be-

Forms

be-, earlier bi-.^[2]

• Northumbrian: late Northumbrian texts often keep bi-.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, the unstressed form of the word that is the preposition bī (“by”).^[1][4] Orel gives the preposition as *bi, continued by Gothic 𐌱𐌹 (bi, “by, about”), Old Frisian be, Old Saxon be and Old High German bī, with the stressed vowel lengthened in West Germanic, and probably connected with *umbi.^[5] The Gothic prefix corresponds.^[4]

In the earliest texts the prefix is ⟨bi-⟩; unstressed /i/ was then lowered to /e/, at a date only a little later than the merger of unstressed /æ/ with /e/ in the eighth century.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The prefix is found in the Épinal Glossary, the oldest manuscript of English glosses, of the end of the seventh century or around 700: bisuicend glosses Latin “inpostorem” (a deceiver, from beswīcan (“to deceive”)), and binumni (from beniman (“to take away”)) stands beside ginumni a few lines earlier.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

With verbs it does three things, by Bosworth and Toller's account: it strengthens a transitive verb or makes an intransitive one transitive (sprengan “sprinkle”, besprengan “besprinkle”, settan “set”, besettan “surround”, rēotan “weep”, berēotan “bewail”); it can be privative (beniman “deprive”, berēafian “bereave”, behēafdian “behead”); and sometimes it adds no perceptible sense (becuman “come”).^[9] Liebermann notes in the laws that it can stand where other texts have ġe-, on- or oþ-.^[10]

The prefix lived on as Middle English bi-, now English be-; the Middle English Dictionary notes that Middle English made many new verbs on the inherited models.^[4][11]

Timeline

• s. vii ex. or vii/viii – bisuicend “deceiver” in the Épinal Glossary.^[7][8]
• s. x³/⁴ – bi- in the late Northumbrian Lindisfarne gloss.^[3][12]

Meanings

Prefix

1. with verbs, strengthens the meaning or makes an intransitive verb transitive: “about, around, over”.^[9]
2. with verbs, privative: “away, off”.^[9]
3. with verbs, often without perceptible change of meaning.^[9]
4. with nouns, adjectives and adverbs, in the same senses.^[9]

Word family

• bebēodan
• becuman
• beniman
• berēafian
• behēafdian
• besettan
• besprengan
• befōn
• begangan
• beswīcan

Descendants

• Middle English bi- (→ English be-; Scots be-)^[1]

Related words

• bī

Usage notes

Under stress the prefix has the form bī- or biġ-, with the meaning of the preposition “by”: bīcwide “byword, proverb”, bīspell “parable”, bīstandan “to stand by”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 6.50
3. ^ a b Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 6.54
4. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
5. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 44
6. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 6.53
7. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 610
8. ^ a b Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
9. ^ a b c d e f Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 69
10. ^ Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 19
11. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 291