*aikwernô

Runic: ᚨᛁᚲᚹᛖᚱᚾᛟ Pronunciation: /ˈɑi̯.kʷer.nɔːː/

noun · masculine · an-stem

Meanings

squirrel

Etymology

From a reduplicated pre-Germanic animal name, *h₂éi-h₂ur- ~ *h₂i-h₂ur-ó-s (‘squirrel, small furry animal’, traditionally reconstructed as *wer-wer- or *we(i)-wer-), yielding Early Germanic *aikwur- ~ *īkuraz-, from Proto-Indo-European root *wer-/*h₂uer- (Kroonen 2011a: 263–66; Kroonen 2013: 10–11; Seebold 1982: 175–76). Cognates include Lithuanian voverė̃, Old Prussian weware, Proto-Slavic *věverica, Welsh gwiwer, and Latin viverra, suggesting an inherited IE zoonym whose meaning may originally have been broader than ‘squirrel’ alone (Kroonen 2011a: 263–66; Mallory & Adams 1997: 540).

The older analysis as a compound of *aiks (‘oak’) + **wernô (‘squirrel, small, furred animal’) is semantically attractive and probably influenced later forms such as Old High German eihhurno/eihhornoand German Eichhörnchen, but it does not explain the North Germanic *ī-/*i- variants or the internal ablaut. It is likely a secondary folk etymology. The proposed connection with *aikulaz and PIE root *h₂eyg- is unlikely (Kroonen 2011a: 263–66; Kroonen 2013: 10–11).

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nom.aikwernôaikwernaniz
Acc.aikwernanųaikwernanunz
Gen.aikwirninizaikwernanǫ̂
Dat.aikwirniniaikwernammaz
Inst.aikwirninēaikwernammiz
Voc.aikwernôaikwernaniz

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Descendants

  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *ēcorno (Old Dutch)
      • êencōren (Middle Dutch)
        • eekhoorn (Dutch)
  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • ācweorna, āqueorna, āquorna, ācurna, ācuaerna (Old English)
      • acquerne, aquerne, ocquerne, okerne, aquierne (Middle English)
        • con, conn (English)
        • con (Scots)
  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *ēkworna, *ēkhorna (Old Frisian)
      • *Eker, *Eeker (Saterland Frisian)
        • Katteker, Kateeker (Saterland Frisian)
  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *ēkworna, *ēkhorna (Old Frisian)
      • iikhoarn (West Frisian)
        • iikhoarntsje (West Frisian)
  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • eihhorno, eihhurno (Old High German)
      • eichurne (Middle High German)
        • Eichhore, Eichhörnli (Alemannic German)
  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • eihhorno, eihhurno (Old High German)
      • eichurne (Middle High German)
        • Eichhorn (German)
          • Eichhörnchen (German)
  • *aikwernō (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *ēkhorno (Old Saxon)
      • êkhōrn, êkhōrne, eikhōrne, êkhorn, êkōrn, eikōrn, êkōrne, echhorne (Middle Low German)
        • Eekhoorn, Ekkern (Low German)
          • Eekhoorntje (Low German)
  • íkorni (Old Norse)
    • íkorni (Faroese)
    • íkorni (Icelandic)
  • íkorni (Old Norse)
    • ikorn, ekorn, ikorre (Norwegian Nynorsk)
      • ekorn, ikorn (Norwegian Bokmål)
  • íkorni (Old Norse)
    • īkærnæ (Old Danish)
      • egern (Danish)
        • egern (Norwegian Bokmål)
  • íkorni (Old Norse)
    • ēkorne, īkorne (Old Swedish)
      • ekorre, ikorn (Swedish)

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