*alīnō
Runic: ᚨᛚᛁᚾᛟ Pronunciation: /ˈɑ.liː.nɔː/noun · feminine · ō-stem
Meanings
- forearm; elbow
- ell, cubit; a unit of length based on the forearm
Etymology
From pre-Germanic *olīnā ~ *olenā, ultimately a feminine *-eh₂ extension of an Indo-European n-stem meaning ‘elbow’. The underlying noun was an ablauting body-part n-stem, reconstructed by Pronk (2015: 333–34) as *h₃eh₁-l-n- ~ *h₃h₁-el-n-, probably originally with singulative function; it belongs to the conventionally reconstructed root *Heh₃l-, though the precise laryngeals are uncertain (de Vaan 2008: 638). Cognate with Ancient Greek ὠλένη (ōlénē), Latin ulna, Old Irish uilen, and Welsh elin (Beekes 2010: 1678–79; Matasović 2009a: 297–98). Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰 (aleina) points to *alīnō, while North and West Germanic reflect shortened *alinō; alternatively, inherited suffixal variants may underlie the difference (Kroonen 2013: 22; Lloyd et al. 1998: s.v. elina). Ringe and Taylor (2014: 236) instead reconstruct *alinō and regard the Gothic long vowel as unexplained.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | alīnō | alīnôz |
| Acc. | alīnǭ | alīnōz |
| Gen. | alīnōz | alīnǫ̂ |
| Dat. | alīnōi | alīnōmaz |
| Inst. | alīnō | alīnōmiz |
| Voc. | alīnō | alīnôz |
Descendants
-
*alinu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*elina (Old Dutch)
-
elle, elne (Middle Dutch)
- el (Dutch)
-
elle, elne (Middle Dutch)
-
*elina (Old Dutch)
-
*alinu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
eln (Old English)
-
elne, elle, ellen, eln, ellyn (Middle English)
- ell (English)
- elne, ellne, eln, el, ell (Scots)
-
elne, elle, ellen, eln, ellyn (Middle English)
-
eln (Old English)
-
*alinu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
elne, ielne (Old Frisian)
- Äälne (Saterland Frisian)
- jelne, jellen (West Frisian)
-
elne, ielne (Old Frisian)
-
*alinu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
elina, elena, elna, elle (Old High German)
-
elline, elne, elle, eln, ellen, ele (Middle High German)
- Elle (German)
-
elline, elne, elle, eln, ellen, ele (Middle High German)
-
elina, elena, elna, elle (Old High German)
-
*alinu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
elina (Old Saxon)
-
elne (Middle Low German)
- Ell (Low German)
-
elne (Middle Low German)
-
elina (Old Saxon)
-
*ᚨᛚᛁᚾᚢ (*alinu) (Proto-Norse)
-
alin, eln, ǫln (Old Norse)
- alen (Danish)
- alin (Faroese)
- alin, öln (Icelandic)
-
alin, eln, ǫln (Old Norse)
-
*ᚨᛚᛁᚾᚢ (*alinu) (Proto-Norse)
-
alin, eln, ǫln (Old Norse)
- alen (Norwegian)
-
alin, eln, ǫln (Old Norse)
-
*ᚨᛚᛁᚾᚢ (*alinu) (Proto-Norse)
-
alin, eln, ǫln (Old Norse)
-
alin, aln (Old Swedish)
- aln (Swedish)
-
alin, aln (Old Swedish)
-
alin, eln, ǫln (Old Norse)
-
𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰 (aleina) (Gothic)
- *alina (Vulgar Latin)