Re: [cybalist] Re: Even more about dogs

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 2404
Date: 2000-05-10

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeffrey S. Jones
To: cybalist@egroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2000 12:18 AM
Subject: [cybalist] Re: Even more about dogs
 
Trouble is, digge(n) is a Late Middle English word, much younger than "dog" (*docga, dogge) in terms of attestation. Its origin is somewhat obscure, but it seems to be a variant of dîken/dîchen (= "make dikes or ditches"). The normal OE word for 'to dig' was delfan (dealf, dulfon, -dolfen), the ancestor of "delve". It's tempting to compare "dog" with "dug", but "dig" was at first a regular weak verb ("he digged"); the irregular form dug is pretty recent.
 
Piotr
 
 
Jeff wrote:
I always thought "dog" was related to "dig".