Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/dīkaz

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Alternative forms

*dīkô^[1]

Etymology

Uncertain.^[1] Two Indo-European etymologies are plausible:

From Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stick, stab, dig”). Cognate with Latin fīgō (“pierce, pin, fasten, fix”), Lithuanian díegti (“to plant, implant, ingraft, prickle, stab”).^[1]
From pre-Germanic *dīkkô ~ *dīkkaz with regular reduction, via Kluge's law from a Proto-Indo-European n-stem *dʰeyǵʰ-n-, gen. *dʰeyǵʰ-nó-, from *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to form”).^[2]

Importantly, the former assumes an original meaning *“something dug out; ditch”, while the latter assumes *“something constructed”.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.kɑz/

Noun

*dīkaz m(West Germanic)

pool, puddle
earthwork: ditch, dyke, dam^?

Inflection

masculine a-stemDeclension of *dīkaz (masculine a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*dīkaz	dīkōz, dīkōs
vocative	*dīk	dīkōz, dīkōs
accusative	*dīką	*dīkanz
genitive	dīkas, dīkis	*dīkǫ̂
dative	*dīkai	*dīkamaz
instrumental	*dīkō	*dīkamiz

Derived terms

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *dīk
- Old English: dīċ^[3]
  - Middle English: dich
    - English: ditch (“trench, bank”)
- >? Old English: dīc^[4]
  - Middle English: dic, dik (“trench, embankment”) (possibly influenced by or borrowed from Old Norse díki, Middle Dutch dijc)
    - Scots: dike, dyke
    - English: dike (“levee”)
- Old Frisian: dīk
  - North Frisian: dijck
  - Saterland Frisian: Diek
  - West Frisian: dyk
- Old Saxon: dīk (“levee, pond”)
  - Middle Low German: dîk
    - German Low German: Diek
    - → German: Deich (“dam”)
    - → Estonian: tiik (“pond”)
- Old Dutch: dīc (“levee, wall”)^[5]
  - Middle Dutch: dijc
    - Dutch: dijk
      - Afrikaans: dyk
    - → Old French: diic, dike
      - Middle French: digue
        French: digue
        → Irish: díog (“trench”)
- Old High German: tīh (“dam”)
  - Middle High German: tīch, dīch (“small dry valley, dam, pond”)^[6]^[7] (influenced by Low German)
    - German: Teich (“pond”)
    - German: Deich (“dam”)^[8]
    - Yiddish: טײַך (taykh, “river”)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Vladimir Orel (2003) “*đīkōn ~ *đīkaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 72
^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*dīka-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 95
^ “dyke, noun.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, April 2024.
^ “ditch, noun.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, April 2024.
^ van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “dijk”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “25”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 911: “Teich”
^ Wolfgang Pfeifer, editor (1993), “Teich”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen (in German), 2nd edition, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, page 2
^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “25”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 186: “Deich”

[HGE-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Vladimir Orel (2003) “*đīkōn ~ *đīkaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 72

[2] Guus Kroonen (2013) “*dīka-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 95

[3] “dyke, noun.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, April 2024.

[4] “ditch, noun.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, April 2024.

[5] van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “dijk”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

[6] Friedrich Kluge (1989) “25”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 911: “Teich”

[7] Wolfgang Pfeifer, editor (1993), “Teich”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen (in German), 2nd edition, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, page 2

[8] Friedrich Kluge (1989) “25”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 186: “Deich”

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