v. (wk.)
Gaw haylce; Pe, Cl past haylsed; WA pres. 3 sg. hailsis, past sg. haylsid, haylsed
'to greet'
(Modern English )cp. OIcel heilsa ‘to greet’ < PGmc *xail(e)sō(j)an-; cp. OE hālsian, hǣlsian ‘to swear, call upon, implore, prophesy, exorcise’, OHG heilisōn.
PGmc Ancestor
*xail(e)sō(j)an-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
heilsa ‘to greet’
(ONP heilsa (2) (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far heilsa, Icel heilsa, Norw helsa, Dan hilse, Sw hälsa
OE Cognate
hālsian, hǣlsian ‘to swear, call upon, implore, prophesy, exorcise’
Phonological and morphological markers
ON /ei/ < PGmc */ai/
Summary category
A1*c
Predominantly N and E in ME but there are anumber of occurrences in alliterative verse (including PP), and signs of wider currency in the 15c.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Gaw 223, 810, 829 etc.; Pe 238; Cl 612, 814; WA 1622, 4929