Linguistics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional linguists and others with an interest in linguistic research and theory. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I was not able to find an etymology of ON "miskunn" within PrG. Is the first syllable a prefix "mis-" indicating any "wrong kunn, lack of kunn" or a deformed "midi-" as in E "com-passion", G "Mit-leid"?
To which root does the word go back? Or did the whole Concept of mercy/Erbarmen first come into Germanic languages with Christianisation? Wulfila translates Gr "οἰκτίρμων" with "bleiþs" (e.g. Lk 6,36) going back on PrG *bliþiz, which seems less pathetic and weaker.
From Bokmålsordboka:
miskunn m1 (norrøntmisskunn, egentlig 'det å ikke skylde en for noe', -kunn beslektet med kunne med eldre betydning 'skylde') særlig i religiøst språk: (Guds) nåde
A translation into English:
miskunn masc (norse: misskunn, actually "the state of not owing anyone anything", -kunn being related to kunne, having the older meaning "to owe") especially in religious language: (God's) mercy.
That would make it related to Proto-Germanic *kunnaną and PIE *ǵneh₃ or *ǵn̥néh₃ti. I am not sure of the semantic connection between knowing and owing.
