ge-

Forms

ġe-, earlier ġi-, later i-.^[2][3]

• Early: gi- and ge- side by side in the Épinal and Erfurt glosses; the Corpus Glossary mostly has ge-.^[4]
• Northumbrian: gi- is the regular form in the Durham Ritual gloss.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ga-, from Proto-Germanic *ga-.^[1][6] The prefix is common to the Germanic languages: Gothic 𐌲𐌰- (ga-), Old Frisian je-, Old Saxon gi- and Old High German ga-, later gi-.^[7][2] In Old Norse only a ⟨g-⟩ is left of it, in Old Norse granni (“neighbour”), which answers to 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (garazna).^[2]

Wiktionary and Etymonline derive it from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, with”), the source of Latin cum (“with”) and con-;^[1][8] Köbler gives the same root with a query, and Holthausen calls the prefix of unknown origin.^[6][2]

In the earliest texts the prefix is ⟨ġi-⟩; unstressed /i/ was then lowered to /e/.^[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The prefix is found in the Épinal Glossary, of the end of the seventh century or around 700, in its early form gi-: ginumni glosses Latin “adepto” (“obtained”), and þa gisettan glosses “inditas” (“put in, set”).^[10][11] Bosworth and Toller count both gi- and ge- in the Épinal and Erfurt glosses, against ge- throughout the Corpus Glossary.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller take the original sense to be “with”, which shows in collective nouns: ġebrōþor “brothers”, ġemāgas “kinsmen”, ġefēra “companion”, ġewita “witness”.^[12] With verbs it can give the sense of reaching a result: winnan “to fight”, ġewinnan “to win”, rīdan “to ride”, ġerīdan “to reach by riding”; it can make a sense figurative, as in ġehealdan “to observe” and ġefyllan “to fulfil”; and it often adds nothing that can be seen, as in ġelīc “like” and ġesund “sound”.^[12] It also forms past participles.^[1] In the laws Liebermann notes it both added and dropped against the usual form of many verbs.^[13]

The prefix lived on as Middle English y-, earlier i-, which in the end was mostly kept in past participles; it is hidden in alike and handiwork, and it is the a- of aware.^[8]

Timeline

• s. vii ex. or vii/viii – ginumni and gisettan in the Épinal Glossary.^[10][11]
• s. ix¹ – ge- throughout the Corpus Glossary, beside a few gi- forms.^[4][14]
• s. x² (c. 970) – gi- as the regular form in the Durham Ritual gloss.^[4][15]

Meanings

Prefix

1. “with, together”: forms collective nouns and nouns of association.^[12][1]
2. with verbs, marks completion or the reaching of a result.^[12][1]
3. with verbs, gives a figurative sense.^[12]
4. forms past participles and adjectives from them.^[1]
5. often without perceptible meaning.^[12]

Word family

• ġebrōþor
• ġemāgas
• ġefēra
• ġewita
• ġewinnan
• ġerīdan
• ġehealdan
• ġefyllan
• ġelīċ
• ġesund

Descendants

• Middle English y- (→ English y-; English a-; English i-)^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 124
3. ^ a b Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 6.50
4. ^ a b c d e Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 284
5. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 6.54
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ge-
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 6.53
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
12. ^ 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. 363
13. ^ Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 86
14. ^ 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. 76
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. 204