*airi

Reconstruction

The adverb is *airi in Kroonen, Orel, Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2][3][4] *air in Köbler.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éyeri (“early”);^[4] Ringe writes the PIE form *áyeri "in the morning",^[3] and Orel says it continues a locative *ai̯(e)ri.^[2]

Morphology

Kroonen takes it as the locative of an old r/n-stem meaning "day", or perhaps "daybreak".^[1] The e of *ajeri was regularly raised to i after *j, and *aji- then merged with *ai-;^[1] Ringe gives the steps *áyeri > *ajiri > *airi.^[3]

Evidence

Kroonen lists reflexes in North and West Germanic: Old Norse ár, Old English ǣr, Old Frisian ēr, Old Saxon ēr and Old High German ēr.^[1] Orel adds Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂 (air, “early”).^[2] The Gothic word occurs at Mark 16:2 and Mark 1:35.^[6] Outside Germanic, Kroonen and Ringe compare Avestan aiiarə (“day”), and Kroonen calls the Germanic word identical to Ancient Greek ἦρι (êri, “early”).^[1][3]

Competing analyses

EWA derives Old High German ēr and the Old English and Old Norse adverbs "earlier" from the comparative *airiz rather than from *airi, and holds that the Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂 (air) in 𐌰𐌹𐍂 𐌿𐌷𐍄𐍅𐍉𐌽 (air uhtwon) points to a comparative too.^[7] In Kroonen's view Old Norse árla (“early”) developed from árliga by syncope.^[1]

Meanings

1. early^[1][2][5][4]

The West Germanic reflexes mean "before, earlier".^[1][8][9]

Derivatives

• *airiz "earlier", an adverbial comparative, continued in Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐍃 (airis), from *h₂ei-er-is.^[10][11] Kroonen asks whether Old Norse áðr (“before, earlier”) was once identical with the Gothic form, through dissimilation of *ārir.^[10]
• *airizô "earlier, former", the comparative adjective, as in Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐌶𐌰 (airiza).^[12][13]
• The superlative *airistaz "first", in Orel,^[2] which Fulk finds only in West Germanic.^[14]
• Compounds: *airidagaz "days of yore" and *airiwakraz "awake early".^[15][16][17]
• Orel takes the noun *airaz "messenger" as probably a derivative.^[18]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐍂 (air, “early”)^[19]
• Old Norse: ár (“early”)^[20]
• Old English: ǣr (“before, earlier, soon”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: ēr (“before, earlier”)^[21]
• Old Saxon: ēr (“earlier, before”)^[9]
• Old High German: ēr (“earlier, before”)^[22]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 12
2. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *airi
3. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 159
4. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *airi
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *air
6. ^ 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. s.v. air
7. ^ 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. êr¹
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ǣr
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. êr
10. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 13
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *airiz
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *airizô
13. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 318
14. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
15. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *airi-đaʒaz
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *airi-wakraz
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *airidagaz
18. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *airaz
19. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. air
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. ār
21. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ēr
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ēr