Balg 1887: 21. The word is used in Gothic both in the meaning of 'totus, whole' (cf. Mtth. 5:29: allata leik þein "all of your body" [Ulfilas 1896: 4]) and 'omnis, every(one)' (cf. Mtth. 9:35: bitauh Iesus baurgs allos "Jesus walked around all the towns" [Ulfilas 1896: 12]).
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 16; Zoega 1910: 10; De Vries 1962: 7. Used both in the meaning of 'totus, whole' (in the sg. form all-r) and in the meaning of 'omnis, every(one)' (in the pl. form all-ir).
Haraldsson 1996: 63; Berkov 1962: 39. Used both in the meaning of 'totus, whole' (in the sg. form allur) and in the meaning of 'omnis, every(one)' (in the pl. form allir).
Young & Clewer 1985: 10. Used both in the meaning of 'totus, whole' (in the sg. form allur) and in the meaning of 'omnis, every(one)' (in the pl. form allir).
Balg 1887: 39. Fem. gender; stem in -n-. Cf. Mtth. 11:21: airis þau in sakkau jah azgon idreigodedeina "they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes" [Ulfilas 1896: 14].
Young & Clewer 1985: 31. Neuter gender. The masculine form børk-ur [Young & Clewer 1985: 74] is marked as "rare" in the meaning 'bark', but "common" in the meaning 'skin (on boiled milk, paint, varnish and the like)'.
Balg 1887: 528. Fem. gender. Most of the contexts refer to the semantics of 'womb' (referring primarily to the Mother of God), but there are a few passages that confirm the general meaning 'belly' as well, cf. Mk. 7:19: ni galeiþiþ imma in hairto, ak in wamba "it does not enter in his heart, but in his belly" [Ulfilas 1896: 32], etc.
It is somewhat hard to establish the difference between wamb-a and its quasi-synonym qiþus, glossed in [Balg 1887: 229] as 'womb; stomach'. The latter, however, never translates Greek κοιλια 'belly', and is at least once encountered in the precise meaning 'stomach' (body organ rather than body part), cf. I Tim. 5:23: weinis leitil brukjais in qiþaus þeinis "take a little wine for your stomach" [Ulfilas 1896: 204]. It may, therefore, be surmised that wamba referred primarily to the inside part of the body (which is the required Swadesh meaning', whereas qiþus had the polysemous semantics of 'womb / stomach' ('organ inside the belly').
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 364; Zoega 1910: 254; De Vries 1962: 338. Masculine gender. Polysemy: 'belly / womb'. Distinct from magi [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 408], which is predominantly 'stomach' or 'maw', and from vɔmb [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 722] which seems to be a "vulgar" equivalent of 'belly' (Cleasby: "mostly in a low sense, especially of beasts"). Overall, there is some significant contextual overlap between all the three words, but the underlying opposition of 'belly ~ womb', 'stomach', and 'belly (vulg.)' seems to suggest kvið-r as the most eligible candidate (contra [Bergsland & Vogt 1962: 117], where 'belly' is still rendered as magi, whereas kvið-r is glossed as 'less inclusive; womb' - this judgement is not supported well by the data in Cleasby's dictionary, but, perhaps, a more detailed scrutiny is required).
Haraldsson 1996: 191; Berkov 1962: 382. Distinct from magi 'stomach' [Berkov 1962: 430] (also used in contexts of 'stomach ache'); from vömb 'belly' (vulgar equivalent) [Berkov 1962: 875].
Faroese:buːk-ʋr {búkur}3
Young & Clewer 1985: 67. Meaning glossed as 'abdomen, stomach, belly; waist; (ballad) body'. The partial synonym magi [Young & Clewer 1985: 372], glossed as 'stomach, belly', seems to be primarily referring to 'stomach' as an organ or to the interior part of the belly. Cf. also kviður 'abdomen, stomach' [Young & Clewer 1985: 327], although this word is never given as the default Faroese equivalent for 'belly' in any of the sources. On the whole, this seems like one of the very few Swadesh items to reflect a lexicostatistical difference between Icelandic and Faroese.
Arakin 2000: I, 520; Berkov 2006: 229. "Traditional Bokmål": màve (Danish-influenced form). Polysemy: 'belly / stomach'. Distinct from buk 'belly (of animal)', used also of persons in a vulgar sense [Arakin 2000: I, 146; Berkov 2006: 229].
Krymova et al. 2000: 418; Harrit & Harrit 2002: 105. Polysemy: 'stomach / belly / bowels'. Another synonym is bug [Krymova et al. 2000: 103], usually seen as a more vulgar (and statistically less frequent) equivalent (see the same situation carried over to Bokmål Norwegian). The word abdomen, listed as another equivalent for 'belly' in [Harrit & Harrit 2002: 105], is a specialized anatomical term.
Marklund-Sharapova 2007a: 436; Marklund-Sharapova 2007b: 154. Polysemy: 'stomach / belly'. Definite form: mag-e-n. Plural: mag-ar. Another synonym is buk [Marklund-Sharapova 2007a: 95], but it seems to be confined to the "vulgar" register, as in Danish.
Haraldsson 1996: 38; Berkov 1962: 709. Cf. also mikill 'big' [Berkov 1962: 448]. In Old Norse (cf. notes) the semantic difference between mikill and storr is still rather smudged, but in Modern Icelandic stór seems to have firmly stabilized as the default "neutral" equivalent, whereas mikill is used more generally in the abstract sense ('great', 'important', etc.). That said, this is a situation of lexical replacement from Proto-Germanic to Modern Icelandic rather than to Old Norse, where the old word is still competing with the new one.
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 596; Zoega 1910: 411; De Vries 1962: 551. The difference between mikill and stoːrr in Old Norse texts is difficult to formalize; overall, from a historical point of view it seems that we are dealing with a case of "transit synonymy", where the original word (mikill) is gradually shifting to the marked ("magnificative") meaning 'great', replaced by the new word (stoːrr) in the basic (neutral) meaning 'big'. However, it cannot be stated with certainty at which precise chronological point the transition was already complete (or, at least, requires very detailed textual research); therefore, we include both words as "quasi-synonyms".
Balg 1887: 50. Attested in just a single context, but quite reliable, since it translates Greek δακνω 'to bite': Galat. 5:15: iþ jabai izwis misso beitiþ jah fairinoþ "and if you keep biting and accusing each other..." [Ulfilas 1896: 169].
Balg 1887: 415. Attested only once, but in a reliable passage, Mtth. 5:36: ni magt ain tagl hweit aiþþau swart gataujan "you cannot make a single hair white or black". A derived noun is also attested in II Cor. 3:3: swart-izl 'ink (= that which is black)' [Ulfilas 1896: 415].
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 607; Zoega 1910: 419; De Vries 1962: 565. This seems to have been the most basic and neutral equivalent for 'black' in Old Norse. Much less eligible for inclusion are: (a) blakk-r (cf. in [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 67]: "svartr ... represents the Lat. niger; while blakkr corresponds to the Lat. ater 'dead or dusky black'"), translated as 'black, dun-coloured' in [Zoega 1910: 56] and as 'pale; yellow-brownish (of horses)' in [De Vries 1962: 42]; and (b) blaːr, translated as 'dark blue, livid' [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 68] (applied to lead, among other things); 'blue, livid; black' in [Zoega 1910: 57]; 'blue, dark, black' in [De Vries 1962: 42]. Both of these adjectives seem to refer to various dark shades of color, but not to the proverbial 'black' as such.
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 69; Zoega 1910: 59; De Vries 1962: 44. Neuter gender. Distinct from the somewhat more specialized word dreyri, defined in [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 106] as "blood, esp. gore; properly 'blood oozing out of the wound'" (corresp. to Latin cruor rather than sanguis); as "blood, gore" in [Zoega 1910: 95].
Not attested (all of the Evangelical passages in which the word 'bone' is used are missing from the existing manuscripts).
Old Norse:bein1
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 55; Zoega 1910: 45; De Vries 1962: 30. Neuter gender. Polysemy: 'bone / leg (from the knee to the foot)' (according to Cleasby, the latter meaning is very rare in Icelandic texts).
Icelandic:bɛi̯ːn {bein}1
Haraldsson 1996: 298; Berkov 1962: 66. Neuter gender. Distinct from leggur 'shank; bone (of arm or leg)' [Berkov 1962: 401].
Faroese:baiːn {bein}1
Young & Clewer 1985: 34. Neuter gender. Polysemy: 'leg / limb / bone / dead body, corpse (pl.)'. Additional synonym: knota 'bone, ossicle' [Young & Clewer 1985: 309]. Various contexts and sources show that the old word bein is still the default equivalent for the Swadesh meaning.
Bokmal Norwegian:bɛi̯n {bein} ~ bɛːn {ben}1
Arakin 2000: I, 90; Berkov 2006: 355. Definite form: be(i)n-et. The orthographic variant ben is marked as "traditional Bokmål" in [Berkov 2006] (i. e. identified as a Danish-influenced form), while the "standard" form is given as bein, reflecting a more colloquial Norwegian pronunciation. However, [Arakin 2000] clearly identifies the "default" Bokmål variant as ben. Clearly a mixed situation here; we list both variants as primary.
Danish:knˈɔɣl-ǝ {knogle}-1
Krymova et al. 2000: 336; Harrit & Harrit 2002: 160. Definite form: knogl-en. The situation here is complex: most modern dictionaries give two equivalents for the meaning 'bone' - the German borrowing knogle as well as the older ben [Krymova et al. 2000: 67]. However, analysis of various contexts shows that the main meaning of ben in modern Danish is undeniably 'leg'; in the meaning 'bone' it is usually only encountered in bound expressions, compounds, as well as the secondary meaning 'bone (material)' rather than 'bone (part of skeleton)'. It seems safe to assume that ben is no longer truly eligible for inclusion on the Swadesh wordlist and should be replaced by knogle.
Balg 1887: 62. Attested in the literal meaning only once, but in a reliable context that clearly refers to '(male) chest': Lu. 18:13: sa motareis... sloh in brusts seinos... "this publican... beat his breast" [Ulfilas 1896: 86]. Several other contexts feature the figurative meaning 'inside, inner senses, heart', e. g. Fil. 20: anaþrafstei meinos brusts in Xristau "refresh my bowels in the Lord" [Ulfilas 1896: 213]. Should be stricly distinguished from barm-s 'lap, bosom' [Ulfilas 1896: 45].
Young & Clewer 1985: 62. Neuter gender. Applicable both to 'male breast' ('chest') and 'female breast'. Secondary synonym: bringa 'breast; chest' [Young & Clewer 1985: 61], applicable primarily to male chests. However, evidence that would suggest the lexical usage of these two terms is significantly different from Icelandic is lacking.
Marklund-Sharapova 2007a: 94; Marklund-Sharapova 2007b: 113. Definite form: bröst-et. No lexical difference between 'male breast' ('chest') and 'female breast'.
Number:12
Word:burn tr.
Gothic:brann-y-an #1
Balg 1887: 59. This is a regular causative formation from the intransitive verb brinn-an [Balg 1887: 61], but it is not attested on its own without certain modifying prefixes, e. g. ga=brann-yan in I Cor. 13:3 (jabai atgibau leik mein ei gabrannjaidau "if I give away my body to be burnt" [Ulfilas 1896: 142]). Still, there is little reason to doubt that this root was the main equivalent for 'to burn (tr.)' in Gothic, given that this is the only attested candidate that, additionally, is well supported by external evidence.
Old Norse:brenn-a1
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 79; Zoega 1910: 69; De Vries 1962: 56. Both transitive and intransitive meanings are attested. Distinct from sviːð-a 'to burn, to singe; to smart, burn (of a wound)' [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 612].
Icelandic:brɛnn-a {brenna}1
Haraldsson 1996: 191; Berkov 1962: 92. Used in both transitive and intransitive functions. Distinct from the quasi-synonym svíða 'to burn, to singe, to scorch' [Berkov 1962: 736].
Faroese:brˈɛnn-a {brenna}1
Young & Clewer 1985: 60. Used in both transitive and intransitive functions.
Bokmal Norwegian:brɛ̀nn-ɛ {brenne}1
Arakin 2000: I, 135; Berkov 2006: 228. Used in both transitive and intransitive functions.
Danish:brˈɛn-ǝ {brænde}1
Krymova et al. 2000: 101; Harrit & Harrit 2002: 105. Used in both transitive and intransitive functions.
Swedish:brˈä̀nn-a {bränna}1
Marklund-Sharapova 2007a: 93; Marklund-Sharapova 2007b: 153. Used in both transitive and intransitive functions.
Number:13
Word:claw(nail)
Gothic:
Not attested.
Old Norse:nagl1
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 445; Zoega 1910: 308; De Vries 1962: 403. Masculine gender; cf. the plural form negl. Cf. nagl-i 'nail, spike' [ibid.].
Balg 1887: 282. Masc. gender; stem in -n- (the final element -ma(n-) is a complex nominal suffix). Cf. Mk. 9:7: warþ milhma jah ufarskadwida ins "there came a cloud and overshadowed them" [Ulfilas 1896: 76].
Arakin 2000: II, 202; Berkov 2006: 504. Definite form: sky-en. According to [Bergsland & Vogt 1962: 117], this form is borrowed from Swedish (technically, it could also be of Danish origin, since both Swedish and Danish preserve original sk-, whereas in colloquial Norwegian sk- > sy-).
Marklund-Sharapova 2007a: 461; Marklund-Sharapova 2007b: 361. Definite form: moln-et. In modern Swedish, this seems to be the basic equivalent for 'cloud' rather than sky, going back to the common Scandinavian equivalent for 'cloud': this latter term is glossed as 'thin and light cloud' in [Marklund-Sharapova 2007b: 361] and, with polysemy, as 'cloud, small cloud / Heavens' in [Marklund-Sharapova 2007a: 651].
Balg 1887: 225. Cf. Mtth. 6:10: qimai þindinassus þeins "let Your kingdom come" [Ulfilas 1896: 6]; used passim all over the text, either all by itself or in combination with various directional prefixes (ana=kʷim-an, etc.).
Preserved in Crimean Gothic: kommen 'come' [Costello 1973: 486].
Balg 1887: 68. Cf. Mtth. 8:32: jah gadauþnodedun in watnam "and they (the pigs) perished (died) in the water" [Ulfilas 1896: 10]; Mk. 9:48: þarei maþa ize ni gadauþniþ "where their worm does not die" [Ulfilas 1896: 38]. A prefixal formation from the unattested simple verb *dɔːθ-n-an, which is, itself, a derivative from the noun dauθ-s 'death' [Balg 1887: 68]. The even older and simpler verbal base diw- 'to die', from which dauθ-s was derived already in Proto-Germanic, is only preserved in Gothic in the archaic idiom þata diw-ano "that which is mortal, mortality" [Balg 1887: 72].
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 99; Zoega 1910: 88; De Vries 1962: 76. Cf. the past tense form: doː. Secondary synonym: svelt-a [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 609], with polysemy: 'to starve, suffer hunger / to die'. According to Cleasby, "this sense (to die), which agrees with the use in Gothic and Anglo-Saxon, is disused in the Northern language and remains only in poetry". It seems that (probably just as in the other ancient Germanic languages) we are dealing here with a euphemistic equivalent of the original 'to die', which failed to acquire basic status in Old Norse.
Balg 1887: 421. Without accompanying prefixes, attested only once, in Lc. 8:42: jah so swalt "and she was dying" [Ulfilas 1896: 73]. Much more frequently used with the prefix ga=, cf. Mtth. 9:24: ni gaswalt so mawi "this maid is not dead" [Ulfilas 1896: 11]; Mk. 12:22: spedumista allaize gaswalt jah so qens "last of all, the woman also died" [Ulfilas 1896: 43].
Although (ga=)swilt-an is attested in the text of Ulfilas much more frequently than ga=dauθ-n-an, it is impossible to establish a transparent semantic difference between the two. There are at least several instances in which both words are found in adjacent contexts, translating the same Greek equivalent. For instance, the phrase "where their worm does not die" is translated as þarei maþa ize ni gadauþniþ in Mtth. 9:48, but as þarei maþa ize ni gaswiltiþ in Mtth. 9:44 and 9:46 [Ulfilas 1896: 37]. It is highly likely that one of the words is a "regular" equivalent and the other one is a "stylistic" (euphemistic, polite, etc.) equivalent, but there is hardly any way, based on internal Gothic evidence, to determine which is which. We include both words in the list as "technical" synonyms.
Balg 1887: 184. Masc. gender; a-stem. Cf. Lc. 16:21: jah hundos atrinnandans bilaigodedun banjos is "and the dogs ran up and licked his sores" [Ulfilas 1896: 84].
Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 292; Zoega 1910: 215; De Vries 1962: 267. Masculine gender. Secondary synonym: rakk-i [Cleasby & Vigfusson 1874: 181] (probably "a sort of dog" rather than a generic term for dogs).
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