Vaandel

> > >>> cf. also fenrik (appr. staff sergeant)
> > >>> http://ordnet.dk/ods/ordbog?query=f%C3%A6ndrik&search=S%C3%B8g
> >
> > >> Na, und? It's a borrowing of German <Fähnrich>, which is a
> > >> NHG extension of MHG <venre>, OHG <faneri>, under the
> > >> influence of masculine names originally in *-ri:kaz.
> >
> > > More likely, in spite of most dictionaries, from Dutch
> > > http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaandrig
> > > cf. the -d-.
> >
> > It pretty clearly goes the other way.
>
> It's an interesting question
> http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A4hnrich
> has no -d- in the quoted forms, but it does in the 1726 Saxon quote.
>
> > And the <d> tells you
> > nothing either way: d-epenthesis in /nr/ and b-epenthesis in
> > /mr/ are common as mud.
>
> Not in Danish or German since the time of the Landsknechte, AFAIK.
> And a loan to Danish from High German before that time is unlikely.

Some interesting history on that:
It seems the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsknecht
were organized in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A4hnlein
with a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A4hnrich
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A4nrik
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaandrig
in each, guarding a
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaandel
One might suspect the title started there.

'Landsknechts typically came from Swabia, Alsace, Flanders, and the Rhineland, but ultimately the regiments were made up of men from all parts of Europe.'

so at least part of the Landsknechte were from the Low Countries. Note also the name 'Bidenhänder' for
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zweih%C3%A4nder
with Swiss German /i:/ for German /ei/.

One might speculate on a connection between these Landsknecht ranks and the existence of separate NCO careers today.


Torsten