Re: [tied] Re: DATING WEDNESDAY?

----- Original Message -----
From: <x99lynx@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 2:14 PM
Subject: [tied] Re: DATING WEDNESDAY?


> <richard.wordingham@...> REPLIED:
> <<In what way? I hope you're not comparing the nominative singular ending *-az with the OE genitive singular -es.>>

> I guess I was. Is <wo:dnes-> the OE genitive singular form of <wo:den>, or is it contracted? How would the genitive form of *-az have differed?

<wo:dnes> is the perfectly regular gen.sg. of <wo:den> (the syncope of the middle vowel is normal in OE).

PGmc. nom.sg. *-az > OE zero ending (e.g. wulf < *wulfaz)
PGmc. gen.sg. *-asa > OE -es (e.g. wulfes < wulfæs < *wulfasa)


> Maybe what I was thinking of was the OFrisian form, <wo:nsdei>. I'm
presuming the OFrisian genitive of <wo:den> was NOT <w:ons>. But I don't know that.

Remember that documented Old Frisian was not contemporaneous with Old English! The OFris. period = ca. 1200-1500. By that time we get funny spellings for "Wednesday" in English, Dutch etc. as well.

Piotr