Old Icelandic gná
Old Icelandic gná
Author(s): Václav BlažekSubject(s): Language studies, Semantics
Published by: Lietuvių Kalbos Institutas
Keywords: theonym; word formation; semantics; etymology;
Summary/Abstract: In the article the Old Icelandic theonym Gná is analyzed from the point of view of semantics, word formation, etymology, and semantic typology. Taking in account the partial results, the following hypothesis was formulated: the theonym Gná may reflect proto-Germanic *gnō or *gnaihō, which seems to be a lost Germanic continuation of the Indo-European appellative *dh ĝh meH2- “earthˮ or its derivative *dh ĝh meH2ikeH2- “belonging to the earthˮ. The theonyms designating the earth deities formed from the stem *dh ĝh em- appear in nine Indo-European traditions. The analyzed Germanic theonym can represent the tenth tradition.
Journal: Acta Linguistica Lithuanica
- Issue Year: 2019
- Issue No: 80
- Page Range: 9-16
- Page Count: 8
- Language: English
