Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/selhaz

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

Either from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”) (compare dialectal English sullow (“plough”)) or from early Proto-Finnic *šülkeš (later *hülgeh, compare Finnish hylje, Estonian hüljes).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsel.xɑz/

Noun

*selhaz m

1. seal (animal)

Inflection

masculine a-stemDeclension of *selhaz (masculine a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*selhaz	*selhōz, *selhōs
vocative	*selh	*selhōz, *selhōs
accusative	*selhą	*selhanz
genitive	*selhas, *silhis	*selhǫ̂
dative	*silhai	*selhamaz
instrumental	*selhō	*selhamiz

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *selh
  • Old English: seolh
    • Middle English: *selh, sele
      • Early Scots: selich
        • Scots: selch; selkie, silkie
      • English: seal
  • Old Frisian: *selch
    • North Frisian: selich
  • Old Saxon: *selh, *selah
    • Middle Low German: sēl, sale
      • Plautdietsch: Säajel
      • ⇒ Low German: saalhund
  • Old Dutch: *selh
    • Middle Dutch: sēel, sāel, sēle
  • Old High German: selah
    • Middle High German: sëleh
      • German: Seel (obsolete)
        • ⇒ German: Seelhund ⇒ Seehund
• Old Norse: selr
  • Icelandic: selur
  • Faroese: selur
  • Norwegian: sel
  • Old Swedish: siæl, sæl
    • Swedish: säl
  • Danish: sæl
  • Gutnish: själ