*alizō

Runic: ᚨᛚᛁᛉᛟ Pronunciation: /ˈɑ.li.zɔː/

noun · feminine · ō-stem

Meanings

alder (tree)

Etymology

Of uncertain origin; recent scholarship increasingly favors a European substrate source. The noun belongs to an irregular complex reflected by Proto-Slavic *olьša, *elьša, Lithuanian alksnis, Latvian alksnis, and Latin alnus < *al-i(s)no-. The recurrent a ~ e vocalism, -s- ~ -is- variation, and alternation of nasal and non-nasal formations across several branches are difficult to derive from a single inherited Proto-Indo-European formation and have been interpreted as evidence of prehistoric borrowing (Kroonen 2024: 8–10; Matasović 2024: 57; Šorgo 2020: 432). Hittite 𒄑𒀀𒆷𒀭𒍝 (a-la-an-za /alanza(n)-/), formerly adduced in support of the noun's PIE antiquity, is botanically uncertain and has recently been argued to denote ‘oak’ instead of 'alder' (Peled 2025: 30–31). A traditional reconstruction *h₂elis- is therefore less likely.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nom.alizōalizôz
Acc.alizǭalizōz
Gen.alizōzalizǫ̂
Dat.alizōializōmaz
Inst.alizōalizōmiz
Voc.alizōalizôz

Find a form

Descendants

  • *aliʀu, alisu, aluʀu (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *alisa (Old Dutch)
      • else (Middle Dutch)
        • els (Dutch)
          • els (Afrikaans)
  • *aliʀu, alisu, aluʀu (Proto-West Germanic)
    • alor, aler (Old English)
      • aldre, alder, aldur, aldyr, aleyre, aller, alre, althir, olr (Middle English)
        • alder (English)
        • aller (Scots)
  • *aliʀu, alisu, aluʀu (Proto-West Germanic)
    • alar, erila, elira, *alisa, *elisa (Old High German)
      • alze, els, eller, elre (Middle High German)
        • Erle (German)
  • *aliʀu, alisu, aluʀu (Proto-West Germanic)
    • *alisa (Vulgar Latin)
  • ǫlr, alr (Old Norse)
    • el (Danish)
    • elri (Icelandic)
    • or, older (Norwegian Bokmål)
    • or, older (Norwegian Nynorsk)
    • al (Swedish)
  • *𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐌰 (*alisa) (Gothic)

Explore/search these descendants

View on Wiktionary