Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/gabulu

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

Alternative forms

*gabalu

Etymology

Likely borrowed from Gaulish gabalos, gablos, from Proto-Celtic *gablā (“fork, something forked”) (i.e. a road or branch).[1]

Noun

*gabulu f[2]

fork
Synonym: *furkō
pitchfork

Inflection

ō-stem
	Singular
Nominative	*gabulu
Genitive	*gabulā
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*gabulu	*gabulō
Accusative	*gabulā	*gabulā
Genitive	*gabulā	*gabulō
Dative	*gabulē	*gabulōm
Instrumental	*gabulu	*gabulōm

Descendants

Old English: gafol, ġeafel, ġeafle
Old Saxon: gavala, gafila
- Middle Low German: gaffel, gaffele
  - Low German: Gavel, Gaffel
    - → German: Gaffel (“gaff”)
  - Plautdietsch: Gaufel
  - → Danish: gaffel
    - → Faroese: gaffil
    - → Icelandic: gaffall
  - → Elfdalian: gaffel
  - → Gutnish: gaffel, gafful
  - → Norwegian: gaffel
  - → Swedish: gaffel
    - → Finnish: kahveli
Old Dutch: *gavala, *gafila
- Middle Dutch: gavele, gaffele
  - Dutch: gavel, gaffel
    - Afrikaans: gaffel
  - Limburgish: gaffel
  - → Middle English: gaffolle
    - English: gaffle
Old High German: gabala, (northern) *gaffala (in mistgaffela)
- Middle High German: gabele, gabel, gaffel(e)
  - Alemannic German: Gable
  - Bavarian:
    Cimbrian: gabala, gabl
    Mòcheno: gabel
  - Central Franconian: Jaffel, Gaffel, Gawel
    - Hunsrik: Gawel, Gauel
    - Luxembourgish: Gafel
    - → German: Gaffel (“kind of guild”)
  - German: Gabel
    - → German Low German: Gabel
    - → North Frisian: goobel
  - Rhine Franconian: Gawwel
    - Pennsylvania German: Gawwel
  - Yiddish: גאָפּל‎ (gopl)

References

Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page *gablo/ā- of 147-148
Ringe, Donald; Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 191: “PWGmc *gabulu”

[1] Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page *gablo/ā- of 147-148

[2] Ringe, Donald; Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 191: “PWGmc *gabulu”