Etymologically
Log in

ge-

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 18:17. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

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