Resumen de Early Nordic alu and *al- 'to nourish'

Thomas L. Markey, Bernard Mees

• The etymology of the early Nordic epigraphic term alu has been much debated among runologists. Often linked to meanings such as 'protect' or 'ale', it is most obviously to be compared with Germanic *al- 'to nourish'. A wider investigation of the 'nourish' etymology, however, suggests that a connection with Etruscan al- 'to give' better explains the employment of alu in its attested older runic contexts. Early Nordic alu is found on amulets, bog depositions and funerary finds, and seems to evidence a contrastive polysemy typical of religious terminology such as Latin sacer 'holy, accursed'.