2. Common Germanic Words.

The common Germanic layer includes words which are shared by most Germanic languages, but do not occur outside the group. Being specifically Germanic, these words constitute an important distinctive mark of the Germanic languages at the lexical level. This layer is certainly smaller than the layer of common IE words. (The ratio between specifically Germanic and common IE words in the Germanic languages was estimated by 19th c. scholars as 1:2; since then it has been discovered that many more Germanic words have parallels outside the group and should be regarded as common IE.)

Common Germanic words originated in the common period of Germanic history, i.e. in PG when the Teutonic tribes lived close together. Semantically these words are connected with nature, with the sea and everyday life. OE examples of this layer are given together with parallels from other OG languages (Table 1).

Table 1

Common Germanic Words in Old English

OE	OHG	Gt	O Icel	NE
hand	hant	handus	hçnd	hand
sand	sant	—	sandr	sand
eorþe	erda	airþa	jçrð	earth
sin3an	singan	siggwan	singva	sing
findan	findan	finþan	finna	find
3rēne	gruoni	—	græn	green
steorfan	sterban	—	—	starve
scrēap	scâf	—	—	sheep
fox	fuhs	—	—	fox
macian	mahhon	—	—	make

Some of the words did not occur in all the OG languages. Their areal distribution reflects the contacts between the Germanic tribes at the beginning of their migrations: West and North Germanic languages (represented here by OE, OHG and O Icel) had many words in common, due to their rapprochement after the East Teutons (the Goths) left the coast of the Baltic Sea. The languages of the West Germanic subgroup had a number of words which must have appeared after the loss of contacts with the East and North Teutons but before the West Germanic tribes started on their migrations.

3. Specifically oe Words.

The third etymological layer of native words can be defined as specifically OE, that is words which do not occur in other Germanic or non-Germanic languages. These words are few, if we include here only the words whose roots have not been found outside English: OE clipian 'call', OE brid (NE bird) and several others. However, they are far more numerous if we include in this layer OE compounds and derived words formed from Germanic roots in England. For instance, OE wifman or wimman (NE woman) consists of two roots which occurred as separate words in other OG languages, but formed a compound only in OE (cf. OHG wib, O Icel vif, NE wife; OE man, Gt mann(a), NE man). Other well-known examples are — OE hlāford, originally made of hlaf (NE loaf, cf. R xлeб) and weard 'keeper' (cf. Gt wards). This compound word was simplified and was ultimately shortened to NE lord. OE hlæfdi3e was a compound consisting of the same first component hlāf of the root *di3e which is related to parallels in other OG languages: Gt digan, O Icel deigja 'knead' — lit. 'bread-kneading', later simplified to NE lady. Some compounds denoted posts and institutions in OE kingdoms: OE scir3erefa 'chief of the shire' (NE sheriff), OE witena3emōt, 'meeting of the elders, assembly'.