TNTL 118/4

Jeremy Bergerson

An etymology of Afrikaans mos

Abstract -- Afrikaans mos is a word peculiar to Afrikaans. Several fanciful etymologies of this word have been brought forth. The one that has gained recognition is that mos is derived from immers, with a shift of stress to the second syllable and loss of /r/ before /s/. It is proposed here that this etymology is erroneous, and that the ancestor of mos is rather to be sought out in Dutch mors and its congeners.

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