Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Proto-Germanic word *faraną

Confidence
Established
From
Proto-Indo-European *per-
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Proto-Indo-European *per-
Proto-Germanic *faraną
Old Norse fara
Proto-West Germanic *faran
Dutch varen
German fahren
From the same root
Ancient Greek πέρα (péra) ← *per-
German Fahrer ← fahren
German Fahrzeug ← fahren

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *faraną in Wiktionary and Ringe,[1][2] *faranan in Orel[3] and *faran in Köbler.[4] Kroonen cites the stem *faran-.[5]

Etymology

Wiktionary has it from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“going, passage”).[1] Kroonen calls it an o-grade "intensive-iterative" verb and compares Sanskrit "to bring across" and Old Church Slavonic "to fly";[5] Orel relates it to Ancient Greek περάω (peráō, “to penetrate”) and Ancient Greek πείρω (peírō, “to pierce, to run through”).[3] Mailhammer counts its Indo-European etymology as accepted,[6] while Ringe calls the origins of the verb problematic in various ways.[7]

Morphology

A strong verb of class VI,[6][8][9] with the principal parts *faraną, *fōr, *fōrun, *faranaz.[2] Kroonen thinks that the *ō of the preterite arose secondarily, on the model of verbs with roots of the shape CHC;[5] Ringe likewise compares the pattern of "to eat" and suggests that verbs once beginning with a laryngeal helped to establish it.[7] The verb has causatives of both types, *fōrijaną with *ō and *farjaną with the inherited o-grade *a, which Ringe calls an archaic type.[10]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌽 (faran) in Gothic, Old Norse fara in Old Norse, and Old English faran, Old Frisian fara and Old High German faran in West Germanic,[5] with Old Saxon faran in Old Saxon.[3] EWA finds strong verbs with similar meanings in almost all the Germanic languages, and probably this verb in the second part of a Langobardic personal name.[9] A Saami verb "to move away" is a loan from Scandinavian.[11][9]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary takes *farjaną "to carry across" as probably the causative of a lost strong verb *feraną,[12] where Ringe and Orel derive it from *faraną.[13][3]

Meanings

  1. to go, to travel[5][4][1][2]

Gothic used the verb for "to wander, to move on",[14] Old Norse also for "to happen" and "to lose",[11] Old English for "to happen", "to act" and "to suffer",[15] and Old High German also for "to fly" and "to flow".[9]

Derivatives

  • *fōrijaną "to lead, to bring" and *farjaną "to carry across", its causatives.[10]
  • *fardiz "journey", a ti-stem.[16][5]
  • *farō and *fōrō "a going, a journey".[17][18]
  • *fōriz "able to go, passable", a vṛddhi gerundive.[19][20]
  • *farô "traveller".[21]
  • *farma- "moving", with Old Norse farmr (“freight, cargo”);[22] Orel's *farmaz.[3]
  • A verbal adjective "going", found in compounds.[23]

Reflexes

  • Gothic: 𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌽 (faran, “to wander, to move on”)[14]
  • Old Norse: fara (“to go, to travel, to happen, to lose”)[11]
  • Old English: faran (“to go, to travel, to happen, to suffer”)[15]
  • Old Frisian: fara (“to go, to travel”)[24]
  • Old Saxon: faran (“to move, to go, to travel, to fly”)[25]
  • Old High German: faran (“to go, to travel, to fly, to flow”)[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *faraną
  2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 275
  3. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 93
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *faran
  5. ^ 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. 128
  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. 223
  7. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 213
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. faran
  9. ^ a b c d e 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. faran
  10. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 258
  11. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. fara
  12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *farjaną
  13. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 282
  14. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. faran
  15. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. faran
  16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *fardiz
  17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *farō
  18. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *fōrō
  19. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *fōriz
  20. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 151
  21. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *farô
  22. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 129
  23. ^ Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter
  24. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. fara
  25. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. faran

Related etymologies

  • *stainaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *beraną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fadēr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *watōr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *ga- · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *frijaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fallaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *standaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
Cite this entry

“*faraną.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gem-pro/*faran%C4%85. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·