Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/100

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a to o may be due to LG. (comp. Aberglaube, Adebar), as in anfachen, from Lat. focare.

Fackel, f., ‘torch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vackele, vackel, OHG. facchala, f.; comp. AS. fœcele, f., ‘torch,’ with the abnormal variant þœcele, f. It is usually regarded as a loan-word from Lat. facula, (dimin. of fax). The sounds, however, point with greater probability to a genuinely Teut. word, which was perhaps connected with Lat. facula; Du. fakkel, f., has ck, like the HG. word, in contrast to AS. c; the vowels too of the AS. stem and derivative syllable tell in favour of a genuinely native word; likewise OHG. rôrea gafaclita, ‘reed shaken to and fro by the wind.’

Faden, m., ‘thread, file, shred,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vaden, vadem, OHG. fadam, fadum, m.; Goth. *faþms is wanting. Comp. OSax. fathmos, ‘both arms stretched out,’ AS. fœþm, ‘both arms distended, embrace, protection, bosom,’ E. fathom (a measure), OIc. faðmr, ‘both arms, bosom.’ Consequently the primary sense is ‘encompassing with both arms,’ which could be adopted as a measure (see Klafter); hence the use of ‘fathom’ as a measure in Eng., Scand., LG., Du., and also in ModHG. (adopted from LG. and Du.). The ModHG. meaning ‘thread’ is a recent development; its lit. sense is ‘as much yarn as can be measured with the arms stretched out.’ The primary sense, ‘encompassing,’ results from Goth. faþa, f., MidHG. vade, f., ‘hedge, enclosure.’ The base of the cognates is a Teut. root, feþ, faþ, pre-Teut. pet, pot, which accords with the Gr. πετ in πετάννυμι, ‘to spread out,’ πέταλος, ‘outspread, broad, flat’; Lat. patere, ‘to stand open,’ is even more remote.

fähig, ‘capable, competent, able,’ from fangen.

fahl, adj., ‘dun, fawn-coloured, pale,’ from MidHG. val (gen. wes), adj., ‘pallid, discoloured, faded, yellow, fair,’ OHG. falo (nom. falawêr); comp. OSax. falu, AS. fealo (gen. fealwes), E. fallow, OIc. fǫlr, ‘pallid, pale’; comp. falb. Allied primit. to Lat. palleo, ‘to be pallid,’ pallidus, ‘pallid,’ Gr. πολιός (suffix ιο as in δεξιός, Goth. taihs-wa) ‘grey,’ OSlov. plavŭ, ‘whitish,’ Lith. pàlvas, ‘tawny,’ Sans. palita-s, ‘grey.’ By this interpretation of the cognates the ch of UpG. falch, ‘cow or horse of fawn colour,’ gefalchet, ‘fallow,’ remains unexplained; these suggest a connection with Falke. The cognates, Ital. falbo, Fr. fauve (comp.

also braun, blond, blau), are derived from Teut.

fahnden, vb., ‘to inform against,’ from MidHG. vanden, OHG. fânton, ‘to visit’; comp. OSax. fandian, AS. fandian, ‘to test, beseech, demand’; probably from a root fenþ in finden (comp. Du. vanden, ‘to visit a woman in childbed’).

Fahne, f. (mas. in UpG.), ‘banner, flag, standard, squadron,’ from MidHG. vane, van, m. ‘flag, banner’; in this sense OHG. has the compound gundfano, m., since fano most frequently means ‘cloth’ (comp. ougafano, ‘veil,’ halsfano, ‘neckcloth’); allied to Goth. fana, ‘cloth, stuff, rag,’ AS. fana and gûþfana, m., ‘standard, banner,’ E. fane, vane, Du. vaan, ‘flag.’ The Teut. fanan, pre-Teut. pano-n-, has in the wider sphere of the Aryan languages many cognates which also point to the general and older meaning, ‘stuff, cloth’; Lat. pannus, ‘small piece of cloth, rag,’ OSlov. o-pona, ‘curtain,’ ponjava, f., ‘sail.’ Akin also perhaps to Gr. πῆνος, n., ‘garment,’ πηνίον, ‘spool, spindle.’ An Aryan verbal root, pen, appears in OSlov. pĭną (pęti), ‘to span, hang.’ The OTeut. gunþfano, ‘standard,’ was adopted with the meaning ‘flag’ by Romance (comp. Fr. gonfalon, Ital. gonfalone), while the simple form in Romance retained at different times the earlier and general meaning (comp. OFr. and ModFr. fanon, ‘rag, towel, fanon (of a priest).’ —

Fähndrich, Fähnrich, ‘cornet, ensign,’ like Gänserich, first formed in ModHG. from the shorter MidHG. word; comp. MidHG. vęnre (the ModHG. d is excrescent, as in schaudern, minder), OHG. faneri, m., ‘standard-bearer.’

Fähre, f., from the equiv. MidHG. vęre, vęr, f., n., ‘ferry’; comp. Du. veer (E. ferry is borrowed from OIc. ferja, f., ‘ferry’). Also akin to OHG. farm, MidHG. varm, ‘skiff, ferry,’ and OHG. fęrid, n., ‘navigium'; like Ferge, connected with fahren. See Praam.

fahren, vb., ‘to drive, convey, sail,’ from MidHG. varn, OHG. faran, ‘to move from one place to another, go, come’; corresponds to Goth. (rare) faran, ‘to wander, march,’ OSax. and AS. faran, ‘to proceed, march,’ E. to fare, OIc. fara, ‘to move’ (of any kind of motion). The root far in Goth. farjan (OHG. fęrian, MidHG. vęrn) means ‘to go by ship,’ and is therefore connected with the nouns mentioned under Fähre. The primary meaning of the Teut.