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

Etymology

Uncertain. 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”).
• 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”).

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)

1. pool, puddle
2. 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

• *dīkaną
• *dīkiją
• *dīkōną

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *dīk
  • Old English: dīċ
    • Middle English: dich
      • English: ditch (“trench, bank”)
  • >? Old English: dīc
    • 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”)
    • 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”) (influenced by Low German)
      • German: Teich (“pond”)
      • German: Deich (“dam”)
      • Yiddish: טײַך (taykh, “river”)