Talk:tawian
Old Norse?[edit]
Did this word exist in Old Norse as well? The Proto-Germanic form tawōjan would change like this if it had survived into Old Norse:
tawōjan > tæwōjan (I-mutation) > tæwōjã (loss of -n) > tǣjã (VwU where V and U are vowels became V̄) > tǽja (Old Norse)
As the æ is long, it would survive the merge of short e and short æ. In Icelandic, the word would be written tæja, which is a word. This word is related to the Norwegian word tæ (-ja has disappeared, just like -va in hava (English have) and -ka i taka (English take)), which means something like to separate, to solve (restore order in) a complex mess (like a lot of threads), explain or to tare something apart.
According to the Norwegian dictionary Nynorskordboka, the word is also related to tong (pliers). When the viking smiths made objects, I would guess that they used pliers so they did not burn themselves. Also, making something from iron would involve modifying its shape or taring it apart. Maybe the verb DID survive, but changed its meaning from "making something" to "taring apart something" or "solving something"? That transition is not too big (after all, the horns of Gallehus were made 1500 years ago).
The recorded Proto-Norse form tawido would have become táða in Old Norse and táði in Icelandic, which happens to be the past tense form of tæja. But that is not all. Old English tawian is related to the root of the word tōl (tool), taw-. Pliers (Old Norse tong) are also a tool and tong was related to tæja.
This may be a bit confusing, but that is what happens when I write down a lot of information. However, could it be something sensible in this? Or is it just a bunch of coincidences? 85.166.240.46 17:45, 8 August 2010 (UTC)