*egalaz
Runic: ᛖᚷᚨᛚᚨᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈe.ɣɑ.lɑz/noun · masculine · a-stem
Meanings
leech
Etymology
Unknown. Sometimes compared with the Indo-European snake/hedgehog word-family, but no regular derivation from PIE *h₁ógʷʰis ‘snake’ is apparent, since the expected treatment of the labiovelar and the -al- formation remain unexplained. A connection with *igilaz ‘hedgehog’ is also possible only as secondary association or contamination, not as a straightforward inherited doublet. The safest analysis is therefore that *egalaz was an old Northwest Proto-Germanic animal name of uncertain origin, perhaps later drawn into the semantic orbit of the snake/hedgehog word-family.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | egalaz | egalōz, egalōs |
| Acc. | egalą | egalanz |
| Gen. | egalas, egalis | egalǫ̂ |
| Dat. | egalai | egalamaz |
| Inst. | egalō | egalamiz |
| Voc. | egal | egalōz, egalōs |
Descendants
-
*egalu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*egela (Old Dutch)
-
ēgele, ēchel (Middle Dutch)
- echel (Dutch)
-
ēgele, ēchel (Middle Dutch)
-
*egela (Old Dutch)
-
*egalu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
egala (Old High German)
-
egel, egele (Middle High German)
- Egel (German)
-
egel, egele (Middle High German)
-
egala (Old High German)
-
*egalu (Proto-West Germanic)
-
egela (Old Saxon)
- ēgele, ēgel (Middle Low German)
-
egela (Old Saxon)
-
*iglr (Old Norse)
- igler (Danish)
- igli, igil (Faroese)
- igla (Icelandic)
- igle (Norwegian Bokmål)
- igel (Swedish)