Etymology
Outside English, words with a similar form and sense are found only in the Scandinavian languages; Dan dial
kei ‘left hand’ is the most frequently cited analogue, supposing an earlier
*kēg cognate with Norw
keik, OIcel
keikr ‘bent backward’ < a VAN
*kæik-. Alongside this PGmc
*kai-k- are perhaps variants of the same root with
*-f and
*-p extensions, as in e.g. Norw
keiv(en) ‘clumsy, awkward’,
keive ‘left hand’ and
keip, OIcel
keipr ‘oarlock, rowlock’, and Sw dial
kjēp ‘left hand’. Though a VAN
*kæiR ‘left’ would be a good fit formally as an etymon for ME
kay, there is scant support for its existence, and if
kay is indeed a loan from Norse its exact derivation remains obscure. It is possible that one of the attested Norse formations on the root is really the source, in which case the most plausible origin might be ON
*keifr: Both recorded instances of ME
kay come in the phrase
kay fote ‘left foot’, and one could (very speculatively) posit loss of final
-f by cluster simplification <
kaif fote. There are too many etymological uncertainties for ME /ei/ or non-palatalized /k/ to stand as secure tests of loan. See further Liberman 2008: 130-2 and Dance.
PGmc Ancestor
?*kai- or *kai-k
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
?keikr ‘bent backward’
(ONP ?keikr (adj.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
?Icel keikur, Norw keik, Dan dial kei ‘left hand’
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
[ON /ei/ < PGmc */ai/]
(may not be applicable)
Summary category
B1c