*Agiþewaz

From *agjō + *þewaz, continued most clearly by Old English Eċġþēow, the name of Beowulf’s father. The first element is from *agjō, rather than *agaz, since Old English eċġ directly reflects *agjō, whereas *agaz lead to Old English eġe (Bosworth & Toller 2014: s.vv. ecg, þeów; Kroonen 2013: 4; Ringe 2017: 145–46). The second element,*þewaz, is secure within Germanic, but its deeper PIE derivation is debated. Kroonen (2013: 541) treats it as Germanic-only or at least without a fully secure PIE prehistory.

The Old English reflex appears to preserve a Continental Germanic heroic name: Shaw (2020: 26–29) argues that its first element was common in Old English but not securely productive in Scandinavian naming, while the second element was not productive in Old English names; both elements, however, are well represented in Continental Germanic onomastics. Shaw also compares the Scandinavian cognate Eggþér, found in the Vǫluspá edda and in Saxo’s writings, suggesting that the name may have been associated with a heroic single-combat figure before being reinterpreted in Scandinavian mythic contexts.