Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/238

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Lic
( 216 )
Lie

leukos-, leuks-, as a double stem; comp. Sans. rocis, n., Zend raocaṇh (for *rocâs, ‘lustre, light.’ The Aryan root luk, by gradation leuk, has numerous derivatives, Sans. ruc (rôcâmi), ‘to give light,’ rukmá-s, adj., ‘glittering,’ subst. ‘jewels,’ rôká-s, m., rôcaná, n., ‘light’; Gr. λευκός, adj. ‘white,’ ἀμφιλύκη, ‘morning twilight’; Lat. lucerna, lûceo, lux, lucidus, lûna, lûmen, diluculum; OIr. lóche (t), ‘lightning,’ lón, ‘lustre’; OSlov. luča, ‘ray,’ luna, f., ‘moon.’ In Teut. there are also other derivatives of the Aryan root luk; comp. Leuchte, licht, adj., Lohe and Luchs, as well as Goth. lauhmuni, f., ‘lightning,’ lauhatjan, ‘to give light’; OIc. ljóme, AS. leóma, OSax. liomo, m. ‘lustre’; AS. lêgetu, MidE. leit, ‘lightning,’ and OHG. lôhazzen, ‘to lighten’; comp. also Luchs. With Sans. rukšá, Zend raokšna, adj., ‘bright,’ Pruss. lauksnos, f., plur., ‘stars,’ and OIc. ljós, ‘light,’ are also connected OHG. liehsen, adj., ‘bright,’ and AS. lîxan, ‘to give light.’

lichten, vb., ‘to lighten, weigh (anchor),’ ModHG. only; MidHG. lüften, ‘to raise aloft, lift up, air,’ as well as E. to lift, are unconnected with this word. Lichten, as a nautical term, is borrowed from LG. lichten, lit. ‘to make light,’ then ‘to lift up.’

Lid, in Augenlid, n., from MidHG., lit(t), n., ‘lid’ (espec. of a vessel), OHG. lit, earlier hlit, n.; corresponding to AS. hlid, n., ‘lid, door,’ E. lid; OIc. hliþ, n., ‘gate.’ ‘Eyelid’ in Ic. is augnalok, n., lit. ‘eye-lock’; in MidE. also eielid, E. eyelid (MidHG. ougelit), and hence the term, like Augapfel, is common both to G. and E. hlid, ‘lock-up, lid,’ is connected with an old verbal stem, OSax. and AS. hlîdan, ‘to cover, lock up.’

lieb, adj., ‘dear, esteemed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. liep (inflected lieber), OHG. liob (inflected liobêr). It corresponds to Goth. liufs (b), AS. leóf, E. lief, adj., Du. lief, OIc. ljúfr; a common Teut. adj. with the general meaning ‘dear’; it is regularly derived from pre-Teut. *léubho-, which is accurately represented by OSlov. ljubŭ (Aryan root leubh, by gradation lubh). An OAryan adj. for ‘dear’ (Sans. priyá-s) was changed in meaning at an early period in Teut. (see frei) and supplanted by lieb; ModHG. and MidHG. lieben, OHG. liubôn, ‘to love’; to this is allied AS. lufian, E. to love, with a weaker vowel stage of the root (AS. lufu, equiv. to E. love). Since HG. Lob, geloben, erlauben, glauben belong to

the same Teut. root lub, by gradation leub (pre-Teut. lubh, leubh), we must assign to the latter a wider meaning, something like ‘pleasure’ and ‘approbation’; Sans. lubh, ‘to demand violently,’ Lat. lŭbens, libens, ‘with pleasure, willingly,’ lŭbet, ‘it pleases, is agreeable,’ lŭbîdo, libîdo, ‘pleasure, longing, desire.’ With these perhaps the common Teut. word lustus, equiv. to Lust, is also connected.

Liebstöckel, n. and m., ‘lovage,’ even in MidHG. liebstuckel, usually, however, lübestecke, m., which is based on Lat. ligusticum (whence the equiv. Ital. levistico, Fr. livèche). The unintelligible Lat. form was corrupted in the Middle Ages in the most varied ways; AS. lufestice is also based on AS. lufu, love’ OHG. lubistëchal, MidHG. lübestecke seem to be formed in allusion to OHG. luppi, MidHG. lüppe, ‘juice of a plant producing strong effects’ (see Lab).

Lied, n., from the equiv. MidHG. liet(d), OHG. liod, n., ‘song’ (Goth. *liuþ, n., may be inferred from liuþareis, m., ‘singer,’ and liuþân, ‘to sing praises’); comp. Du. lied, AS. leóþ, n., ‘song.’ The Teut. term for poetical productions, such as existed far earlier than the time of Tacitus (comp. “carmina antiqua,” Germania, 2). Poetry flourished long before the adoption of the letters of the runic alphabet, which was derived from the Lat.

liederlich, adj., ‘dissolute,’ from MidHG. liederlich, adj., ‘light, pretty, trifling, frivolous’ (not recorded in OHG.). AS. lŷþre, adj., ‘miserable, bad,’ points to *liuþrs. To this is doubtlessly allied lotter- in compounds pointing to a Goth. *ludrs. Probably Gr. ἐλεύθερος, ‘free,’ like the Teut. words, may be traced to a root leuth. Lüderlich for liederlich is a recent form of the adj. connecting it with Luder (MidHG. luoder).

liefern, vb., ‘to deliver, furnish, supply,’ first occurs in early ModHG., formed from MidLat. liberare, ‘dare, praebere’ (Fr. livrer).

liegen, vb., ‘to lie, be situated,’ from the equiv. MidHG. ligen, licken, OHG. licken, ligen, str. vb.; corresponding to Du. liggen, AS. ličǧan, E. to lie (ligjan, lag, legans, was the orig. gradation, but Goth. ligan in the pres.); the common Teut. vb. for liegen, which has numerous cognates in Aryan (root legh). Comp. Gr. λέκτρον, λέχος, n., ‘bed,’ ἄλοχος, ‘bed-fellow, wife,’ also λεχώ, ‘woman in childbed,’ λοχέω, ‘to give birth to’; λόχος, ‘lying in wait, am-