А тут скандинавское hv- или подобная лигратура в готском ни при чем? Типа как в словах who, white...
Было бы интересно рассортировать наиболее известные слова на "wh-" на две группы -- где оно имеет законное историческое обоснование и где навставляли просто ради красоты.
Цитата: Hellerick от июня 5, 2015, 08:27
Да, вроде бы, кроме whole и Whoopi Goldberg оно везде этимологично.
Все-таки не удержался я, накидал в Ворде две с небольшим странички. Этимологические таки победили, но, как говорится, не всё так однозначно:
Этимологические идут черным, "с потолка" -- синим, имитационные -- зеленым.
whack -- "to strike sharply," 1719, probably of imitative origin. The noun is from 1737.
whale -- Old English hwæl "whale," also "walrus," from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz
wham -- "a heavy blow," 1923, of echoic origin.
wharf -- late Old English hwearf "shore, bank where ships can tie up," earlier "dam, embankment," from Proto-Germanic *hwarfaz
what -- Old English hwæt, referring to things in abstraction; also "why, wherefore; indeed, surely, truly," from Proto-Germanic pronoun *hwat
wheal --- "mark made on the skin by a whip," 1808, perhaps an alteration of wale, possibly by confusion with weal "welt," and obsolete wheal "pimple, pustule" (mid-15c.), from Old English verb hwelian "to form pus, bring to a head."
wheat -- Old English hwæte "wheat," from Proto-Germanic *hwaitjaz
wheedle -- "to influence by flattery," 1660s, of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with Old English wædlian "to beg," from wædl "poverty" [OED], or borrowed by English soldiers in the 17c. German wars from German wedeln "wag the tail," hence "fawn, flatter"
wheel -- Old English hweol, hweogol "wheel," from Proto-Germanic *hwewlaz-
wheeze -- mid-15c., probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hvoesa "to hiss," Danish hvæse cognate with Old English hwæst "act of blowing," hwosan "to cough," from an imitative root.
whelk -- marine snail with a spiral shell, Old English weoloc, wioloc, from Proto-Germanic *weluka- (cognates: Middle Dutch willoc, Dutch wulk), perhaps from PIE root *wel- (3) "to turn, revolve" (see volvox; also volute). The unetymological spelling with wh- dates from 15c.
whelp -- Old English hwelp "whelp, young of the dog," from a Germanic root related to Old Saxon hwelp, Old Norse hvelpr, Dutch welp, German hwelf; of unknown origin.
when -- Old English hwænne, hwenne, hwonne, from Proto-Germanic *hwan-
where -- Old English hwær, hwar "at what place," from Proto-Germanic adverb *hwar
whet -- Old English hwettan "to whet, sharpen," figuratively "incite, encourage," from Proto-Germanic *hwatjan
whether -- Old English hwæðer, hweðer "which of two, whether," from Proto-Germanic *gihwatharaz
whew -- exclamation of astonishment, etc., early 15c., a whistling sound, of imitative origin.
whey -- Old English hwæg "whey," from Proto-Germanic *hwaja-
which -- Old English hwilc (West Saxon, Anglian), hwælc (Northumbrian) "which," short for hwi-lic "of what form," from Proto-Germanic *hwa-lik-
whicker -- 1650s, "snigger," imitative
whiff -- 13c., weffe "foul scent or odor," of imitative origin. Modern form became popular late 16c. with tobacco smoking, probably influenced by whiffle "blow in gusts or puffs" (1560s).
while -- Old English hwile, accusative of hwil "a space of time," from Proto-Germanic *hwilo
Whim-wham -- "whimsical device, trifle," 1520s, of unknown origin; perhaps from Scandinavian (compare Old Norse hvima "to let the eyes wander," Norwegian kvima "to flutter"), or else an arbitrary native formation
whip -- mid-13c., wippen "flap violently," not in Old English, of uncertain origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wipjan "to move back and forth"
whirl -- c. 1300, probably from Old Norse hvirfla "to go round, spin," related to hvirfill "circle, ring, crown," and to Old English hweorfan "to turn"
whisk -- late 14c., "quick stroke, sweeping movement," probably from Old Norse visk "wisp of hay, something to sweep with," from Proto-Germanic *wisk- "move quickly"
whiskey -- 1715, from Gaelic uisge beatha "whisky," literally "water of life," from Old Irish uisce "water" + bethu "life"
whisper -- Old English hwisprian "speak very softly, murmur" (only in a Northumbrian gloss for Latin murmurare), from Proto-Germanic *hwis-
whistle -- Old English hwistlian "to whistle," from Proto-Germanic *hwis-, of imitative origin
whit -- "smallest particle," 1520s, from na whit "no amount" (c. 1200), from Old English nan wiht, from wiht "amount," originally "person, human being"
white -- Old English hwit "bright, radiant; clear, fair," from Proto-Germanic *hwitaz
whither -- Old English hwider, from Proto-Germanic *hwithre-, from *hwi- "who" + ending as in hither and thither.
whittle -- 1550s, "to cut thin shavings from (something) with a knife," from Middle English whittel "a knife," especially a large one (c. 1400), variant of thwittle (late 14c.), from Old English þwitan "to cut," from Proto-Germanic *thwit-
whiz -- "clever person," 1914, probably a special use of whiz "something remarkable" (1908), an extended sense of whizz; or perhaps a shortened and altered form of wizard.
whizz -- "make or move with a humming, hissing sound," 1540s, of imitative origin.
who -- Old English hwa "who," sometimes "what; anyone, someone; each; whosoever," from Proto-Germanic *hwas
whole -- Old English hal "entire, whole; unhurt, uninjured, safe; healthy, sound; genuine, straightforward," from Proto-Germanic *haila- "undamaged"
whoop -- mid-14c., houpen, partly imitative, partly from Old French huper, houper "to cry out, shout," also imitative. It is attested as an interjection from at least mid-15c. Spelling with wh- is from mid-15c.
whoosh -- 1856, of imitative origin.
whop -- "to beat, strike," mid-15c., of imitative origin.
whore -- 1530s spelling alteration of Middle English hore, from Old English hore "prostitute, harlot," from Proto-Germanic *horaz
why -- Old English hwi, instrumental case (indicating for what purpose or by what means) of hwæt (see what), from Proto-Germanic adverb *hwi