Holy water hole

E:rika Sausverde
Seewörter and Substratum

"
Germanic *saiwa- 'sea'
The most prominent example of [a] word without an Indo-European
etymology is Germanic 'sea'. ON sær, sjör, sjár 'sea', OE sæ: (in
toponyms also sa:-) 'sea, lake', OFris. se: 'sea', OS se:(o), (dat.
se:wa), OHG Se(o) 'sea, lake' etc., cf. Goth. saiws 'lake, marsh'
has no accepted etymology. On the one hand (especially in the old
publications) Germanic *saiwa-, to which these forms are
reconstructed, has been connected with the Indo-European root *sei-
'to be dripping, flow, ooze' (Walde 1927-30:2.464). [A]ttempts have
been made to connect this form with Lith. sývai (pl.) 'sap, gastric
juice', Latv, si~vs 'caustic, astringent, pungent', si~ve 'caustic,
astringent substance', dial, 'manure-mud', and with Lat.
saevus 'ferocious, savage' etc. (See Lehmann 1986:292 and Feist
1939:406 for other suggestions). However, the etymology of the cited
Baltic words is also unclear (Fraenkel 1955-65:790).
Because of the absence of cognates in other Indo-European languages,
it is difficult to say whether -w- reflects Indo-European *-w- or
(according to Verner's law) *-qW- (or *-kw-). If one supposes that
there was a guttural in the root and that the original meaning
was 'marsh' (as in Gothic), one can connect this Germanic word with
OHG gisig 'stagnum', si:gan 'to sink, be dripping', si:han 'filter,
strain' etc. (Zupitza 1896:68, 137). Then, the reconstruction *saiwa-
< *saigwa- becomes possible. It was used by Koivulehto (1967;
1972), who compared Gmc. *saigva- and *saihwaz 'tub, bucket, scoop',
and supposed that this name of 'bucket' has been transferred to the
sea as a big vessel of water. However, the semantic transmission
proposed is difficult to confirm typologically.
On the other hand, the Gmc. *saiwa- has been assumed to be a
borrowing from the language of pre-Indo-European inhabitants of the
Baltic and the North Sea coasts (see e.g. Kluge-Mitzka 1975:696;
Lehmann 1986:292). Collinder (1924:84-85) suggested Finnish as a
possible source. He regarded Finn. saivo, Sami saiva 'klare Stelle
im See' as the source for the Germanic word; still, according to
Finnish linguists the process went vice versa (SKES 4:949). It is
interesting to consider the semantics of the corresponding words in
the Baltic Finno-Ugric languages. First of all, they have the
meaning of 'clear water' and secondly are connected with magic,
ritual terms. Cf. Finn. saivo 'clear water space on the
lake/sea', 'clear water'. The word is often used in toponyms
indicating small, closed lakes, cf. Sami sái`va 'closed lake'. In
Finnish dialects the word means 'clear lake', 'double-bottomed
lake/marsh', 'lake inhabited by spirits'. The meanings are typical
for composites as well, cf. Finn. saiivovesi 'soft water in wells
and ponds', saivojärvi 'limpid lake', Sami saiwu jäure 'saint lake',
saivvo-c^acce 'miraculous water flowing from a saiva'. Compare Finn.
saivokas 'stone or wood idol on the lake-shore', Sami
saivvo 'underground place inhabited by dead spirits', saje^voa.,
saiwua. 'underground creatures' etc. (SKES 4:949).
In connection with Gmc. *saiwa- the Baltic hydronym Séivu,, e~z^eras
(a lake near Punsk, Poland) should be noted. It has possible a
Jotvingian origin, though there is no accepted etymology (see
Vanagas 1981:294). The inner form of this hydronym is close to Lith.
ju:re~z^eris 'a rather big lake' or Goth, marisaiws 'lake (sea)',
literally 'sea-lake' in both languages. Apparently it is connected
with the Germanic word under consideration.
Taking into account the absence of a reliable Indo-European
etymology of Germanic *saiwa- and peculiarities of Baltic Finno-
Ugric forms, the assumption of borrowing seems to be acceptable. The
form could be borrowed into the Germanic, Baltic-Finnic (probably
via Germanic) and Baltic languages from the language of the
autochthonous pre-Indo-European inhabitants of Baltic and North Sea
shores. A possible reconstruction of the pre-Indo-European word
could be **saywa-.
"

Some have connected this word to Gothic saiwala "soul".

Perhaps it should be connected also to Latin sacer and sanctus, with
unclear (wrt IE) explanation of the n-infix, and both with
problematic /a/.

Perhaps Danish seng, Swedish säng, Finnish sänky, Estonian
säng "bed" belong to the same pre-PIE root. West of Copenhagen there
is a Sengeløse, just south of boggy terrain, says my map. It is
generally recognised that the first element of place names ending in
-løse are difficult to interpret as Germanic (unlike the
contemporaneous -lev place names) which is why I believe they were
redeemed (my interpretation of the semantics of -løse) properties of
the pre-Germanic inhabitants of Sjælland and Scania; if true, we
have now placed *seng- "depression in the terrain" (as also 'bed'
means) in that language too.


It would be nice to connect this to Proto-Tibeto-Burman or the like.
This is as close as it gets:

Matisoff:
PTB *r-sak "breath(e)/life"
PTB *m-sam "breath/voice"
PTB *sem-s "soul/mind/heart/spirit/breath"

The semantics is perhaps too narrow to be satisfactory. On the
positive side is the fact that the root is composite, like the pre-
IE one: *sa-k- and *sa-m-


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