*akwisī
Runic: ᚨᚲᚹᛁᛊᛁ Pronunciation: /ˈɑ.kʷi.siː/noun · feminine · ī/jō-stem
Meanings
ax; a cutting tool consisting of a sharpened head attached to a handle
Etymology
From Early Germanic *akwisī ~ *akuzjō-, probably from pre-Germanic *h₂egʷés-ih₂ ~ *h₂egus-yéh₂-, forming a proterokinetic ī/jō-stem paradigm, subsequently leveled differently in Gothic and Northwest Germanic (Mottausch 2011: 97; Ringe 2017: 301–302). Compare Ancient Greek ἀξῑ́νη (axī́nē) < Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷs-i- and Latin ascia < PIE *h₂esk-ieh₂-, with both exhibiting differences in the root consonants and suffixation compared to Proto-Germanic. The word is therefore likely a prehistoric Wanderwort or loan from an unidentified non-Indo-European language rather than an inherited PIE lexeme. Possibly related are Akkadian 𒍏𒄩𒍣𒅔 (ḫaṣṣinnum) and its loan descendant Talmudic Aramaic חֲצִינָא (ḥăṣṣīnā), although the historical relationship between the Semitic and European forms remains uncertain (Beekes 2010: 111; de Vaan 2008: 57; Kroonen 2013: s.v. *akwesī-).
Declension
Due to Ablaut, the direct cases have full-grade -wi- while the oblique cases showed zero-grade -u-.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | akwisī | akuzijôz |
| Acc. | akuzijǭ | akuzijōz |
| Gen. | akuzijōz | akuzijǫ̂ |
| Dat. | akuzijōi | akuzijōmaz |
| Inst. | akuzijō | akuzijōmiz |
| Voc. | akwisī | akuzijôz |
Descendants
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
acus (Old Dutch)
-
ākes, āex (Middle Dutch)
- aaks (Limburgish)
-
ākes, āex (Middle Dutch)
-
acus (Old Dutch)
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
acus (Old Dutch)
-
ākes, āex (Middle Dutch)
- aks, aaks, akst (Dutch)
-
ākes, āex (Middle Dutch)
-
acus (Old Dutch)
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
æx, æces, acas, eax (Old English)
-
ax, axe, ex, exe (Middle English)
- axe, ax (English)
- aix (Scots)
-
ax, axe, ex, exe (Middle English)
-
æx, æces, acas, eax (Old English)
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
axa (Old Frisian)
- Äkse (Saterland Frisian)
-
axa (Old Frisian)
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
ackis, ackus (Old High German)
-
ackes, aks, ax, axt (Middle High German)
- Axt (German)
- Aaxt (Luxembourgish)
-
ackes, aks, ax, axt (Middle High German)
-
ackis, ackus (Old High German)
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
akus (Old Saxon)
-
axe, ēxe, akes (Middle Low German)
- Akjs (Plautdietsch)
-
axe, ēxe, akes (Middle Low German)
-
akus (Old Saxon)
-
*akusi (Proto-West Germanic)
-
akus (Old Saxon)
-
axe, ēxe, akes (Middle Low German)
- Ax, Äx, Ex (Low German)
-
axe, ēxe, akes (Middle Low German)
-
akus (Old Saxon)
-
øx, ǫx (Old Norse)
- øks (Faroese)
- öxi, exi, öx (Icelandic)
- øks (Norwegian Bokmål)
- øks (Norwegian Nynorsk)
-
øx, ǫx (Old Norse)
-
øx, øxæ (Old Danish)
- økse (Danish)
-
øx, øxæ (Old Danish)
-
øx, ǫx (Old Norse)
-
øx, øxa (Old Swedish)
- yxa (Swedish)
-
øx, øxa (Old Swedish)
- 𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌶𐌹 (aqizi) (Gothic)
- *ākšōjō (Proto-Samic)
- *okъša, *okъšy (Proto-Slavic)