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französischen dichter zu nennen und seine kritischen erörterungen zu reproduciren, als er nirgends ausgesprochen habe, dass der roman nicht sein werk, sondern die übersetzung eines französischen gedichtes sei. Es läge bei dieser auffassung nahe, den übersetzer eines litterarischen diebstahls zu beschuldigen. An ein absichtliches verschweigen ist indessen sicherlich nicht zu denken. Derselbe verfasser sagt in seiner übersetzung der Elis saga ok Rosamundu offen, dass es sich um eine übersetzung handle (vgl. meine ausgabe p. 116, 7 ff.). Aber auch in den anfangsworten der Tristrams saga (p. 5, 1 ff.) deutet die ausdrucksweise darauf hin.

p. 34 f. spricht Vetter über die von mir ausgesprochene ansicht, dass der verfasser des englischen gedichtes aus der erinnerung gearbeitet habe, und bemerkt dazu: Quelque séduisante que cette hypothèse puisse être, parce qu'elle offre une explication facile pour tous les passages où le,Sir Tristrem' n'est pas d'accord avec la version française, il faut pourtant la repousser peut-être, parce qu'il y a trop de passages, où la traduction anglaise correspond presque mot à mot au poème français ou à la Saga qui réprésente un ms. français. Das letztere factum lässt sich gewiss nicht leugnen, aber ich denke, dass namentlich zu einer zeit, wo es noch keine bücher gab, einzelne verse und versgruppen sehr wohl im gedächtniss haften bleiben konnten, während an anderen stellen die erinnerung an den zusammenhang verloren ging, wovon umstellungen ganzer abschnitte und selbständige zudichtungen die nothwendige folge waren.

Bei der erörterung der ersten fahrt Tristram's wundere ich mich, das von mir, Zur überl. p. LIV ff., ausführlich erörterte verhältniss zwischen G, E und S, welches die stellung des Thomas zu Berol-Eilhart so nahe angeht, ganz unerwähnt gelassen zu sehen.

p. 38: D'après la Saga et Sir Tristrem Brengain offre aux nouveaux mariés de ce philtre bien connu, le roi Marc en boit, mais la reine s'en abstient. Aber in E steht kein wort davon, dass der könig zu trinken verlangt habe. Dagegen ist die idee Vetter's ansprechend, und soviel ich weiss, neu, dass gerade aus dem genuss dieses trankes sich die schwäche des königs gegenüber der mit mehr oder weniger sicherheit nachgewiesenen untreue seiner gemahlin erklären lasse.

Zu p. 49, 4 ff., wo über die waffe gesprochen wird, durch welche Tr. tödtlich verwundet wird, vgl. Röttiger p. 12 f., der mit seiner erklärung von espe mir und Vetter gegenüber gewiss recht hat.

p. 52 freue ich mich die schon von mir für einen theil der erzählung behauptete grössere einheitlichkeit und geschlossenheit in der version des Thomas gegenüber Berol und Eilhart auf's neue betont zu sehen.

Auf die zuletzt (p. 53 ff.) von Vetter hervorgehobenen übereinstimmungen zwischen einer französischen prosa und Eilhart gehe ich nicht weiter ein, da diese frage meinen studien ferner liegt.

Von kleinen nachlässigkeiten im äusseren der Vetter'schen arbeit habe ich bemerkt p. 5, 13 fyrir, konunginum] Das komma ist zu streichen. P. II 1) 7: hunka] 1. hauka. p. 20 peut-être] 1. peut être. p. 22, I f. la reine et Ysolt] 1. Tristran et Ysolt. p. 49, 2: Ac an aruwe he bare Oway] 1. Ac an aruwe oway he bare.

Trotz der mancherlei einwendungen, die ich gegen einzelne behauptungen Vetter's zu erheben hatte, ist mir seine abhandlung als eine ergänzung und wenigstens meist bestätigung meiner resultate sehr willkommen gewesen. Auch

Röttiger hat durch eine anzahl treffender bemerkungen die schwierige untersuchung an einigen stellen gefördert.

Die unzugänglichkeit des Michel'schen textes hat gewiss bis jetzt manchen fachgenossen abgehalten, den in unseren arbeiten behandelten fragen näher zu treten. Möchte also Vetter's ausgabe der französischen fragmente beider versionen der sage nicht mehr lange auf sich warten lassen!

BRESLAU, dec. 1883.

E. Kölbing.

F. Kluge: Etymologisches wörterbuch der deutschen sprache. Strassburg, Karl J. Trübner. 1883. Pr. 10,50 mk.

A well-known American writer, Dr Wendell Holmes, has said in one of his early magazine articles: 'When I feel inclined to read poetry I take down my dictionary. The poetry of words is quite as beautiful as that of sentences. The author may arrange the gems effectively, but their shape and lustre have been given by the attrition of ages. Bring me the finest simile from the whole range of imaginative writing, and I will show you a single word which conveys a more profound, a more accurate, and a more eloquent analogy'. No student of language who has sought however feebly to penetrate the form of words and reach their spirit and essence, who has traced out in the case of even a few the gradual growth and development of meaning, will be inclined to dissent from the view here expressed, or to deny the possibility of the greatest intellectual pleasure being derived from the study of a dictionary. Yet he will probably add a certain qualification to his assent; he will contend that, in order to enjoy this pleasure, it is necessary either that the dictionary should be an exceptionally good one, or that the student should come to its perusal already possessing a considerable stock of knowledge. It is not given to all instinctively to feel the hidden poetry of words; for most men help is needed, if they are to picture to themselves the word in the various stages of its existence, to detect it under its manifold disguises, and to trace out the various modifications it has undergone in course of time. Such a help is now provided in Dr Fr. Kluge's Etymologisches wörterbuch, which in the comparatively small compass of 393 pages (excluding appended lists of Greek, Latin, Italian, French and English words discussed in the work) gives an astonishing amount of trustworthy and varied information.

Dr Kluge is particularly helpful and suggestive with regard to development of meaning in words. He shows, by many examples, how circumstances originally accidental are incorporated into the essential signification of words, and how another and entirely distinct meaning first grows up by the side of the original signification of a term and finally supplants it altogether. In treating words like beizen, messe, ort, rappe, zweck etc. he gives examples of the counter-movements of generalisation and specialisation, of the meaning changing from the obvious and 'sensible' to the more abstruse. In illustrating these processes he does not confine himself to German words only, but takes into consideration also their English or Romance equivalents; e. g. hund and hound, beizen and to bait a horse (to this might be added to bait a bear i. e. to make the dogs bite him), rauben and to rob and robe from the French (cf. O. N. gripr kostbarkeit and greifen) Instances of this kind might easily be multiplied: as bet in gebet and E. bead, orig. prayer,

now a perforated ball, so called because used for counting prayers (to tell one's beads), sometimes loosely used for anything round, as beads of perspiration; or satt and sad, glatt and glad, selig and silly, deftig and provinc. daft (in the slang sense of soft); for such changes of meaning in malam partem see albern, list, schlecht etc. Dr Kluge notices likewise the change of meaning brought about by a word being connected in the popular mind with another, with which it has really nothing to do, see schwierig, sucht, wahnsinn (cf. A. S. wan; E. wanton, to wane) etc.

But not in this respect alone is the dictionary before us deserving of all praise. Dr Kluge proves himself throughout a sound and careful etymologist, both when he discusses etymologies suggested by others and when he brings forward his own. In connexion with each word he states whether it is Indo-Europ., Teut., peculiar to the western branch of Teut. speech, or specially High G. (I should like to suggest that, for convenience of reference, this should be indicated in future editions by letters in brackets immediately after the word); if it is a loanword, it is traced to its source, and wherever it is possible, the time is determined, at which it was borrowed, and it is likewise mentioned whether by it a Teut. word was displaced (see: butter, kurz, pfeil etc.). Dr Kluge claims as Teut. many a word which has hitherto been looked upon as borrowed, e. g. böhnhase, eichhorn, falsch, kobold, hurtig (add. E. rath, in Milt. Lyc. 142 the rathe primrose, and rather), rad, sauber, wall, wanne, wüst, zart, zoll, E. kiln (Prof. Skeat = culina) etc. Whilst Prof. Curtius looks upon xávvaßis as borrowed from the East and its Teut. equivalent as a loanword from Lat., Kluge, basing his conclusions on the shifted consonants, maintains that Lat. cannot be the source whence the Teut. word was taken, but that the Teutons during their migration took it from the Scythians and the South-Europeans borrowed it independently from the same source. Dr Kluge claims leine as a Teut. derivative from lin, another instance of what he calls kulturwanderworte, whilst Prof. Skeat maintains the Lat. origin of the E. equivalent 'line' (Lat. linea does not mean richtschnur only, cf. Varro R. R. 1, 23, 6 nectere lineas restes funes). Dr Kluge sees in burg (E. also -bury, as in Canterbury, Bury) a Teut. word, belonging to the same root as bergen or berg, whilst Prof. Fick (Bezzenberger's beitr. 1, 60) compares núуos (for quoyo Hesych.) and quotes Od. 6, 262 to show, that it meant not merely tower, but fortification in a wider sense (cf. also Eur. Hec. 1209), and points to firmus for firg-mus. Dr Kluge objects to the identification of Pfalz and palatium on account of the n in the Ohg. pfalanza and connects it with Mlat. palantium 'murus, fastigium'; yet W. Wackernagel (Kl. schrift. 111, 302) gives several instances of n showing itself before z in loanwords from Lat., fischenze (piscatio), fochanza (focacia), astrenza (aristolochia). Dr Kluge takes note also of the words which have passed from German into the Romance languages; (the number of German words borrowed by E. is small, Prof. Skeat gives besides scientific terms: fugleman [flügelmann], maulstick [malerstock], plunder, poodle, swindler, waltz). There are everywhere instructive hints about the formation of words, e. g. of adjectives from old participles, see laut etc., of feminine singulars from plural forms of nouns, see schläfe, thräne, tücke, zähre (do not lefze (labra lèvre), binse, zwecke belong to the same class?'

Besides the carefully worked-out etymologies which are so invaluable to the student, Dr Kluge provides plenty of information of a less special kind for the

general reader. Scattered troughout the work are numerous interesting and suggestive remarks bearing on the history of civilization, and in the preface (XI pp.). Dr Kluge gives a sketch of the growth of the Germ. language, particularly in prehistoric times. A mention of a few of the chiefpoints may serve to prove its general interest.

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He enumerates the words in Germ. which have survived from

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neu,

the Indo-Eur. period the numerals up to a hundred, names for the degrees of relationship, for parts of the human body, for some of the domestic animals as well as one or two others (maus, wolf), and for a few trees and birds. The primitive Aryan seems to have taken heed of but few of the phenomena of nature, nacht, monat and sommer are the only words of their class to which we can assign an Indo-Eur. origin. His terminology too for moral notions is very limited (freund, feind, bitten, trügen etc.); it was only for the simplest and most natural activities and needs of man that words were coined (essen, decken, nackt, voll, dürr etc.). Dr Kluge traces then by the aid of language the gradual growth of civilization during the second period, i. e. after the breaking up of the Aryan nation and the migration of the Teutons from their original home (he still looks for this rather in Asia than in the Eastern parts of Europe), when the development of the Teut. language proper begins. He shows how the language was expanded to express the new ideas that were growing up, how in some cases new roots were coined, whilst in others old roots acquired new shades of meaning, e. g. Indo-Eur. root morto die, cf. mors, ẞoorós, acquired the meaning to murder (sterben A. S. steorfan, peculiar to the western branch in this sense, came into use in its stead, to be replaced in mod. E. by to die, to starve meaning now to suffer extreme hunger, or to kill with hunger and cold), or they disappear altogether or were continued only in isolated words, e. g. root gĭw and queck, keck. From such words as hanf Dr Kluge draws conclusions as to the course taken by the Teutons in their wanderings and as to the influence exercised on them by the strange races with whom they came into contact. He shows too from words like nähen, säen,mahlen, mähen, which he looks upon as borrowed by the Teutons from other Aryans, that there was still some intercourse between the various branches of the Aryan stock which had settled in Europe, cf. also reich. The relation of Slaves to Teutons is here only touched upon, as Dr Kluge treats it fully under: aar, barte (1), eibe, enkel (2), esche, lachs, lende, leute, quappe, rippe, strahl, stuhl, wecke (E. wedge and provinc. wig a kind of cake), wiebel etc. After alluding to the breaking up of Teutonic speech into a western and an eastern branch and giving some of the words peculiar to the western branch, Dr Kluge draws a picture of the early influence exercised by Roman culture on the German tribes, as evinced by the large number of Latin words which must have found their way into German before the second shifting of consonants took place; these prove that the intercourse across the border must have been brisk, and that the trade was not only an import but also an export trade (see flaum, kissen, pfühl; esp. seife cf. Mart. 8, 32; 14, 26. 27). Finally Dr Kluge sketches the spread of Christianity among the Germans; it came to them through the Goths, and with it such words of Greek origin as kirche, pfaffe, and probably engel, pfingsten, teufel; Gothic influence is also shown in such words as heide and taufen, and such Ohg. terms as wîh âtum for which was substituted heilag geist, probably as Raumer suggests through Anglosaxon missionaries (cf. also Heiland). All the terms introduced through missionaries of the Roman church

belong to a later period, i. e. to a time after the second shifting of consonants. We could have wished in this connexion that Dr Kluge had been more explicit about the etymology of the word Germanen; the preponderance of opinion is in favour of its being a Celtic word, but whether it means 'howlers' or 'neighbours' or as Prof. Sievers states in the Encycl. Brit. vol. X p. 515 'according to Tac. Germ. 2 it was originally the name of a Celtic tribe from which by some strange error of the Roman and Greek historians it has been transferred to the non-Celtic inhabitants of Germany' (a construction which the passage quoted does not seem to me to bear) is still an undecided question.

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Before concluding I should like to mention a few slight misprints and omissions, which I have noticed: E. angel for angle (p. 8), Christmass f. Christmas (p. 223), thank f. thanks (46), to snor f. to snore (301), wether f. whether (372), hweel f. wheel (262), werewolf f. werwolf (371). The following E. words might have been referred to: yellow-hammer (h through folk etymology) s. v. ammer, brief — a writ s. v. brief, drugs s. v. droge, to fret (showing the same syncope of the vowel in the prefix) s. v. fressen, luck s. v. glück, griffin s. v. greif, gruesome s. v. grausam, smooth s. v. geschmeidig, canister a case, a box s. v. knaster, lich in lichgate s. v. leiche, lunt s. v. lunte, palfrey s. v. pferd, scum s. v. schaum, sherd, shard s. v. scharte, to tread s. v. treten, vetch s. v. wicke. Buxom does not mean lüstern; it means healthy, brisk, comely, applied to a woman; chapman now pedlar or higgler, damp moisture, nick the devil (in the phrase Old Nick); groom is not 'jüngling', but servant, esp. used of men employed about horses; harvest means ernte and is only sometimes used in the sense of autumn (for which the provinc. term is 'the fall'), just as Schiller uses herbst in the sense of ernte. To throw drehen is still used as a technical term in silk manufacture; larum is short for alarum, cf. also alarm; it ought to be M. E. tarien instead of to tarry 'reizen'; in lime-tree Prof. Skeat sees a corruption of the earlier spelling line, which is itself a corruption for the older name lind; Prof. Skeat derives wormwood for ware-mood (A. S. wermôd) from werian and môd 'mind-preserver', the name pointing in his opinion to some primitive belief as to the curative properties of the plant in mental affections. Dr Kluge says s. v. arg: A. S. earg (not in E.); is it not arch? for the meaning the Finnic arka = pavidus, cautus might be referred to (W. Thomsen, übers. v. Sievers p. 131; likewise for arm S. V. barmherzig Finn. armas gratus, carus which in Prof. Leo Meyer's opinion developed from Goth. arms = ¿lɛɛivós) We have not found redlich in Kluge. Prof. Skeat looks upon freak as the same word as A. S. frec, turned into a noun, cf. and add sheen, orig. = schön, now a noun; s. v. befehlen add M. E. felen 'to hide', still used provinc. (feal in Halliwell) and E. to filch = to steal. Dr Sprenger gives an instance of nuss (2) from Mhg. (Bezzenberger's beitr. 1, 51) the Welsh equivalents coed, caled for heide, kalt are interesting on account of their meaning: wood hard. Dr Kluge terms some words Engl. which are either obsolete, such as arbalist, drake = dragon (I cannot find drake-fly or woosy; Jamieson gives to weese, to wooze 'to distill' and Wright has woos 'vapour'), to hip, therf, youngling or occur only in dialects, such as to bay (= to

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bend in Cumberland, Wright and in Westmoreland, Halliwell), crump (in Burns crummock a cow with crooked horns), hindberries or hineberries, lief, stang, shut the door, in Cumberland to shut up a pasture field till the grass grows again, Cumberl. Gl. E. D. S.), to tind (to teend,

to tine (in Lancashire tin th'dur

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