Note 863 — APPENDIX. (continued 2)

As this German example will not be familiar to all English readers, it is necessary to give a few words of explanation. The great Deluge (Gen. VI.-VIII.) is called in modern German Sünd-fluth, which seems to be Sin-flood = Flood on account of sin. But in Old High German it is written Sin-vluot and Sint-vluot, which cannot be identical with the assumed meaning of the modern word, since sin (peccatum) is in Old High German sunta. Moreover, sin is a prefix well known to most of the Teutonic languages, denoting (1) always, (2) great. In the former sense we have it in the Old English singrene ‘evergreen;’ in the latter in the Anglo-Saxon sinhere ‘great army.’ Hence it is assumed that the word in German altered its pronunciation when the prefix sin became obsolete, being then supposed to be intended for Sünd-fluth, as is shown in the text. See Grimm, Deut. Gram. II. 554, Graff, Althochd. Sprachschatz, VI. 25, Ettmüller, Lex. Anglosax. p. 638, Vigfusson, Icelandic English Dict. s. v. Sí. Prof. Steinthal appears now (in a letter to the translator) to doubt whether this history of the word is tenable; but the assumption that it is so may at least be allowed, in order to retain this excellent example of the psychological progress.—Tr.