*aiks
Runic: ᚨᛁᚲᛊ Pronunciation: /ˈɑi̯ks/noun · feminine · consonant stem
Meanings
- oak tree
- oak (wood), with occasional metonymic extension to objects made of oak
Etymology
Usually derived from a Proto-Indo-European root noun, *h₂éyǵ-s, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyǵ- (Kroonen 2013: 9–10). However, the Indo-European comparison is not certain. The most common comparanda include Ancient Greek αἰγίλωψ (aigílōps) and possibly Latin aesculus, but de Vaan (2008: 28) maintains that the suffix in Latin is not clear and that it may have a substrate origin. Recent research on Greek αἰγίλωψ derives its plant senses internally from αἴξ (aíx)→ αἴγῐλος (aígĭlos) → αἰγίλωψ, thus it is less likely to be an inherited cognate (Parkhaeva 2024). Mallory and Adams (1997: 407) believe that *h₂eyǵ- was a species-specific term or a term that only existed as a western/central dialect term. Since there are no formally identical Indo-European cognates for *aiks, it is possible that it comes from a non-Indo-European substrate. Kroonen's (2012b: 242–43) argument, that root-noun inflection in Germanic can be a substrate marker, fits particularly well for this instance of a local plant name.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | aiks | aikiz |
| Acc. | aikų | aikunz |
| Gen. | aikiz | aikǫ̂ |
| Dat. | aiki | aikumaz |
| Inst. | aikē | aikumiz |
| Voc. | aik | aikiz |
Descendants
-
*aik (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*eik, *ēk (Old Dutch)
-
eike (Middle Dutch)
- èèk, eik (Limburgish)
-
eike (Middle Dutch)
-
*eik, *ēk (Old Dutch)
-
*aik (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*eik, *ēk (Old Dutch)
-
eike (Middle Dutch)
-
eik (Dutch)
- eik (Afrikaans)
-
eik (Dutch)
-
eike (Middle Dutch)
-
*eik, *ēk (Old Dutch)
-
*aik (Proto-West Germanic)
-
āc, ǣċ, aac (Old English)
-
ook, ok, ak, ake (Middle English)
- oak (English)
- aik, ake, yik (Scots)
-
ook, ok, ak, ake (Middle English)
-
āc, ǣċ, aac (Old English)
-
*aik (Proto-West Germanic)
-
ēk (Old Frisian)
- Eeke (Saterland Frisian)
- iik (West Frisian)
-
ēk (Old Frisian)
-
*aik (Proto-West Germanic)
-
eih (Old High German)
-
eich (Middle High German)
- Oach (Bavarian)
- Ääch, Eech, Eich (Central Franconian)
- Eiche (German)
- Ääch, Eech (Rhine Franconian)
-
eich (Middle High German)
-
eih (Old High German)
-
*aik (Proto-West Germanic)
-
ēk (Old Saxon)
-
êke, êk (Middle Low German)
- Eike, Eek (Low German)
- Ieekj (Plautdietsch)
-
êke, êk (Middle Low German)
-
ēk (Old Saxon)
-
eik (Old Norse)
- eik (Faroese)
- eik (Icelandic)
-
eik (Old Norse)
-
eg (Danish)
- ek (Norwegian Bokmål)
-
eg (Danish)
-
eik (Old Norse)
-
eik (Norwegian Nynorsk)
- eik (Norwegian Bokmål)
-
eik (Norwegian Nynorsk)
-
eik (Old Norse)
-
ēk (Old Swedish)
- ek (Swedish)
-
ēk (Old Swedish)
- *(h)ājkkë (Proto-Samic)