*etaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *etaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *etanan in Orel^[3] and *etan in Köbler;^[4] Kroonen cites the stem *etan-.^[5]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“to eat”),^[6][2] through the PIE third person *h₁édti.^[2]

Morphology

A strong verb of class V.^[7][4] Ringe gives the principal parts *etaną, *ēt, *ētun, *etanaz: it was the only strong verb beginning with *e-, and its reduplicating syllable seems to have contracted with the root in the past singular.^[1] Fulk calls the past singular *ēt, like the perfect Latin ēdī, open to various interpretations.^[8] The present has no raising of *e to *i, unlike the j-present *sitjaną "to sit".^[9] EWA notes that the PIE verb was athematic, as the Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Slavic, Baltic and Hittite forms still show, while Germanic inflects it as a thematic class V verb from its first records.^[10]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (itan) in Gothic, Old Norse eta in Old Norse, and Old English etan, Old Frisian eta, Old Saxon etan and Old High German ezzan in West Germanic.^[3] The Gothic infinitive and the past plural Gothic 𐌴𐍄𐌿𐌽 (etun) occur in Luke.^[11] Mailhammer puts the verb among those with an accepted Indo-European etymology.^[7] Orel compares Ancient Greek ἔδω (édō), Latin edō and Lithuanian ėmi, all "to eat", and explains the long vowel of the Balto-Slavic forms by Winter's law.^[3]

LÄGLOS lists Finnish ettone (“rest after a meal; snack”), shared with Karelian, as a loan, following Nikkilä, from Proto-Germanic *etana- or a related noun, through a sense "food".^[12]

Meanings

1. to eat^[5][3][2]
2. to consume^[4]

Old High German also used the verb for "to devour, to graze" and, figuratively, "to take in, to understand".^[10]

Derivatives

• *atjaną "to make eat, to feed", the causative.^[13][14]
• *fraetaną "to devour", with *fra-.^[5][15]
• *ēsą "dead meat, bait", a thematised s-stem.^[5]
• *ētą "food, act of eating",^[16] *ētijaz "edible"^[17] and *etulaz "gluttonous".^[18]
• *etunaz "giant", which Orel connects with this verb only tentatively.^[19]
• *etǭ "manger",^[20] and Kroonen's *uz-ētan- "manger", with the adverb *uz.^[21]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (itan, “to eat”)^[22]
• Old Norse: eta (“to eat”)^[23]
• Old English: etan (“to eat”)^[24]
• Old Frisian: ita (“to eat”), eta^[25][26]
• Old Saxon: etan (“to eat”)^[27]
• Old High German: ezzan (“to eat, to dine, to devour”)^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 273
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *etaną
3. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *etanan
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *etan
5. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 119
6. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 89
7. ^ 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. 221
8. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 289
9. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 249
10. ^ a b c 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. ezzan
11. ^ 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. itan
12. ^ Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 58
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 39
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *atjaną
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *fraetaną
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *ētan
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ētijaz
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *etula-
19. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *etunaz
20. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *etǭ
21. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 563
22. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. itan
23. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. eta
24. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. etan
25. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ita
26. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ita
27. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. etan