Religinė, mitologinė leksika: skoliniai iš germanų kalbų
Religious, mythological vocabulary: loanwords from Germanic languages

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the religious and mythological vocabulary of Germanic origin from the perspective of semantics and origin. Loanwords are divided into seven sub-groups: church buildings and their parts, administration, environment; church interior, places inside it; objects used in rituals, church items; festivals, rituals; church activities, books, musical instruments; names of persons; mythological vocabulary, names of supernatural beings. The base word of the Germanism from which it derived is established; the primary origin of the loanword is identified. Equivalents in other languages are presented. The recording of lexemes in the written language dating from the 16th century and their usage in the spoken language and dialects are also provided. The chronology of loanwords is discussed. It was found that Lithuanian olà is not only used in the meaning of ‘a cave, burrow of animals or birds’ as defined in the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language but also as ‘a chamber (for burial), crypt’ according to Bretkūnas’ Bible. The formations deriving from Germanisms are described as well.

• Details
• Contents