Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/spiltaz

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

Etymology

Unknown. It may or may not be cognate with Russian по́лба (pólba, “spelt”) and Latin puls (“porridge (usually of spelt)”) and Ancient Greek πόλτος (póltos, “porridge (usually of spelt)”). Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pelH- (“to split off, separate”), or borrowed from an unknown substrate by Germanic and Latin.[1]

Noun

*spiltaz m

spelt (a type of wheat)

Inflection

masculine a-stemDeclension of *spiltaz (masculine a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*spiltaz	spiltōz, spiltōs
vocative	*spilt	spiltōz, spiltōs
accusative	*spiltą	*spiltanz
genitive	spiltas, spiltis	*spiltǫ̂
dative	*spiltai	*spiltamaz
instrumental	*spiltō	*spiltamiz

Descendants

Old Saxon: spelta
- Middle Low German: spelte
  - Low German: Spelt
  - → Norwegian: spelt
  - → Swedish: spelt
  - → Danish: spelt
  - →? West Frisian: spjelt
- → Old English: spelt
  - Middle English: spelt
    - English: spelt
      - → Irish: speilt
      - → Welsh: sbelt
Frankish: *spelta
- Old Dutch: *spelta
  - Middle Dutch: spelte
    - Dutch: spelt
- → Latin: spelta (see there for further descendants)
Old High German: spelz
- Middle High German: spelz
  - German: Spelz
  - Luxembourgish: Spelz
Old Norse: spelti, speldi (< *spiltō)
- Icelandic: speldi

References

van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “spelt”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

[1] van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “spelt”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute