*ferhuz²
Runic: ᚠᛖᚱᚺᚢᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈɸer.xuz/noun · masculine · u-stem
Meanings
- body
- life, being, existence
- the world
Etymology
(Ginevra 2021) derives this from Proto-Indo-European *pérḱ-u-s ~ *pr̥ḱ-éw-s (‘earth, land; originally perhaps ‘the dark/spotted/colorful one’’), from *perḱ- (‘colored; speckled’) with ‘life/person’ developing from ‘earthly life, earthly being’. He specifically notes that Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍈𐌿𐍃 (fairƕus) in the Gospels means ‘the earthly world’, often in opposition to heaven, and that Old Norse fjǫr and Old English feorh ‘life’ can be understood from ‘earthly life / being on earth’.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | ferhuz | ferhiwiz |
| Acc. | ferhų | ferhunz |
| Gen. | ferhauz | ferhiwǫ̂ |
| Dat. | ferhiwi | ferhumaz |
| Inst. | ferhū | ferhumiz |
| Voc. | ferhu | ferhiwiz |
Descendants
-
*ferh (Proto-West Germanic)
-
feorh, feorg, ferh (Old English)
- fere, vore (Middle English)
-
feorh, feorg, ferh (Old English)
-
*ferh (Proto-West Germanic)
-
fërah (Old High German)
-
vërch (Middle High German)
- Ferch (German)
-
vërch (Middle High German)
-
fërah (Old High German)
-
fjǫr, fjǫrr (Old Norse)
- fjör (Icelandic)
- 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍈𐌿𐍃 (fairƕus) (Gothic)