Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/maþlą

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

Alternative forms

• *mahlą

Etymology

From a zero-grade stem of *mōtaną (“to be permitted to, to be allowed”) + *-tlom (“instrument suffix”). In the case of *maþlą, the root-final Proto-Indo-European *d of their common root was regularly lost before the instrumental *-þlą ( < *-tlom) suffix; compare the development of Proto-West Germanic *seþl from *séd-tlom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑθ.lɑ̃/

Noun

*maþlą n

1. gathering
2. speech
3. legal case
4. agreement

Inflection

neuter a-stemDeclension of *maþlą (neuter a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*maþlą	*maþlō
vocative	*maþlą	*maþlō
accusative	*maþlą	*maþlō
genitive	*maþlas, *maþlis	*maþlǫ̂
dative	*maþlai	*maþlamaz
instrumental	*maþlō	*maþlamiz

Derived terms

• *maþlijaną

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *maþl
  • Old English: mæþel
  • Old Frisian: mēl (in derivatives)
  • Old Saxon: mahal
    • Middle Low German: mal
  • Frankish:
    • → Late Latin: mallum
  • Old High German: mahal, māl
    • Middle High German: mahel, māl
      • German: Mahl (obsolete)
• Old Norse: mál
  • Icelandic: mál
  • Faroese: mál
  • Norwegian Bokmål: mål
  • Old Swedish: māl
    • Swedish: mål
  • Danish: mål
  • → Old English: māl (“speech, contract, agreement”)
    • Middle English: mal, male
      • English: mail
      • Scots: mail
• Gothic: 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌻 (maþl)

Further reading

• Guus Kroonen, “Reflections on the o/zero-Ablaut in the Germanic Iterative Verbs”, in The Indo-European Verb: Proceedings of the Conference of the Society for Indo-European Studies, Los Angeles, 13-15 September 2010, Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2012