*ginnaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *ginnaną in Wiktionary^[1] and *ʒennanan in Orel;^[2] Kroonen cites it by its stem *ginnan-^[3] and Köbler as *gennan.^[4] Its origin is unclear.^[1]

Etymology

Kroonen calls it a strong verb with no certain etymology and tentatively relates it to a root from Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“to arise, to begin”), comparing Old Irish cét; the initial g would then go back to a PIE k in a prefixed form.^[3][1]

Morphology

A strong verb of class III.^[5][6] Mailhammer puts it among the strong verbs of uncertain Indo-European etymology.^[6] In all the Germanic languages the verb is found only with prefixes.^[7] In Old High German it formed weak preterites beside the strong ones, modelled on Old High German kan (“I can”), which it resembled in use.^[7]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Gothic and West Germanic: Gothic 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (duginnan), Old English beginnan, Old Saxon biginnan and Old High German biginnan, all "to begin",^[3] and Hofmann and Popkema give Old Frisian bijenna.^[8] Kroonen's and EWA's lists have no Old Norse form.^[3][7] The Gothic verb is frequent in the preterite.^[9]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary reports that the root has often been traced to Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to take”), for instance by LIV, and that Kroonen and Scheungraber take it from *ken-, which would make Proto-Slavic *načęti (“to begin”) and Proto-Celtic *kentus (“first”) cognates.^[1] Lehmann thinks of a nasal form *gʰend- "seize" of *gʰed-.^[9] Others, Kroonen notes, have compared Albanian zë (“to touch, catch, begin”) from *ǵʰen-;^[3] Holthausen made this comparison.^[10] Orel compares Ancient Greek θείνω (theínō, “to kill”) and Proto-Slavic *gъnati (“to drive”).^[2] Feist found neither the Old Church Slavonic nor the Sanskrit comparison satisfying.^[11] Heidermanns gives the verb the meaning "to cut open, to split" with one prefix and "to begin" with *bi-, and derives the adjective *genna- "wide" from it, through "split", then "gaping wide";^[12] if "to cut open" is the original sense, Wiktionary allows a link with *gīnaną "to gape".^[1]

Meanings

1. to begin^[3][2][1]
2. to make an opening, to cut open^[1]

Köbler sets up a second verb *gennan "to start to cut?".^[4]

Derivatives

• *genna- "wide, spacious", known only from Old English.^[12]
• Köbler's *genna- "beginning", a neuter noun.^[13]
• With prefixes, in Köbler: *bigennan and *angennan "to begin".^[14][15]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (duginnan, “to begin”)^[11]
• Old English: beginnan (“to begin, to attempt”) and onginnan (“to begin, to attempt”)^[16][17]
• Old Frisian: bijenna (“to begin, to found”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: biginnan (“to begin”)^[18]
• Old High German: biginnan (“to begin, to undertake”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ginnaną
2. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 132
3. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 178
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gennan
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *ginnan
6. ^ a b Mailhammer, Robert (2007), The Germanic Strong Verbs: Foundations and Development of a New System, Trends in Linguistics 183, Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 218
7. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. biginnan
8. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bijenna
9. ^ a b Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. 125
10. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 37
11. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 88
12. ^ a b Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. 249
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *genna-
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bigennan
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *angennan
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. beginnan
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. onginnan
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. biginnan