Cognate Set 5281 – Meaning: ant

IE-CoR reference form:
*maitan-
IE-CoR reference language:
Proto-Germanic
Ideophonic:
no
Parallel derivation:
no
Justification:
Germanic lexemes, generally considered a compound of Gmc. *ǣ- 'weg, fort' and the stem of the Germanic verb *maitan- 'schneiden', with a -jōn- suffix for forming a nomen agentis, cf. EWA 1:203-204, Kluge 2011:38, 613. Cf. Kroonen 2013:24 for alternative hypotheses for the reconstruction of the initial prefix.
Found in clades:
Germanic
Revised by:
Matthew Scarborough, Cassandra Freiberg
Found in 1 clade by 7 lexemes.
Language Lexeme Native script Phonetic Phonemic Notes
112   English ant ænt Middle English amte, Old English ǣmete.
122   German Ameise ˈʔaːmaɪzə ˈaːmaɪzə
114   Frisian eamelder ˈɪ.əməldər
123   German: Bernese Ameise ameɪsə ameɪsə
119   Old High German āmeiza ˈaːmei̯s̻a ˈaːmei̯s̻a
120   Middle High German âmeize ˈaːˌmei̯s̻ə ˈaːˌmei̯s̻ə
111   Old English ǣmette ˈæːmette ˈæːmette
References
  • Kluge, Friedrich: 38, 613
    S.v. NHG Ameise (MHG āmeize, OHG āmeiza), from West Germanic *ǣmaitjōn, also in OE æmete to *ǣ 'ab, weg', and *maita- 'schneiden' (cf. NHG Meißel 'Schneidwerkzeug' and 'scheiden, hauen' in Goth. maitan, OHG meizan'). The word is to be explained as 'die aus Abschnitten Bestehende', 'made up of (cut) sections'. Cf. similarly 'insect' from Lat. īnsecta, the substantivized past passive participle of Lat. īnsecāre (īnsectum) 'einschneiden, zerschneiden'.
  • Kroonen, Guus: 24, 349
    S.v. Proto-Germanic *amaitjō- 'ant' (OE ǣ̆mette, NE ant, OHG ā̆meiza, NHG Ameise 'id.'). Origin unclear. Usually assumed to be a compound with the root of the verb *maitan- 'to cut', but K. finds the derivation of the first element of the compound difficult. To continue this etymology with the verb 'to cut' he offers PGmc. PGmc. *uz-mai̯ti̯ō- 'out-cutter', or alternatively PGmc. *ēmō-mai̯ti̯ō- 'larva cutter' (with haplology) > *ēmataijō-. A third option he offers is the possibility of a substratum borrowing which might also be seen in Gk. μίδας 'destructive insect in beans'. Cf. s.v. Proto-Germanic *maitan- 'hew, cut', further etymology unclear.
  • Lehmann, Winfred P.: 241-242
    Cf. s.v. Goth. M12. maitan- 'κόπτω', 'cut, hew', of unclear etymology. Perhaps from PIE *may-(d-) 'strike, cut off' if to be connected with OIr. mael (w/ -lo- suffix), but doubtful. Further hypotheses dubious.
  • Lloyd, Albert L. and Springer, Otto: 203-204
    S.v. OHG âmeiza 'Ameise'. The word is probably a compound of the Proto-Germanic prefix *ǣ- 'weg, fort' and the stem of the Germanic verb *maitan- 'schneiden', with a -jōn- suffix for forming a nomen agentis *ǣmaitjōn 'die Abschneiderin', i.e. the insect that cuts up pieces of wood, leaves, and blades of grass.