-lev

From: tgpedersen
Message: 14185
Date: 2002-08-01

In the last ice age, the ice cap never advanced further in Denmark
than to a line entering Jutland from west just south of the Limfjord,
then turning 90 degrees toward the south along the divide in Mid-
Jutland, following that direction until Germany.

Therefore, the soil south and west of that line (West Jutland) is
light and sandy, whereas the soil that was covered by the ice cap is
heavy and fertile, ie. it needs a good plough (and that word was
perhaps Pannonian?).

There are no -lev names in West Jutland. This is also the area where
dialects have prefixed independent definite article, in contrast with
the suffixed article of the rest of North Germanic, although there
are some discrepancies in detail between the two areas.
Cf. that Alvis in Alvismál says "It is called <sol> among men, but
<sunna> among the Aesir ("sol" is still the North Germanic word).
This could be taken to mean that "Odin" and his people took a West
Germanic dialect with them to Scandinavia, that originally the
distance between the two dialects was much greater.


Concentrations of -lev-names exist in North West Fyn and around
Roskilde Fjord on Sjælland.

Old English: <lâf> "a relict, widow"

Interesting that both stems of Scythian Leipoxais and Arpoxais can be
used to signify an heir, just that the inheritance was probably
different, cf that Leipoxais received a plough (therefore immobile
property) and Arpoxais a weapon (therefore mobile property).

I think there is a good chance those -lev places were settled from
the South.

Torsten