Re: A new Saxnot etymology

At 12:22:39 AM on Thursday, July 31, 2008, A. wrote:

[...]

> So what I am wondering is whether there is any way to
> reconstruct an earlier Gmc/Proto-Gmc form of the name,
> based upon the derivations produced (Old Saxon Saxnote as
> well as the English Seaxneat, Seaxnete, Seaxnet)

What you actually have are OSax <Saxno:te> in a context
that apparently makes it a dative singular, so the
nominative is <Saxno:t>, and OE <Seaxne:at>. Those are
consistent with a PGmc a-stem *sahsa-nautaz.

[...]

> In "Anglo-Saxon England", edited by Michael Lapidge:
> "The names Seaxnetingas (and also the name 'Saxones')
> contains an element referring to a knife or blade. 'Neat'
> is a substantive derived from the adverb 'neotan' -to be
> of use - and is related to the word for need.

Not so far as I know. The 'be of use' words are from PIE
*neud- 'to make use of, enjoy', while <need> is apparently
from an extension (by *-ti-) of PIE *neh2u- 'related to
death'.

> It may also mean dependent, sometimes in the sense of
> vassal. Seaxnet, the ancestral god of the dynasty, may be
> translated as 'blade need'."

If it's *-nautaz, it'll be kin to ON <nautr> 'a mate, a
fellow; the giver of a gift; the gift itself' and OE
<(ge)ne:at> 'companion, follower, tenant', not English
<need>; the sense would presumably be something like
'sword-mate, sword-companion'.

Brian