ealh

Old English

Alternative forms

• alh, alhn

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *alh, from Proto-Germanic *alhs (“protection, building, house, temple, settlement”), cognate to Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌷𐍃 (alhs) and Proto-Norse ᚨᛚᚺ (alh).

According to Pokorny (1959:32) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂lek- (“to close, ward off, protect”), i.e. the root of Ancient Greek ἀλέξω (aléxō) and Sanskrit रक्षति (rakṣati, “guard, protect”), though Kroonen (2013:22 s.v. alh-) dismisses this as “arbitrary[.]”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æ͜ɑlx/, [æ͜ɑɫx]

Noun

ealh m (nominative plural ēalas)

1. temple
2. residence

Declension

Declension of ealh (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	ealh	ēalas
accusative	ealh	ēalas
genitive	ēales	ēala
dative	ēale	ēalum

Related terms

• ealgian

See also

• alu

References

• Kroonen, Guus. Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden: Brill, 2013), p. 22.