At 4:47:11 PM on Thursday, January 26, 2012, dgkilday57
wrote:
> For OE <sceacel> 'shackle, fetter' we should probably
> compare ON <skakkr> 'limping'
That's one possible sense, but it's more generally 'skew,
wry, distorted; unequal' (Fritzner: 'skjæv; heldende mere
til den ene Side'). An example:
þat greri svá illa, at hann bar jafnan hallt höfuðit
síðan, því var hann skakkr kallaðr
that healed so poorly that he always carried his head to
one side afterwards, so he was called <skakkr>
> and Grk. <skazo:> 'I limp' (from *skag-jo:).
That would have to be *skn.g-jo: to match the ON, which is
from *skanka-.
Note that ON has <skǫkull> 'a car-pole' from *skakull (OSw
<skakul> in <halmskaklar> plur.); formally this is a better
match for OE <sceacel> ~ <sceacol>.
Brian