Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/225

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Lakritze, f., ‘licorice,’ from the equiv. late MidHG. lakerítze; from MidLat. liquirítia (the a in the first syllable of the G. word is due to the unaccented i), equiv. to Gr. γλυκύρριζα (with the modern pronunciation of the vowels). Words originally Gr. and used by medical science in the Middle Ages are preserved in Arzt, Büchse, Pflaster, Latwerge, &c.

lallen, vb., ‘to stammer,’ from MidHG. ‘to speak indistinctly, stammer’; the corresponding OIc. lalla, ‘to totter like a child walking,’ shows a curious figurative application of the word. Gr. λαλεῖν, Lat. lallâre, and HG. lallen are scarcely cognate; they are rather independent imitative words separately coined in each language.

Lambertsnuß, f., ‘filbert,’ instinctively connected by Germans with St. Lambert, but the historic term is lombardische Nuß, ‘Lombard nut’; MidHG. Lambardîe, Lombardîe, and Lámpart,’ ‘Lombardy, Italy.’ Comp. Walnuß.

Lamm, n., ‘lamb,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lamp (plur. lember), OHG. lamb (plur. lęmbir), n. It corresponds to Goth. lamb, AS. lomb, E. lamb, Du. lam, ‘lamb’; a prim. Teut. term which passed also into Finn. (lammas, gen. lampaan). Cognates in the non-Teut. languages have not yet been found.

Lampe, f., ‘lamp,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lampe, f., which is formed from Fr. lampe (Gr. λαμπάξ), whence also E. lamp. Comp. Ampel. —

Lampe, m., ‘hare,’ is probably a pet term for Lamprecht, Lantbrecht, Lambert; its relation to Fr. lapin, Du. lamprei, ‘rabbit,’ is obscure.

Lamprete, ‘lamprey,’ from MidHG. lamprête, also corrupted into lemfride, lantfride, &c. OHG. (lamprêta, formed from Lat. lamprêda (whence Fr. lamproie, E. lamprey), with the variant lampetra, lit. ‘stone-licker.’

Land, n., ‘land, country,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lant (d), OHG. lant (t), n.; a common Teut. word; comp. Goth. land, ‘district, estate, native country,’ OIc., AS., E., Du., and OSax. land, ‘country, land.’ To these are prim. allied Ir. land, lann, W. llan, Corn lan (from the primit. form *landhâ), ‘open space, area, small enclosure, yard,’ Bret. lan, ‘heath,’ as well as OSlov. lędina, ‘heath, uncultivated land’ (Russ. ljada, ljadina), with which Swed. dial. linda, ‘fallow field,’ agrees in the vowel sounds. Hence Land is native to the North of

Europe, while Acker has a far wider diffusion. The Rom. cognates, Ital. landa and Fr. lande, ‘heath, plain,’ are derived from Kelt. rather than from Teut.

lang, adj., ‘long,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lanc (g), OHG. (and OSax.) lang; it corresponds to AS. and E. long, Goth. laggs, OIc. langr, Du. and LG. lang. A common Teut. adj. primit. allied to Lat. longus; it also cognates, perhaps, with OPers. drânga, so that in Lat. and Teut. a dental (d or dh) may have been lost; Gr. δολιχός, OSlov. dlŭgŭ, Sans. dîrghás, ‘long,’ are certainly not allied. —

ModHG. langsam, adj., ‘slow,’ is one of the earliest forms ending in sam (in Goth. only lustusams, ‘delightful, longed for’); AS. longsum, ‘tedious, continuous,’ OSax. langsam. In OHG., besides langsam, ‘lasting a long time,’ there exists a form langseimi, ‘lingering,’ and in MidHG. lancsam, adj. and adv., ‘slow,’ as well as lancseime, ‘lingering, slow’; in ModHG. langseim became obsolete, and its meaning has been transferred to langsam.

Lanze, f., ‘lance,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lanze, f., which was formed from OFr. lance (Lat. lancea, comp. Ital. lancia).

Lappalie, f., ‘trifle, bauble, nonsense,’ ModHG. only, from ModHG. Lappe, with a Lat. termination and accent; comp. Schmieralien.

Lappen, Lappe, m., ‘rag, patch,’ from MidHG. lappe, f. and m.; OHG. lappa, f., ‘piece of stuff hanging loose, rag’; comp. AS. lœppa, ‘hem, lappet,’ E. lap, and Du. lap. The irregular correspondence of AS. pp to HG. pp is obscure (AS. pp ought to be pf in HG.). We may compare Gr. λοβός, ‘lobe,’ or preferably Lith. lópas, ‘patch, rag,’ lópyti, ‘to patch.’

läppisch, adj., ‘silly, foolish,’ ModHG. only, allied to MidHG. lappe, ‘dandy, simpleton,’ which is preserved in earlier HG., and still in the dial. Lappe; comp. Laffe.

Lärche, f., ‘larch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lęrche, larche; OHG. *larihha is by chance not recorded, but Lat. larix (acc. larĭcem, comp. Kelch from Lat. calicem) necessarily leads to OHG. *larik, and then by permutation and mutation to *lęrihha. The permutation of k to ch, and the fact that the word is based on a Lat. term pronounced larikem (E. larch), point to a very early adoption; comp. Kelch.

Lärm, m., ‘alarm, noise,’ ModHG. only; like E. larum, it originated in Fr.