n.
?Gaw list; Cl lyst
'desire, joy'
(Modern English )ON derivation or input is sometimes claimed for this word (TGD, GDS, McGee 340), cp. OIcel lyst 'lust, desire' (fem., first attested in the 14c.) < PGmc lust-i (known only from Scandinavian, next to *lust-u- which is represented by OE lust, lust, Go lustus (masc.) OFris, OHG lust (masc. or fem.) OS lust (fem.), OSw luster) or formed on the v. represented by OIcel lysta. ME list could equally be derived from an unattested OE *lyst from the same Gmc stem variant, or on the stem of the related OE v. (ge)lystan ‘to please, cause pleasure or desire, provoke longing’ (impers.). There may also have been some input into the formation of ME list from OE list 'art, cleverness, cunning, experience, skill, craft' (prob. derived on the PGmc. pret. pres. v. *lisan; cp. Go lists, OIcel, OS, OHG list, OFris lest) (see further Dance).
PGmc Ancestor
*lust-i- or *lustjan-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
lyst ‘lust, desire’, lysta v. 'one desires, wishes (impers.)'
(ONP (1) lyst (sb.), lysta (2) (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far lyst, Icel lyst, Norw lyst, Dan lyst, MSw lyst, lust, Sw lust; Far lysta, Icel lysta, Norw lysta, Dan lyste, Sw lysta
OE Cognate
cp. (ge)lystan (v.) ‘to please, cause pleasure or desire, provoke longing’ (impers.)
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
CC2
First cited by MED from LB.Cal, and is widespread from the 14c.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
?Gaw 1719; Pe 173, 467, 908; Cl 843
The identification of the word at Gaw 1719 is debated, see list.