with mostly one-word German translations. Boutkan and Siebinga (2005) offer etymologies of the vocabulary of one Old Frisian manuscript (Oldenburg, Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv, Bestand 24–1, Ab. Nr. 1, a.k.a. First Rüstring MS; Buma 1961), and Buma (1949) offers etymological references in the index on his text edition of the Old Frisian Brokmerbref, or Law of Brokmerland. Wider-ranging etymological studies are presented in Sjölin (2006) and Faltings (2010). Old and Modern West Frisian cognates to Dutch words are systematically included in the Dutch etymological dictionary by Philippa et al. (2003) .

  8. 8.

    Knife is labelled as BB2a in the Gersum database, indicating that West Germanic parallels exist, but the word is attested relatively late in English.

  9. 9.

    It would be wrong to look at peripheral regions as being only archaic. Dahl (2015a: 185–186) illustrates that such regions are different from the centre, with both common archaisms and innovations.

  10. 10.

    For the European dimension, see Haspelmath (2001); for a combined geographical-chronological comparison of English-Scottish varieties, see McMahon and Maguire (2012: 152–157).

  11. 11.

    See https://dialekt.ku.dk/dialektkort/#map=10 [accessed 28 May 2023].

  12. 12.

    It is commonly considered to be the result of fronting and subsequent retraction (Ringe and Taylor 2014: 203).

  13. 13.

    Compare Early Old English (Épinal Glossary, Pheifer 1974) with -wæ in such words like quiquae ‘quitch grass’, sualuuae ‘swallow’, gearuuae ‘yarn’.

  14. 14.

    It is unclear whether /g/ was palatalised before /æ/ that developed from fronted PGmc */a/ in Anglian dialects, as illustrated by a parallel example with /k/ in the northern dialect form caff ‘chaff’ (see Laker 2021: 108 for caff and 89–90 for a discussion of /æ/). Laker considers the lack of palatalisation in caff as part of a broader trend, rather than a specific development of */k/ before /æ/. Lack of fronting before /æ/ would also leave northern yat ‘gate’ unexplained.

  15. 15.

    One such correspondence rule in the Frisian-Dutch context is WFri. ân [ɔ̃ːn] = Du. and [ant], such as in WFri. lân, sân, brân = Du. land, zand, brand ‘land, sand, fire’. As a consequence, the Frisian form of the Dutch verb branden ‘to burn’ will be brâne. This is indeed the preferred form among most present-day speakers of Frisian (Goeman et al.: s.v. branden). However, the historical form of the verb showed metathesis of /r/: PGmc *brannjan > OFri. barna, hence WFri. baarne. The earliest instances of brâne appear in the early eighteenth century, while baarne is still in use in the late twentieth century, in particular in the peripheral northern region.

  16. 16.

    I would like to thank research – MA – student Merel Luberti (University of Amsterdam) for her assistance in the analysis of the OED references to the items in this study.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Arjen Versloot

  2. Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, Netherlands

    Arjen Versloot

  3. University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

    Arjen Versloot

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  1. Arjen Versloot
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Correspondence to Arjen Versloot .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Sara M. Pons-Sanz

  2. School of Humanities, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Louise Sylvester

Appendices

Appendices

Key to Appendices 1, 2, 3:

  • Yorkshire:   words from YD (Kellett 1994)

  • English:    Standard English translation or description

  • POS:     part of speech: V = verb; N = noun; A = adjective / adverb

  • APV:     etymological interpretation by this author

  • Gersum:   classification in the Gersum database (Dance et al. 2019)

  • OED entry: corresponding entry in the OED (2000–)

  • OED:    etymological interpretation by the OED (2000–)

Etymological labels used:

  • NGmc:      word of North Germanic (Old Norse) origin and thus borrowed

  • WGmc:      word of West Germanic origin and thus inherited

  • ?:         some level of doubt

  • NGmc / WGmc: decisive North Germanic input, often in the semantics, but inherited language material or word formation processes may play a role as well

1.1 Appendix 1: APV and OED: North Germanic Words

Yorkshire

English

POS

APV

Gersum

OED entry

OED

addle

to earn

V

NGmc

C3c

addle

NGmc

arval bread

funeral cake

N

NGmc

 

arval

NGmc

axle-tooth

molar

N

NGmc

 

axle-tooth

NGmc

brandrith, -ree

moveable iron frame

N

NGmc?

 

brandreth

NGmc

carr

marsh(y woodland)

N

NGmc

A1bc

carr, n.2

NGmc

cleg

horsefly

N

NGmc

 

cleg

NGmc

cletch

family of young (e.g. children, chickens)

N

NGmc

 

cletch

NGmc

deg

to sprinkle

V

NGmc

 

deg

NGmc

dill

to soothe, dull (pain)

V

NGmc

CCC5c

dill, v.2

NGmc

dolop

lump of something soft

N

NGmc

 

dollop, n.

NGmc

ettle

to intend, aim, attempt

V

NGmc

A1*c

ettle

NGmc

flags

paving or floorstones

N

NGmc

 

flag, n.2

NGmc

flit

to move house

V

NGmc

C1

flit, v.

NGmc

garth

small, grassed enclosure adjoining a house…

N

NGmc?

 

garth

NGmc

ghyll, gill

deep and wooded ravine

N

NGmc

A1bc

gill, n.4

NGmc

gimmer

young female sheep

N

NGmc

 

gimmer, n.2

NGmc

gloppened, glottened

astonished

A

NGmc / WGmc

 

gloppen, v.

NGmc

gowk

cuckoo

N

NGmc

 

gowk

NGmc

grain

prong of a fork, branch of a tree

N

NGmc

A1b

grain, n.2

NGmc

hagg

division of a wood; …to be felled

N

NGmc

 

hag, n.3

NGmc

happen

to have something happen to one

V

NGmc / WGmc

CC1c / CC3

happen, v.

NGmc

keld, kell

well

N

NGmc

 

keld, n.2

NGmc

kilp

pot-hook

N

NGmc

 

kilp

NGmc

kittlin

kittin

N

NGmc

 

kitling

NGmc

laik

to play

V

NGmc

A1*bc

lake, v.1

NGmc

laithe

barn

N

NGmc

 

lathe, n.2

NGmc

lam

to strike hard

V

NGmc / WGmc

 

lam

NGmc

lop

flea

N

NGmc?

 

lop, n.2

NGmc

lug

something (such as a handle) that projects like an ear

N

NGmc

 

lug, n.1

NGmc

mense

decency, neatness

N

NGmc

C2 / CC1

mense, n.1

NGmc

mig, muck

muck, manure

N

NGmc

B1

muck, n.1

NGmc

nieve

fist

N

NGmc

B2c

nieve

NGmc

poke

sack, bag

N

NGmc

 

poke, n.1

NGmc?

seeaves

rushes

N

NGmc

 

seave

NGmc

seg

small metal stud…in a shoe

N

NGmc

 

seg, n.3

NGmc

skrike

to shriek

V

NGmc

BB2a

skrike

NGmc

slack

depression in the ground

N

NGmc

 

slack, n.1

NGmc

snod

smooth, sleek, short

A

NGmc

 

snod

NGmc

stee

ladder

N

NGmc / WGmc

CC1c / CC3c

sty, n.2

NGmc

steg

gander

N

NGmc

 

steg

NGmc

stithy

anvil (aambeeld)

N

NGmc

 

stithy

NGmc

stour, stower

rung of a ladder

N

NGmc

 

stower, n.1

NGmc

swarf, swarth

grit worn from grindstones

N

NGmc / WGmc

 

swarf, n.2

NGmc?

tyke

dog

N

NGmc

 

tyke

NGmc

wapentake

division of a shire

N

NGmc

 

wapentake

NGmc

whinny

gorze, furze [plant]

N

NGmc

 

whinny, n.2

NGmc

yawd

horse of inferior breeding

N

NGmc

 

yaud

NGmc

1.2 Appendix 2: APV and OED: West Germanic Words

Yorkshire

English

POS

APV

Gersum

OED entry

OED

arse

posterior

N

WGmc

 

arse

WGmc

band

string, rope

N

WGmc

 

band, n.1

WGmc

barf

hill, esp. long and low

N

WGmc

CCC5a

barrow, n.1

WGmc

barn, bairn

child

N

WGmc

DD2

bairn

WGmc

bleck

thick and dirty greas

N

WGmc

 

bleck n.

WGmc

boose

division in cowshed

N

WGmc

CCC1

boose

WGmc

brig

bridge

N

WGmc

 

brig, n.1 / bridge

WGmc

clap

to apply quickly, esp. the hand, slap

V

WGmc

 

clap, n.1

WGmc

dee

to die

V

WGmc

C1a

die, v.1

WGmc

groop

drain in a cowshed

N

WGmc

groop

WGmc

handsel

money given to strike a bargain,…

N

WGmc

CC4

handsel

WGmc

hoss

horse

N

WGmc

 

hoss

WGmc

ice shoggles

icicles

N

WGmc

 

icicle

WGmc

kittle

to tickle

V

WGmc

 

kittle, v.1

WGmc?

laverock

skylark

N

WGmc

 

lark / laverock

WGmc

lig(g)

to lie, to lay

V

WGmc

CC2

lig/lie, v.1

WGmc

ling

long, slender sea fish

N

WGmc

 

ling, n.1

WGmc

mickle

much, greater

A

WGmc

CC2c

mickle

WGmc

nang-nail, anger-nail

in growing toenail

N

WGmc

 

agnail

WGmc

reckon

to pretend, think, consider

V

WGmc

 

reckon

WGmc

scuttle

basket for holding meal, etc.

N

WGmc

 

scuttle, n.1

WGmc

strang

strong

A

WGmc

 

strong

WGmc

yacker

acre

N

WGmc

 

acre

WGmc

yule

Christmas

N

WGmc

CC2c

yule

WGmc

1.3 Appendix 3: APV: West Germanic vs. OED: North Germanic

For sources, see the main text, particular fn. 6. Additional etymological sources are as follows:

  • EB =    online version of Philippa et al. (2003)

  • GTB =    portal to diachronic Dutch dictionaries, Old, Middle and (early) Modern Dutch: https://gtb.ivdnt.org/search/ [accessed 28 May 2023]

  • IOB =    Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989)

  • LAE =    Orton et al. (1978)

Linguistic labels (exhaustive):

  • Dial.   dialectal

  • EFri.   East Frisian

  • HG    High German

  • ME    Middle English

  • NFri.   North Frisian

  • OE    Old English

  • OFri.   Old Frisian

  • ON    Old Norse

  • PWGmc Proto-West Germanic

  • Sat.   East Frisian from the Saterland region

  • Sy.    North Frisian from the island Sylt

  • Wang.  East Frisian from the island Wangerooge (extinct)

  • WFri.   West Frisian

  • WGmc   West Germanic

  • YE    Yorkshire English

Yorkshire

English

POS

Gersum

OED entry

Class APV

beck

stream

N

 

beck

WGmc?; OE bece, bec, bæc ‘brook’; the variant with single /k/ is dominant in West Germanic, but double-spelled consonants, indicating a closed syllable, are also found in ODu. (GTB, s.v. beki) and in many modern North German place names in -beck (Haverbeck, etc.)

bensel

to beat, thrash

V

 

bensel, n.

WGmc; both meaning (‘to beat’) and form are found in Oldenburg Low German (Böning et al. 1998: s.v. bensel).

blaeberry

bilberry

N

 

blaeberry

WGmc: YE <blae> (/ble:/) can possibly be derived from OE blǣ, rather than Norse (OIc blá); berry is WGmc anyway, cf. HG Beere.

cam

bank, slope, ridge

N

 

cam, n.2

WGmc; both Du. kam and Scots came have both meanings of ‘comb’ and ‘ridge’. Cf. for the phonological development YE lam ‘lamb’ (cf. kuəm ‘comb’) (Wright 1892: § 281).

crake

crow

N

 

crake, n.

WGmc; NFri. (Sy.) kreek < OFri. *krek < *PWGmc *krak-, also various German dialects: krack, krak(e).

http://woerterbuchnetz.de

creeaked

crooked

A

BB1b

crook, n. and adj.

WGmc; EFri. (Sat.) krouke ‘scythe handle; NFri. (Sy.) kruk ‘bowed’

durn

doorpost, gatepost

N

 

durn

WGmc: EFri. (Wang.) durn ‘door’.

eldin

kindling, firewood

N

elding, n.1

WGmc; NFri. (Sy.) jöl’ing ‘kindling’; jöl ‘fire’ = OS eld (Tiefenbach 2010: s.v. eld); a morphological parallel with the ‘fire’-lexeme is found in EFri. (Sat.) fjúrenge, HG Feuerung. Both the formation and the lexeme eld- can be found in West Germanic. Lexical support from Norse (OIc elding) may have played a role here.

flaik, fleeak

hurdle, railings

N

 

flake, n.1

WGmc; The original root vowel is *a in open syllable (IOB, s.v. fleki), cf. Du. vlaak ‘hurdle’. YD flaik [e:] and fleeak [iə] can be derived from OE *a in open syllable (LAE, map Ph60). YE fleik (Wright 1892: § 87) rather points towards *fleke.

gain

quick (way), near

A

A1c

gain, adj.

WGmc; PGmc *gagin (EB) developed into OE gæġn > ME gein > YE geən (Wright 1892: § 84). The lack of palatalisation before *æ is not conclusive.

gat

got (past tense)

V

A1*c

get, v.

WGmc; the strong verb PGmc *getana- is amply attested in all Germanic languages (see OED), e.g. OS bigetan ‘to seize’ (Tiefenbach 2010). The past tense vowel a is the regular quality in the strong class 5 (OE æ, Northern English a). Apparently, YE generalised the vowel from the singular here.

gate

street, way

N

B2abc

gate, n.2

WGmc; see the chapter text, end of Sect. 2.4.

gilt

young sow

N

 

gilt, n.1

WGmc; cf. Du. (dial.) gelte ‘young sow’. The lack of palatalisation before i is not conclusive (for parallel contexts, see Laker 2021: 109).

ing

meadow

N

ing, n.

WGmc; the word is very frequent in Dutch and Low German as a field name (Berkel and Samplonius 2018: s.v. eng), where it mostly refers to cultivated acres. The semantic shift to ‘meadow’ may have been inspired by Norse, but could just as well be a reaction to a different physical environment.

kist

large box, chest

N

 

kist, n.1

WGmc; loanword from L cista, widely attested in West Germanic (EB, s.v. kist). For the initial k- compare gilt.

lisk

groin

N

 

lisk

WGmc; cf, WFri. ljisk. The YE form shows shortening of the vowel, which is also not found in Scandinavian (OIc ljóski) (EB, s.v. lies). Word final -sk can be retained in YE (Wright 1892: § 312.6).

mawk

maggot

N

 

mawk, n.1

WGmc: the OED is undecided between OIc maðkr and a local diminutive form from PGmc *maþōn-. Similar diminutives are also attested in Frisian: WFri. maits, maik; EFri. (Wang.) maðuuk. The YE /ɔ:/ < *au suggests syncope of /ð/ in the sequence -aðu- rather than vocalisation in -aðk-, cf. the Wang. form.

nay

no

A

A1*

nay, adv.

WGmc; English no is the regular (southern) continuation of OE nā, with ā < PGmc *ai. YE <ay> is the normal continuation of ME ai, ei and could very well represent the Norse adverb (OIc nei; Wright 1892: § 84). However, a special development in final position, joining the development of lengthened short a would give YE /eə/ (spelling Wright). A similar development is assumed for they (Cole 2018: 191–200). Lexical support is not unlikely here.

rive

to tear

V

B2a

rive, v.1

WGmc; with OFri. ūtrīva, there is a cognate in a closely related WGmc language, so there is no reason not to consider it a North / North Sea Germanic word, with a peripheral distribution in YE.

sca(u)r

cliff or rocky outcrop

N

A1abc

scar, n.1

WGmc; the word is derived from a root PGmc *sker- ‘to cut’. WFri. skar, Du. schaar designate plots of land in the sense of share. The meaning is probably influenced by Norse (cf. ing).

seeat

seat

N

A1*

seat

WGmc; the word has West Germanic parallels (see OED), to which OFri. sēte ‘farmstead’ can be added.

skep, skip

basket, coal bucket

N

skep

WGmc; WFri. skeppe, Du. schep ‘spade, shovel’ (cf. EB). IOB considers a Low German origin of the Icelandic word.

skitters

diarrhoea

N

 

skitte, n.1

WGmc; the OED explicitly mentions West Germanic cognates as potential sources. Given the pan-Germanic attestations, a local origin seems obvious, when the ‘velar’ argument is considered not conclusive.

skive

to split, pare, leather or hide

V

 

skive, v.1

WGmc; OFri. attests to skīved ‘divided’. IOB considers the verb to be derived from the noun skífa, which it says to be a loanword from Low German.

stang

pole, shaft, stake

N

CC1abc

stang, n.1

WGmc; the OED mentions various West Germanic cognates, to which one may add WFri. stange ‘pole’. YE preserves pan-Germanic lexicon here.

storken

to set, to stiffen as it cools

V

storken

WGmc; the verb has a pan-Germanic spread (IOB, s.v. storkna). The suffix -en was productive in English itself, cf. lighten that does not have a cognate in Scandinavian (OED, s.v. -en, suffix5).

stoup

post, gatepost

N

 

stoop, n.1

WGmc; archaic Du. stolp(e) ‘pole, post’ (GTB, s.v. stolp), also Middle Low German (IOB, s.v. stólpi).

tang

projecting part of knife

N

 

tang, n.1

WGmc; pan-Germanic word, e.g. Du. tang, HG Zange ‘pliers, tongs’. The meaning ‘protruding tip of land’, nowadays common in Icelandic (IOB), is also found in Old Dutch (GTB, s.v. tanga). Some semantic interference or reinforcement from Norse is not unlikely.

teem

to pour

V

 

teem, v.2

WGmc; compare OFri. tēma ‘to let (water) flow’; see the discussion in the text at the end of Sect. 2.3.

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Versloot, A. (2023). The West Germanic Heritage of Yorkshire English. In: Pons-Sanz, S.M., Sylvester, L. (eds) Medieval English in a Multilingual Context. New Approaches to English Historical Linguistics . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30947-2_5

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