*ēlaz

Runic: ᛖᛚᚨᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈɛː.lɑz/

noun · masculine · a-stem

Meanings

eel

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from a substrate. (Kroonen 2013) tentatively compares *ēlō (‘awl’) and *alaz (‘awl’). (Katz 2005) posits a possible Proto-Indo-European root *Heh₃l- (‘to bow, bend’) as an etymon, linking the eel’s physical, undulating motion. It shares an ancestral lineage with words for physical joints, such as the PIE root for ‘elbow’. He also posits *h₂elh₂-(‘to wander, roam’), highlighting its migratory, elusive nature, which vanishes down rivers to spawn in the deep sea.

Declension

Case	Singular	Plural
Nom.	ēlaz	ēlōz, ēlōs
Acc.	ēlą	ēlanz
Gen.	ēlas, ēlis	ēlǫ̂
Dat.	ēlai	ēlamaz
Inst.	ēlō	ēlamiz
Voc.	ēl	ēlōz, ēlōs

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Descendants

*āl (Proto-West Germanic)
- *āl, ael (Old Dutch)
  - ael (Middle Dutch)
    - aal (Dutch)
      - aal (Afrikaans)
*āl (Proto-West Germanic)
- ǣl (Old English)
  - el, eel, ele, hele, iel, yele (Middle English)
    - eel (English)
    - eel (Scots)
*āl (Proto-West Germanic)
- ēl (Old Frisian)
  - Äil (Saterland Frisian)
  - iel (West Frisian)
*āl (Proto-West Germanic)
- āl (Old High German)
  - āl (Middle High German)
    - Aal (German)
    - Ool (Rhine Franconian)
*āl (Proto-West Germanic)
- āl (Old Saxon)
  - âl, êl (Middle Low German)
    - Aal (Low German)
áll (Old Norse)
- állur, álur (Faroese)
- áll (Icelandic)
- ål (Norwegian)
áll (Old Norse)
- āl, aal (Old Danish)
  - ål (Danish)
áll (Old Norse)
- āl (Old Swedish)
  - ål (Swedish)

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