begietan

Forms

beġietan (third-person singular present beġiett, past singular beġeat, past plural beġēaton)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bigetaną, formed of the prefix Proto-Germanic *bi- and *getaną (“to get, attain”).^[1][2] The compound is shared with Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bigitan, “to find”), Old Saxon bigetan and Old High German bigezzan.^[3][4][5] Old English also has forġietan (“to forget”) and onġietan (“to understand”) from the same simplex.^[5]

The simplex is related by Holthausen and Orel to Ancient Greek χανδάνω (khandánō, “to hold, contain”) and Latin prehendō (“to seize”);^[5][3][4] Köbler gives the root as Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to seize”) (Pokorny 437).^[5][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20, 890×897): Forðy ne magon ða hieremenn begietan ðæt leoht ðære soðfæstnesse "therefore the hearers cannot obtain the light of truth".^[6][7] In the Parker Chronicle (s. ix/x), under the year 897, the Danes who had no money him þær scipu begeton "got themselves ships there".^[8][7][9]

Semantic evolution

The core sense is "to get, obtain", of property, land, a wife or a city taken by force.^[10][9] In the laws it also means "to seize, arrest" a slayer or a lordless man.^[11] In the Lindisfarne gloss it renders Latin invenire "to find", and Toller's Supplement adds the sense "to beget".^[9] In Beowulf it is used of a fate that comes upon someone, "to befall, overtake".^[12] In glosses it renders adipisci, obtinere, impetrare and invenire.^[4]

It became Middle English biyeten, "to acquire, get possession of".^[13] The sense "to procreate" is recorded from about 1200, and the verb survives as English beget.^[14]

Timeline

• 890×897 – begietan ðæt leoht ðære soðfæstnesse “to obtain the light of truth” in the Pastoral Care.^[6][7]
• s. ix/x – scipu begeton “got ships”, annal 897 of the Parker Chronicle.^[8][7]
• s. x³/⁴ – begeattas glossing invenietis “you will find” (Matthew 7:7) in the Lindisfarne Gospels gloss.^[15][9]
• s. x/xi – beġeat “befell” in the Beowulf manuscript.^[16][12]
• c. 1200 – Middle English biyeten in the sense “to procreate”.^[14]

Meanings

Verb

1. to get, obtain, acquire; to gain possession of.^[10][9]
2. to take, seize;^[10][11] (law) to arrest.^[10][11]
3. to find.^[9][4]
4. (poetic) to come upon, befall.^[12]
5. to beget.^[9]

Descendants

• Middle English biyeten (→ English beget)^[1]

Related words

• ġietan
• forġietan
• onġietan
• andġiet

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 133
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. begietan
5. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 130
6. ^ 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. 499
7. ^ a b c d Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
8. ^ 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. 83
9. ^ a b c d e f g Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 73
10. ^ a b c d Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 79
11. ^ a b c Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 21
12. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. be-ġitan
13. ^ 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)
14. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
15. ^ 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
16. ^ 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. 344