Aat. hērro, as. hêrro, ags. hearra / lat. senior: per un’analisi comparativa nelle tradizioni germaniche antiche

O.H.G. hērro (O.S. hêrro) ‘lord’ was originated from hēriro, a comparative form of the adjective hēr: in Old English and Old Norse the corresponding terms, hār and hárr respectively, are limitedly attested and their meaning is ‘grey’, ‘old’. According to the analysis of prose as well as poetic texts the adjective in the continental area mostly refers to those who deserve respect because of their age and experience. Through comparison in the various Germanic traditions this paper aims at investigating the development of O.H.G. hērro and cognate words within the semantic field of age, shaped on the Latin senior which followed a parallel evolution from senex. The most plausible hypothesis would be that of a loan-meaning coined in Germany and then imitated in Old Norse and Old English. Also used to designate the Christian Lord and in any case in poetic texts, O.E. hearra is particularly interesting because it is used especially in Genesis B, that section of the poem transposed from Old Saxon.