giefan

Pronunciation

• /ˈji͜y.fɑn/, [ˈji͜y.vɑn]^[1]

Forms

ġiefan (third-person singular present ġiefþ, past singular ġeaf, past plural ġēafon)^[1]

• Anglian: ġefan.^[2]
• Late West Saxon: ġifan, ġyfan;^[3][4] ġeofan and ġiofan also occur, the latter in Beowulf.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *geban, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”).^[1] The strong verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (giban), Old Norse gefa, Old Frisian jeva, Old Saxon geban and Old High German geban.^[5][6][7] It belongs to the fifth class of strong verbs, with preterite ⟨ġeaf⟩, ⟨ġēafon⟩ and past participle ⟨ġiefen⟩.^[6][8]

Orel relates it to Latin habeō (“to hold, have”) and Old Irish gaibid (“takes”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰ-, and notes that in Germanic it took the place of the inherited *dō- (“to give”).^[5] Köbler gives the same root, Pokorny's *gʰabʰ- “to seize, take”.^[7] Wiktionary writes the root *gʰebʰ- and reports that some Leiden scholars reject the comparison.^[1]

West Saxon ⟨ġiefan⟩ shows the diphthongisation of /e/ to ⟨ie⟩ after the palatal ⟨ġ⟩;^[9][2] Anglian has ⟨ġefan⟩.^[9][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded in the Épinal Glossary, of the end of the seventh century or around 700: gibaen uuaes “was given” glosses Latin “inpendebatur” (“was bestowed”).^[10][11][12] In the Pastoral Care (890×897) the shepherd is one ðe him God suelce cræftas giefð “to whom God gives such gifts”.^[13][11]

Semantic evolution

The verb means to give a thing as a present, to grant an honour, office or privilege, to give credit or affection, and to assign property to a future owner; it is used of God and fate bestowing their gifts, in wishes (se ælmihtiga God him gife wurðscipe) and in giving a woman in marriage.^[12] In the laws it also means to give freely, as opposed to selling, and to remit or pay a fine.^[14] In glosses it renders Latin “dare”, “donare” and “praebere”.^[7]

The native verb lived on as Middle English yēven, now the dialect word English yive.^[15][1] The modern verb give has a /g/ before a front vowel, which points to Scandinavian influence (compare Old Icelandic geva and Old Swedish giva); Durkin counts it among the native words replaced by a closely similar Norse cognate.^[16][17][4]

Timeline

• s. vii ex. or vii/viii – gibaen uuaes “was given” in the Épinal Glossary.^[10][11]
• 890×897 – God suelce cræftas giefð in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20).^[13][11]
• s. ix/x – King Æthelwulf geaf his daughter to Burgred in marriage, in the Parker Chronicle, annal 853.^[12][18]
• s. x/xi – ġeaf, ġyfen and ġiofan in the Beowulf manuscript.^[4][19]

Meanings

Verb

1. to give, give as a present.^[12][7]
2. to grant, confer (an honour, office or favour).^[12]
3. (of God or fate) to bestow.^[12]
4. to assign property for the future, bequeath.^[12]
5. to give in marriage.^[12][7]

Word family

• āġiefan
• forġiefan
• ætġiefan
• ofġiefan
• ġiefu
• ġift
• ġiefa
• ġifol

Descendants

• Middle English yiven (→ English yive; English yeve)^[1]
• Middle English given (→ English give; Scots gie)^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Campbell, A. (1959), Old English Grammar, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. § 428
3. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 474
4. ^ a b c d 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. ġifan
5. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 130
6. ^ a b Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. 217
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. giefan
8. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 5.71
9. ^ a b Campbell, A. (1959), Old English Grammar, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. § 185
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 c d 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 g h Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 463
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 102
15. ^ 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)
16. ^ Durkin, Philip (2014), Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 195
17. ^ Durkin, Philip (2014), Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 407
18. ^ 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
19. ^ 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