Haukur Thorgeirsson wrote :

> Marco Moretti wrote :

>> I'm sorry, the etymologies involving /kona/, /Konr/ and /ungr/ are
>> simply wrong (folk etymologies).
>> The right one (and the only possible) is from /kyn/.

> Absolute certainty is a commodity that is usually not
> so readily available to the historical linguist.
> I don't have my books at hand but I think it was
> Otto von Friesen who made the case for *kvenungr.

The etymology is pretty well established,
see, e.g. http://www.etymonline.com/k1etym.htm

king - O.E. cyning, from P.Gmc. *kuninggaz (cf. Du. koning, O.H.G.
kuning, O.N. konungr, Dan. konge, Ger. kцnig). Possibly related to
O.E. cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a
"leader of the people;" or from a related root suggesting "noble
birth," making a king originally "one who descended from noble
birth." The sociological and ideological implications make this a
topic of much debate. Finnish kuningas "king," O.C.S. kunegu
"prince" (Rus. knyaz, Boh. knez), Lith. kunigas "clergyman" are
loans from Gmc. In O.E., used for names of chiefs of Anglian and
Saxon tribes or clans, then of the states they founded.

> It doesn't look likely to me but I would be interested
> in looking at his argument before dismissing it.

The word for "woman, wife" (kona, etc.) descends
ultimately from the same IE root *gwen- meaning
"to give birth", "family, kin".

Eugene.