--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
>
> > > <though> [DoU] from Scand. *To:x, *Tox, with final /-x/
>
> What type of Scandinavian is that? There is no -x- in ON and anything
> later (apart from Sønderjysk -G- > -x-).
>
>
> Torsten
>
The same Scandinavian that gave us the word <slaughter> (OIcel.
<slátr>), which the OED says is from "early ON <*slahtr>", and
possibly <weight> ("prehistoric ON <*weht>"), and other similar
dialectal words. Of <though> the OED says the following:
"OE had <ðéah, þéah, þéh>, corresp. to Goth. <þauh> (= <þau> "in that
case" + <h> = Lat. <-que> "also"), OFris. <thâch (Sater. <dach>); OS
<thôh> (MDu., Du., LG <doch>), OHG <doh> (shortened fr. <dôh>), ON
<þó> (contr. fr. <*þauh>), MSw, MDa. <þo, tho>. Of the numerous ME
forms, those in A and B were developments of OE þéah, þæ:h, þáh, with
various treatment of the diphthong, and early shortening of the vowel
in unstressed position (df. Ormin's <þehh>, Lamb Hom. <þach>), with
subseq. stress-lenghtening, as <þeih, they, and <þauch, thau, thaw>.
The C forms were from Norse, representing an ON <*þóh> (intermediate
to <þauh> and <þó>), shortened in Ormin to <þohh>, with subseq.
stress-lengthening to <þo:uZ, though, tho:> [where <Z> represents yogh
of the text]. The Norse form gradually gained over the native A and B
forms, which disappeared from literature before 1500. The D forms
show the same development of <f> from <Z, gh ([XW]), as in <laugh,
cough, tough>; <thof> was occasional in literature as late as 1750,
and is still prevalent in many varieties from Yorksh. and Lancash. to
Hampsh. and Devon: see Wright "Eng. dial. Gram.". In Scotl. and north
of Engl. <though> is pronounced [þo:] ([To:]; the Hamphs. and WSom.
<thof> also is [þOf] ([TOf]), not [ðOf] ([DOf])."
So in England the Scandinavian or Old Norse language had not yet lost
[x] (between 800 and 900 A.D., I suppose), and this sound remained in
Scandinavian loan words until [x] was finally lost in England, which
was I think by the end of the Middle English period (1450-1500 A.D.
approx.).
Andrew