hreaþemus

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Origin obscure. Perhaps from Proto-West Germanic *hraþamūs (literally “fleet-mouse, swift-mouse”), equivalent to hræd +‎ mūs. Compare Old Saxon hradamūs (“bat”), Old High German rodamūs (“bat”).

Alternatively, first element from Proto-Indo-European *krew- (“to shake, wave around”), related to Tocharian A kru (“reed”), Tocharian B kärwats, Lithuanian krutéti (“to move”);[1] second element from mūs (“mouse”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈxræ͜ɑ.θeˌmuːs/, [ˈr̥æ͜ɑ.ðeˌmuːs]

Noun

hreaþemūs f

  1. bat (flying mammal)
    Synonyms: cwieldhræþe, hrēremūs

Declension

Strong consonant stem:

singular plural
nominative hreaþemūs hreaþemȳs
accusative hreaþemūs hreaþemȳs
genitive hreaþemȳs, hreaþemūse hreaþemūsa
dative hreaþemȳs hreaþemūsum

Descendants

  • Middle English: rethemous, ratmose, remous

References

  1. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “623”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 623
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