In nijwesterlauwerskfryske wjergader fan Aldfrysk (hona) etsel '(hoanne)spoar'

Abstract

In this article it is shown that Modern West Frisian isel/izel ‘sixth claw on the hind legs of some dogs’ must be derived from Old Frisian (hona) etsel ‘(cock)spur’. It is further claimed that the stem vowel of this word in its
most common Old West Frisian form, eetsel, has undergone a process of word-initial lenghtening (‘Anlautsdehnung’). Some additional evidence for the presence of this phenomenon in Old West Frisian is adduced.