To be precise, <wassail> shows Norse
influence -- its oldest (12th c.) Middle English forms (<washail,
wesseyl>, etc.) approximate ON *ves/ver heill (also <sit
heill>) rather than OE *wes ha:l 'be in good health' (like
<hail!>, reflecting ON heill, the native English cognate being ModE
whole < OE ha:l). The actually attested phrase in OE was <ha:l wes
þu:>), which, however, was just a greeting, not a drinking formula (used when
handing a cup to the next party guest). The latter probably arose among the
Norse settlers in England, gaining wide currency among their English neighbours
as well, so that by the 12th century it seemed to Norman writers that its
use was an inevitable part of drinking "more Saxonico". The original reply of
the next drinker to whom the cup was offered was probably *drekk heill 'drink in
good health', Anglicised as <drinkhail>. The OED says that according to
late 12th-century reports English students at Paris University were greatly
given to wassailing and drinkhailing.
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2002 9:13 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Re: hello
Thank you all for your responses to the
above.
Somehow I thought it may be related to Anglo-Saxon wasshail
but it seems
not.