*aþalą
Runic: ᚨᚦᚨᛚᚨ Pronunciation: /ˈɑ.θɑ.lɑ̃/noun · neuter · a-stem
Meanings
- nature, disposition; inherent character
- lineage, stock; nobility
Etymology
An old Proto-Germanic noun with the semantic core ‘lineage, inherited characteristic’; compare Old Norse aðal and Old High German adal (Heidermanns 1993: 107–09; Kroonen 2013: 40). Proto-Germanic *ōþalą is a vṛddhi derivative of *aþalą, connecting ‘lineage, inherited nature’ with ‘inherited property’ (Faltings 2010: 111; Kroonen 2013: 395). The Proto-Indo-European etymology is uncertain. Szemerényi's (1952: 46–50) derivation from Proto-Indo-European *at-alo-, from *at(i) + *al- (modernized as *h₂et-olo-, from *h₂et- + *h₂el-) seems too semantically vague, and given the related *ōþalą, this would require and unusual lengthened grade of a prefix (Lloyd & Springer 1988: s.v. adal¹). Proposed cognates Tocharian A ātäl and Ancient Greek ἀταλός (atalós) are formally and semantically unlikely (Kroonen 2013: 40; Lloyd & Springer 1988: s.v. adal¹). Seebold (2017: 980) includes German reflex Adel among Common Germanic words lacking a plausible extra-Germanic etymology.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | aþalą | aþalō |
| Acc. | aþalą | aþalō |
| Gen. | aþalas, aþalis | aþalǫ̂ |
| Dat. | aþalai | aþalamaz |
| Inst. | aþalō | aþalamiz |
| Voc. | aþalą | aþalō |
Descendants
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*aþal (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*athal (Old Dutch)
-
adel (Middle Dutch)
-
adel (Dutch)
- adel (Afrikaans)
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adel (Dutch)
-
adel (Middle Dutch)
-
*athal (Old Dutch)
-
*aþal (Proto-West Germanic)
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*athel, *ethel (Old Frisian)
- Oadel (Saterland Frisian)
- adel (West Frisian)
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*athel, *ethel (Old Frisian)
-
*aþal (Proto-West Germanic)
-
adal (Old High German)
-
adel (Middle High German)
- אַדל (adl) (Yiddish)
-
adel (Middle High German)
-
adal (Old High German)
-
*aþal (Proto-West Germanic)
-
adal (Old High German)
-
adel (Middle High German)
-
Adel (German)
- aadel (Estonian)
-
Adel (German)
-
adel (Middle High German)
-
adal (Old High German)
-
*aþal (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*athal (Old Saxon)
-
adel, adele, addel (Middle Low German)
- Adel (Low German)
- adel (Norwegian)
-
adel, adele, addel (Middle Low German)
-
*athal (Old Saxon)
-
*aþal (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*athal (Old Saxon)
-
adel, adele, addel (Middle Low German)
-
adel (Swedish)
- aateli (Finnish)
-
adel (Swedish)
-
adel, adele, addel (Middle Low German)
-
*athal (Old Saxon)
-
aðal (Old Norse)
- aðal (Faroese)
- aðal (Icelandic)
- aþal (Old Swedish)