Etymology
Cp. OIcel
gaula ‘to low, bellow, howl’, Norw
gaula, Sw dial
gjöla (perhaps cognate with LG
gaulen ‘talk with a whimpering voice’). Derivation from ON is supported by the vocalism (ON /au/ < PGmc /au/ ), but would require the influence of native words like OE
giellan,
gyllan (which occurs in collocation with
ʒaule at
Gaw 1453) to explain the initial palatal. ON
gaula does appear to have been loaned into English in a straightforward form with initial /ɡ/, giving ME
goulen v., PDE gowl v.1 (see respectively
MED and
OED s.vv.). Alternatively, it is equally possible to take
ʒaule as a native formation, an expressive (ideophonic) word similar to OE
giellan.
PGmc Ancestor
?*gaul-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
gaula ‘to low, bellow, howl’
(ONP gaula (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far geyla, Icel gaula, Norw gaula, Sw gjöla
OE Cognate
cp. giellan, gyllan 'to yell, sound'
Phonological and morphological markers
[ON /au/ < PGmc */au/]
(possibly diagnostic)
Summary category
BB2ac