healdan

Forms

healdan (strong class 7; third-person singular present hielt, past singular hēold, past plural hēoldon)^[1]

• Anglian haldan, West Saxon healdan.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *haldan, from Proto-Germanic *haldaną (“to watch, to look after”).^[1][4] The Proto-Germanic verb survives as Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (haldan, “to tend, to herd”), Old Norse halda, Old Frisian halda, Old Saxon haldan and Old High German haltan.^[4][5] Seebold glosses the Germanic verb “to tend (cattle)”, the sense of the Gothic verb, and Cleasby and Vigfússon took the sense “to tend, cherish” of the Gothic verb and of the Old Saxon Heliand to be the original one.^[6][7]

The further origin is uncertain.^[1] Orel relates it to Tocharian B käl(t)s- (“to goad, to drive”) and Latin praecellō (“to surpass”) and celsus (“lofty”), from Proto-Indo-European *keld-;^[4][5][1] Köbler gives the root Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”);^[4][5][1] Wiktionary also lists a root meaning “to hide” and *kelH- (“to rise”).^[4][5][1] Holthausen compares Middle Low German hilde (“eager”).^[8]

It is a strong verb of class 7, with the past ⟨hēold⟩.^[1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is in the mid-ninth-century gloss of the Vespasian Psalter, where Psalm 36:28 has in ecnisse bioð gehaldne “they shall be kept for ever” over Latin “in aeternum conseruabuntur”.^[10][11] The will of the ealdorman Alfred (871×899), in its original single sheet, asks the heavenly king to keep whoever will mid rehte haldan “rightly keep” its gifts.^[12][11]

Semantic evolution

The core sense is “to hold, keep”: to grasp, restrain or confine, as Jacob held Esau by the foot.^[13] Toller's Supplement puts first the old pastoral sense, keeping a flock, then the keeping of people and land in one's charge, that is, ruling them;^[14][9] Beowulf says ic heold þas leode fiftig wintra “I ruled this people fifty winters”.^[14][9] It also covers possessing and inhabiting, keeping and guarding, observing a command, a promise or a feast, practising a virtue, treating someone well or ill, and, used intransitively, holding out or going on one's way.^[15][8] Durkin notes the suggestion that the sense “to proceed, steer” came through Norse influence, but says certainty is elusive in such cases.^[16] Glosses render Latin “tenere”, “servare”, “custodire”, “observare” and “regere”.^[5]

It continued as Middle English holden, earlier halden, now English hold.^[2][3]

Timeline

• s. ix med. – bioð gehaldne “they shall be kept” in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.^[10][11]
• 871×899 – mid rehte haldan in the will of the ealdorman Alfred.^[12][11]
• 890×897 – healden hie “let them take care” in the Pastoral Care.^[17][11]
• s. x² – healde mīne wīsan “I hold my tune” in Riddle 8 of the Exeter Book.^[18][1]
• s. x/xi – heold þas leode “ruled this people” in Beowulf.^[19][9]

Meanings

Verb

1. to hold, grasp; to restrain, confine.^[13][15]
2. to keep watch over, tend a flock.^[14][1]
3. to rule, govern a people or a land.^[14][9]
4. to possess, occupy, inhabit.^[15][9]
5. to keep, guard, preserve; to contain.^[8][15][1]
6. to observe, keep a command, promise or feast.^[15][1]
7. to treat, behave towards.^[15]
8. (intransitive) to hold out, not surrender; to proceed, go.^[15][1]

Word family

• behealdan
• forhealdan
• ġehealdan
• āhealdan
• æthealdan
• oferhealdan
• ofhealdan
• ymbhealdan
• healdend

Descendants

• * Middle English holden (→ English hold; Scots hald)^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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)
3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 155
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. healdan
6. ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton
7. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 232
8. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 151
9. ^ a b c d e f 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. healdan
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. 329
11. ^ a b c d e 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 The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 1508
13. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 517
14. ^ a b c d Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 517
15. ^ a b c d e f g Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 106
16. ^ Durkin, Philip (2014), Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 181
17. ^ 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
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. 223
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