*albiz

Runic: ᚨᛚᛒᛁᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈɑl.βiz/

noun · masculine · i-stem

Meanings

elf; a supernatural being of Germanic religion and mythology

Etymology

Probably from Proto-Indo-European *albʰ-i-s, an i-stem derivative of *albʰós, referring originally to the being by its whiteness or pale appearance (Hall 2007: 54–63; Krahe & Meid 1969: 138; Watkins 2011: s.v. albho-). Compare Latin albus and Ancient Greek ἀλφός (alphós); related formations include Old High German albiz, likewise derived from the Indo-European ‘white’ word (Krahe & Meid 1969: 138, 174; Mallory & Adams 1997: 641). The reconstruction of an initial laryngeal is uncertain: *h₂elbʰós has traditionally been reconstructed, while *h₄elbʰós was proposed partly to accommodate Hittite𒀠𒉺𒀸 (al-pa-aš /alpaš/); alternatively, the Hittite word may reflect o-grade *h₂olbʰ-ó-s, so the Hittite evidence does not require *h₄ (de Vaan 2008: s.v. albus; Kloekhorst 2008: 169; Woodhouse 2012: 226–27). The older comparison with Sanskrit ऋभु (ṛbhú) is formally possible but semantically much less persuasive and need not be assumed for the Germanic word (Hall 2007: 55).

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nom.albizalbīz
Acc.albįalbinz
Gen.albīzalbijǫ̂
Dat.albīalbimaz
Inst.albīalbimiz
Voc.albialbīz

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Descendants

  • *albi (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *alf (Old Dutch)
      • alf (Middle Dutch)
        • alf (Dutch)
  • *albi (Proto-West Germanic)
    • ielf, ælf, ylf (Old English)
      • elf, elfe, helfe (Middle English)
        • elf (English)
        • elf (Scots)
  • *albi (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *alf, *elf (Old Frisian)
      • alve (West Frisian)
  • *albi (Proto-West Germanic)
    • alb, alp (Old High German)
      • Alb, Alp (German)
  • *albi (Proto-West Germanic)
    • alf (Old Saxon)
      • alf (Middle Low German)
  • alfr, álfr (Old Norse)
    • elver, alf (Danish)
    • auf, oaf (English)
    • álvur (Faroese)
    • álfur (Icelandic)
    • alv, elv (Norwegian Bokmål)
    • alv, elv, alg (Norwegian Nynorsk)
  • alfr, álfr (Old Norse)
    • ælf, ælva (Old Swedish)
      • älva, alf, alv (Swedish)

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