German Irrwisch ‘1. will-o’-the-wisp; 2. scamp, scallywag, imp’ and Polish urwis ‘scamp, scallywag, imp’.
German Irrwisch ‘1. will-o’-the-wisp; 2. scamp, scallywag, imp’ and Polish urwis ‘scamp, scallywag, imp’.

Summary/Abstract: Even if the derivation of the meaning ‘scamp, scallywag, imp’ < ‘will-o’-the-wisp’ is generally imaginable (albeit not self-evident) it is assumed here that this change is actually based on addition of a foreign meaning to a German one, rather than on semantic evolution.

• Details
• Contents