Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/jehwlą

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

Unknown;^[1] suggested to be connected to Latin iocus (“a joke, jest”),^[2] itself thought to be from Proto-Indo-European *yek- (“to speak”), yet this is semantically unconvincing.^[3]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈjexʷ.lɑ̃/

Noun

*jehwlą n^[4]

festivity, celebration
(in the plural) Yule, literally, “the festivities”

Inflection

The plural descends from an Indo-European collective noun and shows the original Verner alternant *gw, which later became *w (represented by *u).

Declension of *jehwlą (neuter a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*jehwlą	*jeulō
vocative	*jehwlą	*jeulō
accusative	*jehwlą	*jeulō
genitive	jehwlas, jihwlis	*jeulǫ̂
dative	*jehwlai	*jeulamaz
instrumental	*jehwlō	*jeulamiz

Derived terms

*jehwladagaz^[5]
- Old English: ġēohheldæġ
- Old Norse: jóladagr
  - Icelandic: jóladagur
  - Faroese: jóladagur
  - Danish: juledag
*jehwlamēnōþs^[6]
- Old English: ġēolmōnaþ
- Old Norse: jólmánaðr, jólmánuðr
  - Icelandic: jólmánuður, jólamánuður
  - Faroese: jólamánaður
*jihwlijaz^[7]
- Old English: ġiūli, ġiūl, iūl, iōl
- Old Norse: ýlir
  - Icelandic: ýlir
- Gothic: 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis)

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *jehwl
- Old English: ġēol, ġehhol, ġehhel, ġēohol, ġēohel, ġēohhel, iūl, ġiūl, iōl, ġeohhel, ġeochol, ġeohhol, ġeohol
  - Middle English: yol, yole, ȝeolue, yiol, ȝol, ȝole, Yoil, yolde, ȝoul, ȝowl, ȝoule, Yhole, youle
    - English: Yule
    - Middle Scots: Yule, Ȝule, Yuill, Ȝuill
      - Scots: Yule
Proto-Norse: *ᛃᛖᚢᛚᚢ (*jeulu), *ᛖᚢᛚᚢ n pl (*eulu)
- Old Norse: jól, *iūl — Old East Norse
  - Icelandic: jól
  - Faroese: jól
  - Norwegian Nynorsk: jol
  - Old Swedish: iūl
    - Swedish: jul
  - Old Danish: iūl
    - Danish: jul
      - Norwegian Bokmål: jul
        → Norwegian Nynorsk: jul (partially from an earlier East Nordic borrowing)
      - → German: Jul
        → Dutch: joel
        ⇒ German: Julfest
        → Dutch: joelfeest
      - → Greenlandic: juulli
  - Old Gutnish: iaul
  - →? Old French: jolif (see there for further descendants)
- → Proto-Finnic: *joulu (see there for further descendants)
→ Proto-Finnic: *juhla
- Estonian: juhlad
- Finnish: juhla

References

^ Torp, Alf (1919) “Jól”, in Nynorsk Etymologisk Ordbok, Oslo: H. Aschehoug and Co. (W. Nygaard), page 250
^ Bugge, Sophus, editor ((Can we date this quote?)), Arkiv for nordisk filologi, volume IV, Lund: Lund University, →ISBN, page 135
^ Hellquist, Elof (1922) “jul”, in Svensk etymologisk ordbok [Swedish etymological dictionary]‎^[1] (in Swedish), Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups förlag, pages 282-283
^ Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jexwlan”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205
^ Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jehwla-daʒaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[3], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205
^ Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jehwla-mēnōþs”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[4], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205
^ Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jehwljaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[5], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 205-206

[1] Torp, Alf (1919) “Jól”, in Nynorsk Etymologisk Ordbok, Oslo: H. Aschehoug and Co. (W. Nygaard), page 250

[2] Bugge, Sophus, editor ((Can we date this quote?)), Arkiv for nordisk filologi, volume IV, Lund: Lund University, →ISBN, page 135

[3] Hellquist, Elof (1922) “jul”, in Svensk etymologisk ordbok [Swedish etymological dictionary]‎^[1] (in Swedish), Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups förlag, pages 282-283

[4] Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jexwlan”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205

[5] Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jehwla-daʒaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[3], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205

[6] Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jehwla-mēnōþs”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[4], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205

[7] Vladimir Orel (2003) “*jehwljaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[5], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 205-206

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