Etymological notes (XIV)

Etymologies for the Estonian words asima 'to seize', iidne 'ancient', kabuhirm 'panic', leetrid 'measles' and ullitama 'to publish' are presented. In the article the verb asima 'to seize, to grasp, to snatch' is interpreted as a borrowing from the German word haschen 'to grip; to catch'. The word iidne 'ancient' is explained as a derivative from the stem variant igi- of the noun iga 'age', with -g- dropped in grade alternation. The noun kabuhirm 'panic' could be a translation loan from the Finnish pakokauhu, with metathesis (Fin pako- = Est pagu-) having taken place in the first component. The word leetrid 'measles' has derived from an older standard compound leetrubid 'lit, red smallpox'. The verb ullitama has been derived in the early 1920s, using the standard Estonian stem uld-'general', not a Finnish example as has sometimes been suggested. Adapted from the source document