Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/75

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origin of Scand. dúnn is obscure. See Eider, Flaum.

Daus, n., ‘deuce (of dice), ace (of cards),’ from MidHG. dûs, tûs, with the same meanings; late OHG. dûs. From a Rom. word originating in the Lat. duo; OFr. dous (ModFr. deux, Prov. duas, from Lat. *duos for duo), whence E. deuce. Dice-playiug was a favourite amusement even among the Teutons described by Tacitus (Germ. 24); unfortunately, however, we can gather nothing from his brief remarks as to the details and technical terms (but see gefallen, Hund, Sau) of the OTeut. game; this words died out at an early period, and with the new games from the South new Rom. words have been introduced. See Aß, Treff, doppeln.

Dechant, m., ‘dean,’ from MidHG. dëchent, tëchant(d), MidHG. and OHG. tëchân from Lat. dĕcânus, whence also Ital. decano, Fr. doyen (E. dean).

Decher, m., ‘a tale of ten hides,’ from the equiv. MidHG. tëcker, dëcher, m. n.; borrowed by MidHG. from Lat. decuria.

Decke, f., ‘cover, ceiling, disguise,’ from MidHG. dęcke, f., ‘cover, covering, covering up’; OHG. dęchî, related to the following word.

decken, vb., ‘to cover, screen,’ from the equiv. ModHG. dęcken, OHG. dęcchan; the latter (with cch- from kj) from *þakjan, which was most likely the Goth. form; comp. AS. þęccan (obsolete in E.); OIc. þekja, ‘to cover.’ þakjan is a deriv. of the Aryan root teg (discussed under Dach), which appears with the same meaning in Lat. tegere, Gr. σ-τέγεω, Sans. sthagâmi. A str. vb. þekan corresponding to tego, στέγω, is is nowhere recorded within the Teut. group; the wk. vb. has assumed its function.

deftig, adj., ModHG. only, from LG. destig; the latter, with E. daft, AS. gedœft, ‘mild, meek, gentle’ (Goth. gadaban, ‘to be fitting’), and perhaps with HG. tapfer, is derived from a Teut. root dab, dap. See tapfer.

Degen (1.), m., ‘valiant warrior’; it is not etymologically a sort of figurative sense of Degen (2.), though the tendency of ModHG. is to regard it thus, in such expressions as alter Haudegen, ‘a practised swordsman,’ &c. While Degen, ‘sword,’ first appears in the 15th cent., Degen, ‘hero,’ is an OTeut. word, which is wanting in Goth. (*þigns) only. Comp. OHG. dëgan, AS. þëgn, ‘retainer, attendant,’ E. thane (from

þegn); MidHG. dëgen, ‘hero.’ There is to phonetic difficulty in connecting these cognates (Goth. þigna-, from teknó-), as is usually done, with Gr. τέκνον, ‘child’; the difference in sense may be paralleled by AS. magu, ‘boy, son, servant, man.’ But since þëgn was already an established technical term in the OTeut. system, we must in preference regard ‘vassal’ as the primary sense of the word. We have too in Goth. þius (stem þiwa-) for þigwá-, ‘servant, attendant’ (AS. þeó, þeów, OHG. diu; see Dirne and dienen), a more suitable connecting link. Moreover, þëgn, Degen, would, if cognate with τέκνον, be related to τίκτω, ‘to give birth to,’ τοκεύς, ‘begetter,’ τόκος, ‘birth,’ and Sans. takman, ‘child.’

Degen (2.), m., ‘sword,’ first occurs in late MidHG. see Degen (1.); from Fr. dague, ‘dirk.’

dehnen, vb., ‘to stretch, extend, lengthen,’ from MidHG. and OHG. denen, dennen, wk. vb., ‘to stretch, draw, strain’; comp. Goth. ufþanjan, ‘to extend’; AS. þenian, þennan, ‘to stretch.’ The Goth. þanjan is a deriv. of a str. vb. *þënan, like þakjan, ‘to cover,’ from a str. vb. *þëkan (Lat. tego); þanja and þëna are primit. cognate with Gr. τείνω. The root ten is widely diffused in the Aryan group. Sans. root tan, ‘to strain, widen, extend (of time), endure’; tántu-s, m., ‘thread,’ tánti-s, f., ‘line, rope’; Gr. τείνω, τάνυμαι, τάσις, τένων, ‘sinew,’ ταινία, ‘strip’; OSlov. teneto, tonoto, ‘cord,’ Lat. tenus, ‘cord,’ Lith. tìnklas, ‘net.’ The idea of extension is shown also by the root ten (Lat. teneo, tendo) in an old Aryan adj.; see dünn and Dohne. A figurative sense of the same root is seen in donnern; the evolution of meaning may be ‘extension—sound—noise.’

Deich, m., ‘dike’; MidHG. tîch, m.; since the HG. word would, according to phonetic laws, begin with t, we must suppose that it has been influenced, like Dampf perhaps, by LG.; comp. LG. dîk, Du. dijk, AS. dîc, E. dike. Respecting their identity with HG. Teich and E. dike (‘a ditch’), see Teich.

Deichsel (1.), f. ‘pole, thill, shaft,’ from the equiv. MidHG. dîhsel, OHG. dîhsala, f.; comp. OIc. þísl, AS. þîxl, þîsl, Du. dissel, OLG. thîsla, f. It has no connection with E. thill, which is related rather to ModHG. Diele. A word peculiar to the Teut. dialects, and of obscure origin; perhaps Lat. témo, ‘pole, shaft,’ is primit. allied (if it represents