hebban

Forms

hebban (third-person singular present hefþ, past singular hōf, past plural hōfon)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to lift”).^[1] Its cognates are Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍆𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hafjan), Old Norse hefja, Old Frisian hebba, Old Saxon hebbian and Old High German heffen.^[2][3] Köbler traces it to the root Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize”).^[4] Holthausen compares Latin capiō (“to seize”), and puts habban (“to have”), hefiġ (“heavy”) and hefe (“weight”) in the same family.^[3]

It is a strong verb of the sixth class, with the preterite ⟨hōf⟩ and the past participle ⟨hafen⟩.^[5][6] Its present was formed with /j/, which caused the i-umlaut of /æ/ to ⟨e⟩.^[7] The geminated fricative of the prehistoric present became the stop /bb/, beside the ⟨f⟩ of ⟨hefþ⟩ “he raises”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is in the Old English gloss of the Vespasian Psalter, added in the middle of the ninth century: at Psalm 36 hefeð up ðe renders “exaltabit te” “he will raise you up”.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is to lift a thing, a body or a part of it: the hands, the eyes, the ark that is to be carried, a weapon or a banner.^[6][11] In Beowulf the hero speaks of the time siþðan ic hond ond rond hebban mihte “since I could lift hand and shield”.^[5] Figuratively it is to raise the voice or a song, to raise a cry, and to exalt.^[11][12] Beside it stands the prefixed āhebban.^[6]

The verb lived on as Middle English heven “to raise, lift up”, now heave.^[13][14]

Timeline

• s. ix med. – hefeð up ðe “will raise you up” in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.^[9][10]
• 890×897 – ðonne hie hebbað ða earce up “when they lift up the ark” in the Pastoral Care.^[15][11]
• s. x² – hine sylfne hefeþ on heahne beam in The Phoenix in the Exeter Book.^[16][6]
• s. x/xi – hond ond rond hebban in the Beowulf manuscript.^[17][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. to heave, lift, raise.^[6][4]
2. to raise (the voice, a song, a cry).^[11]
3. to exalt.^[12]

Word family

• āhebban
• ġehebban
• oferhebban

Descendants

• Middle English heven (→ English heave; Middle Scots heif; Middle Scots heve)^[1]

Related words

• habban
• hefiġ
• hefe

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, p. s.v. *hafjan
3. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 153
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hėbban
5. ^ 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. hebban
6. ^ a b c d e Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 524
7. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 5.80
8. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 4.13
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
11. ^ a b c d Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 526
12. ^ a b Clark Hall, J. R. (1960), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 175
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. ^ 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. 499
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. 223
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. 344