Etymology

Derived on ME felaʒ- (as in felaʒes); cp. also OIcel félagskapr (or félags-skapr) in the somewhat different sense ‘fellowship, partnership’.

PGmc Ancestor

*fexu + *lag- + *skapi-z

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

félagi ‘partner, shareholder, fellow, comrade; partner, consort’
(ONP fé-lagi (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far felag, felagi, Icel félag, Norw felag, ODan felge, Dan fællig, fælle, OSw fælagh

OE Cognate

cp. feoh ‘cattle, moveable goods, money’, lecgan 'to lay, put, place, deposit, set' 

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

C4

(C3)

Attestation

After two occurrences in late OE of feolagscipe (see DOE, Hofmann §331, Peters 89, SPS 297–8), very frequent and widespread in ME.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 652, 2151; Cl 271, 1764

Felaʒschip is usually read at Gaw 2151, except by GDS, Moorman, Vantuono.

Bibliography

MED fēlauship(e (n.) , OED fellowship (n.) , HTOED , HTOED , Dance felaʒschyp, SPS 95, 298, DOE fēolagscipe