Lost Germanic Words in English

... German is made harder for an English speaker to learn

because so much Germanic vocabulary -- (words that used to exist in
English) -- has dropped out of the English language. <<<
           how interesting!!!
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here."   ---------- what's the German counterpart?
"Whence": Instead of "where from."
"Whither": Instead of "where to."
"Ye": Instead of "you."
"Thou": Instead of "you" (singular, informal).
"Dale": A valley. ------------------------ Thal, Thaler,    Dollar
"Heath": A type of open, uncultivated land.
"Mere": A small lake or pond.         -------- like... Meerkat
"Wold": A high, open country or moor.
"Yore": Long ago, of old.     [...]

What makes you think these words are lost? Though some are rare in
general use, they are all familiar, every one of them.

Athel Cornish-Bowden

2024-09-15 06:29:42 UTC

... German is made harder for an English speaker to learn

because so much Germanic vocabulary -- (words that used to exist in
English) -- has dropped out of the English language. <<<
           how interesting!!!
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here."   ---------- what's the German counterpart?
"Whence": Instead of "where from."
"Whither": Instead of "where to."
"Ye": Instead of "you."
"Thou": Instead of "you" (singular, informal).
"Dale": A valley. ------------------------ Thal, Thaler,    Dollar
"Heath": A type of open, uncultivated land.
"Mere": A small lake or pond.         -------- like... Meerkat
"Wold": A high, open country or moor.
"Yore": Long ago, of old.     [...]

What makes you think these words are lost? Though some are rare in
general use, they are all familiar, every one of them.

Yes. With the possible exception of "ye", I agree about all of these.
However, it's probably not worthwhile to speculate on the basis of the
hen's ignorance.

--
Athel cb

Hibou

2024-09-15 06:55:02 UTC

Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden

... German is made harder for an English speaker to learn

because so much Germanic vocabulary -- (words that used to exist in
English) -- has dropped out of the English language. <<<
           how interesting!!!
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here."   ---------- what's the German counterpart?
"Whence": Instead of "where from."
"Whither": Instead of "where to."
"Ye": Instead of "you."
"Thou": Instead of "you" (singular, informal).
"Dale": A valley. ------------------------ Thal, Thaler,    Dollar
"Heath": A type of open, uncultivated land.
"Mere": A small lake or pond.         -------- like... Meerkat
"Wold": A high, open country or moor.
"Yore": Long ago, of old.     [...]

What makes you think these words are lost? Though some are rare in
general use, they are all familiar, every one of them.

Yes. With the possible exception of "ye", I agree about all of these.
However, it's probably not worthwhile to speculate on the basis of the
hen's ignorance.

It must be that. Some are quite common - Yorkshire Dales, Hen? Hampstead
Heath? Others have old-fashioned air, but are ready and waiting for
parodies - Hear ye, hear ye! (Oyez, oh yay!)

Even thouing is still current in places - Yorkshire again - and familiar
to those of us who when young were inducted without our consent into
Christianity. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's ass. (Doesn't hamper
me much, but I suppose it's a nuisance to Americans with cute neighbours.)

Athel Cornish-Bowden

2024-09-15 07:29:10 UTC

Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden

... German is made harder for an English speaker to learn

because so much Germanic vocabulary -- (words that used to exist in
English) -- has dropped out of the English language. <<<
           how interesting!!!
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here."   ---------- what's the German counterpart?
"Whence": Instead of "where from."
"Whither": Instead of "where to."
"Ye": Instead of "you."
"Thou": Instead of "you" (singular, informal).
"Dale": A valley. ------------------------ Thal, Thaler,    Dollar
"Heath": A type of open, uncultivated land.
"Mere": A small lake or pond.         -------- like... Meerkat
"Wold": A high, open country or moor.
"Yore": Long ago, of old.     [...]

What makes you think these words are lost? Though some are rare in
general use, they are all familiar, every one of them.

Yes. With the possible exception of "ye", I agree about all of these.
However, it's probably not worthwhile to speculate on the basis of the
hen's ignorance.

It must be that. Some are quite common - Yorkshire Dales, Hen?
Hampstead Heath? Others have old-fashioned air, but are ready and
waiting for parodies - Hear ye, hear ye! (Oyez, oh yay!)

Yes. I take it back about "ye". Most of us brought up in the bosom of
the Church of England have sung "O Come all Ye Faithful". There is also
the exclamation "Ye gods!"

Post by Hibou
Even thouing is still current in places - Yorkshire again - and
familiar to those of us who when young were inducted without our
consent into Christianity. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's ass.
(Doesn't hamper me much, but I suppose it's a nuisance to Americans
with cute neighbours.)

--
Athel cb

occam

2024-09-15 12:50:32 UTC

Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden
Yes. I take it back about "ye". Most of us brought up in the bosom of
the Church of England have sung "O Come all Ye Faithful". There is also
the exclamation "Ye gods!"

That last one is one I utter every time I see the echo of a post from
the clucking Hanna. I'd hate to be a brain cell in the echo-chamber of
his cranium. [Oh, the din, spare me the din, Gunga Din!]

Janet

2024-09-15 11:44:00 UTC

... German is made harder for an English speaker to learn

Hither and thither, very common saying.

Post by HenHanna
"Whence": Instead of "where from."

still in use

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/sentences/english/whence

Post by HenHanna
"Whither": Instead of "where to."

ditto

Post by HenHanna
"Ye": Instead of "you."

Common daily use in Scottish dialect

Post by HenHanna
"Thou": Instead of "you" (singular, informal).

Still used in North of England dialects;

both known all over UK from famous soap TV

Post by HenHanna
"Dale": A valley. ------------------------

Common in many place names , especially in the
Yorkshire dales.

Post by HenHanna
"Heath": A type of open, uncultivated land.

Common in place names, Hampstead Heath.

Post by HenHanna
"Mere": A small lake or pond.

Common in names of lakes; "Windermere", Grasmere.

Post by HenHanna
"Wold": A high, open country or moor.

Common in place names like Stow on the Wold

Post by HenHanna
"Yore": Long ago, of old. [...]

Known in days of yore, and now.

Post by Hibou
What makes you think these words are lost? Though some are rare in
general use, they are all familiar, every one of them.

I agree.

Janet

Peter Moylan

2024-09-15 12:42:08 UTC

Post by Janet

Post by HenHanna
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here." ---------- what's the German
counterpart?

Hither and thither, very common saying.

In any case, "hither" does not mean "here". It means "to here". It
continues in use because there is no other single word with the same
meaning. "Here" is a place, "hither" is a direction.

Likewise for "thither" and "whither".

For the other direction, we still have "hence", "thence", and "whence".

--
Peter Moylan ***@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

Helmut Richter

2024-09-15 15:03:09 UTC

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Janet

Post by HenHanna
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here." ---------- what's the German counterpart?

Hither and thither, very common saying.

In any case, "hither" does not mean "here". It means "to here". It
continues in use because there is no other single word with the same
meaning. "Here" is a place, "hither" is a direction.

In German, it is "hierher". Up to now, I would not have regarded the
second syllable of "hither" as a cognate of German "her".

--
Helmut Richter

HenHanna

2024-09-15 18:32:44 UTC

Post by Helmut Richter

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by HenHanna
Lost Germanic Words in English
"Hither": Instead of "here." --------- what's the German

counterpart?
Hither and thither, very common saying.

[Hierher und dorther]

Ja, "hierher und dorther" ist eine gängige deutsche Redewendung. Sie
bedeutet "hin und her" oder "von hier nach dort".

Beispielsätze:

"Er läuft hierher und dorther wie ein aufgescheuchtes Huhn."
"Ich habe die ganze Zeit hierher und dorther gesucht, aber ich
kann das Buch nicht finden."

Yes, "hither and thither" is a calque from German.

Post by Helmut Richter

Post by Peter Moylan
In any case, "hither" does not mean "here". It means "to here". It
continues in use because there is no other single word with the same
meaning. "Here" is a place, "hither" is a direction.

In German, it is "hierher". Up to now, I would not have regarded the
second syllable of "hither" as a cognate of German "her".

thank you... (by analogy with Woher, Wovon, Wohin ...) Dorthin,
etc must be used.

(Hierher -- doesn't make sense)

Hiervon leben: To live from this
Hiervon sprechen: To talk about this
Hierhin gehen: To go here

Wofür: What for (purpose) ----- in Eng. we never use [Wherefor]
(other than in that line from Juliet)

Christian Weisgerber

2024-09-16 20:25:09 UTC

Post by Helmut Richter
In German, it is "hierher". Up to now, I would not have regarded the
second syllable of "hither" as a cognate of German "her".

And judging from the etymologies given by Pfeifer (at DWDS.de) and
Wiktionary, they are not cognate.

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber ***@mips.inka.de

lar3ryca

2024-09-17 02:24:42 UTC

Post by Janet

... German is made harder for an English speaker to learn

Hither and thither, very common saying.

I have heard that a few times, but I have more often heard
"hither and yon"

--
Dear optimists, pessimists, and realists,
while you were arguing about the glass of water, I drank it.
Sincerely,
The Opportunist.

Tilde

2024-09-17 04:31:18 UTC