Etymologically
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tredan

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈtre.dɑn/[1]

Forms

tredan (strong class 5; third-person singular present tritt, past singular træd, past plural trǣdon)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *tredan, from Proto-Germanic *trudaną (“to tread”).[1][2] The West Germanic languages share the vowel ⟨e⟩: Old Frisian treda, Old Dutch tredan and Old High German tretan.[3][4] Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (trudan) and Old Norse troða have ⟨u⟩ and ⟨o⟩ instead.[4][2] Seebold notes that Old Saxon does not record the verb, which appears only later in Middle Low German and Dutch.[5] Wiktionary explains the two vowels as the forms of an old root aorist, with ⟨e⟩ in the present singular and ⟨u⟩ elsewhere.[1]

The further origin is uncertain.[2][1] Orel derives the verb from a form Proto-Indo-European *dru-t- of the root *dreu- (“to run”), preserved in a Sanskrit verb meaning “to run, hasten”.[2] Köbler connects it with the same root, meaning “to run, tread”.[3] Wiktionary calls the extension of a root meaning “to run” only possible.[1]

It is a strong verb of the fifth class: third person singular present tritt, past singular træd, past plural trǣdon, past participle treden.[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20, 890×897), in a verse of Proverbs on the worthless man who trit mid ðæm fet “treads with his foot”, rendering Latin “terit pede”.[7][6][8]

Semantic evolution

The verb means to tread, to tread down and trample, literally and figuratively, and to walk upon or pass through a place.[6][4] In the Paris Psalter me man tredeþ renders “conculcavit me homo”.[6] In Beowulf it means to walk upon and to cross.[9] In the glosses it renders Latin “conculcare”, “proterere” and “sternere”.[3] Toller adds the sense of holding the foot pressed on something.[10]

The verb lived on as Middle English treden, “to walk; to walk on”, now English tread.[11][12]

Timeline

  • 890×897 – trit mid ðæm fet “treads with his foot” in the Pastoral Care.[7][6][8]
  • s. x in. or xi¹ – fotum treden “trodden underfoot” in the Old English Bede (Tanner 10).[13][8]
  • s. x² – an animal's hide speaks of being trodden on, in a riddle of the Exeter Book.[14][6]
  • s. x/xi – the past træd “walked upon, crossed” in the Beowulf manuscript.[15][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. to tread, to step.[6]
  2. to tread down, to trample, literally and figuratively.[6][3]
  3. to walk upon, to cross, to traverse.[9][4]
  4. to press with the foot.[10]

Word family

  • betredan
  • fortredan

Descendants

  • Middle English treden (→ English tread; Scots trad; Scots tred)[1]
  • trod
  • treddian

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 410
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tredan
  4. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 352
  5. ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton
  6. ^ 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. 1012
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
  9. ^ 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. tredan
  10. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 725
  11. ^ 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)
  12. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  13. ^ 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. 531
  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. 223
  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. 344