*fiþulǭ

Runic: ᚠᛁᚦᚢᛚᛟ Pronunciation: /ˈɸi.θu.lɔ̃ː/

noun · feminine · ōn-stem

Meanings

fiddle

Etymology

Probably a native Proto-Germanic word from an onomatopoeic base: *fiþ- (compare English “fizz”) + a diminutive suffix (thus, ‘the little buzzing thing’). The internal *-þ-establishes that this word existed prior to the completion of Grimm’s Law. The traditional derivation from Medieval Latin vitula (‘a young cow, a female calf, a heifer’) is chronologically impossible, as such a borrowing would have entered Proto-Germanic with its hard dental stop intact (yielding **fitul-). Note, for example, Latin strāta (‘paved road’) → Proto-West Germanic *strātu (not **strōþa) and Latin catīllus (‘small bowl, dish, plate’) → *katilaz (not **haþilaz). In the reverse process, Proto-Germanic *þ was regularly hardened into t in Latin borrowings: Gothic *𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (*þiudareiks) > Latin Theodericus (pronounced as [tʰe.ɔ.dɛˈriː.kʊs] with a simple aspirated /t/).

Declension

Case	Singular	Plural
Nom.	fiþulǭ	fiþulōniz
Acc.	fiþulōnų	fiþulōnunz
Gen.	fiþulōniz	fiþulōnǫ̂
Dat.	fiþulōni	fiþulōmaz
Inst.	fiþulōnē	fiþulōmiz
Voc.	fiþulǭ	fiþulōniz

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Descendants

*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- vitula, vidula (Late Latin)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- *fithala (Old Dutch)
  - vedele, viedele, vedel (Middle Dutch)
    - vedel, veel (Dutch)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- *fiþele (Old English)
  - fithele, fedele, fedle, fethele, ffythil, ffythele, fieþle, fithel, fiþele, fydell, phetele, phethele, viþele (Middle English)
    - fiddle (English)
    - fiddle (Scots)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- *fithele, *fidele (Old Frisian)
  - Fiedel (Saterland Frisian)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- *fithele, *fidele (Old Frisian)
  - fidel, fitel (West Frisian)
    - fiteltsje (West Frisian)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- fidala, fidula (Old High German)
  - videle, fidele, fidel (Middle High German)
    - Fedel, Fiddel (Central Franconian)
    - Fiedel, Fidel (German)
    - פֿידל (fidl) (Yiddish)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- fidala, fidula (Old High German)
  - videle, fidele, fidel (Middle High German)
    - Fidel (Rhine Franconian)
      - Fiedel (Pennsylvania German)
*fiþulā (Proto-West Germanic)
- *fithala (Old Saxon)
  - vedele, vēdele, veddele, viddele, veddel, viddel (Middle Low German)
    - Fiedel (Low German)
    - Fiddel (Plautdietsch)
fiðla (Old Norse)
- fiðla (Icelandic)
- fele (Norwegian Bokmål)
- fidla, fela, fele (Norwegian Nynorsk)
fiðla (Old Norse)
- fithle (Old Danish)
  - fidel, fedel, fele, fejle (Danish)
fiðla (Old Norse)
- fiþla (Old Swedish)
  - fidla, fela, fejla (Swedish)

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