What do the words beg, big, dog, hag, hog, log, pig have in common? Pretty stupid question? Well, all right — what do they have in common apart from the obvious fact that they are all monosyllables, have a short vowel and end in g?
They all have very doubtful etymologies, in some cases unknown etymologies, and all appeared in Middle English, quite a few of them in the 1300s. A few of them have doubtful attestations in late OE. There are other words with the same structure which also are etymologically doubtful.
I have known about this for many years, but have never really got around to investigating it in any detail. If anyone knows of plausible theories for the sudden(-ish) appearance of these words in English, please let us know.
If you feel like whiling away the odd hour and have access to a good etymological dictionary….
On the lucus a non lucendo principle, big is obviously from Irish beag! That’s how a lot of Irish speakers still pronounce it too.
Michael,
I like your theory. If only it were true.
J