Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/līką

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“image, likeness; similar, like”), with semantic shift "similar" > "having a similar shape" > "likeness" > "body". Cognate with Lithuanian lýgus (“equal, level, flat, even, like”).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈliː.kɑ̃/

Noun

*līką n

body
Synonyms: *būkaz, *hrefaz
corpse, dead body
Synonym: *līkahamô

Inflection

neuter a-stemDeclension of *līką (neuter a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*līką	*līkō
vocative	*līką	*līkō
accusative	*līką	*līkō
genitive	līkas, līkis	*līkǫ̂
dative	*līkai	*līkamaz
instrumental	*līkō	*līkamiz

Derived terms

*līkahamô

Related terms

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *līk
- Old English: līċ
  - Middle English: like, lich
    - Scots: lyke
    - English: lich
- Old Frisian: līk
  - Saterland Frisian: Lieke
  - West Frisian: lyk
- Old Saxon: līk
  - Middle Low German: lîk, lîch
    - German Low German: Liek
    - Plautdietsch: Leich, Leiche
    - → Latvian: līķis
- Old Dutch: *līk
  - Middle Dutch: lijc
    - Dutch: lijk
      - Afrikaans: lyk
- Old High German: līh
  - Middle High German: leich
    - Central Franconian: Lich
    - Bavarian: Leich
    - German: Leiche
    - Luxembourgish: Läich
Old Norse: lík
- Icelandic: lík
- Faroese: lík
- Norn: lik
- Norwegian: lik
- Old Swedish: līk
  - Swedish: lik
- Old Danish: līk
  - Danish: lig
- Scanian: læj
- Gutnish: leik
Gothic: 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺 (leik)

Etymology 2

Probably Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- (“to bind”), and cognate with Latin ligō (“to bind”). Kroonen, in addition to the above theory, offers an alternative suggestion that the word is a semantic extension of the "body" sense above, with semantic association "to connect" > "to compare" > "to be alike".^[2]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈliː.kɑ̃/

Noun

*līką n

leech-line, bolt-rope

Descendants

English: leech
Dutch: lijk
Middle Low German: līk
Middle High German: geleich (“joint, link”)
Old Norse: lík
Danish: lig

References

^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*līka- 1”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 336
^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*līka- 3”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 337

[1] Guus Kroonen (2013) “*līka- 1”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 336

[2] Guus Kroonen (2013) “*līka- 3”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 337

[1]

[2]