*haldaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *haldaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *xalđanan in Orel^[3] and *haldan in Köbler;^[4] Seebold heads it HALD-A-.^[5]

Etymology

The usual etymology has it from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”),^[5][4][6] but Seebold finds the meanings hard to reconcile and calls the connection wholly hypothetical; in his view the verb has no exact comparison outside Germanic.^[5]

Morphology

A strong reduplicating verb (class VII).^[6][7][8] In Old High German its forms are haltan, preterite hialt, plural hialtun, past participle gihaltan.^[9] Because Old Swedish has by-forms with a double l, the d is usually explained by grammatical change from *þ, but Seebold does not find this conclusive.^[5] Orel and Holthausen derive those Old Swedish forms from *xalþanan, *halþan.^[10][11] Mailhammer classes its Indo-European etymology as inexact.^[8]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (haldan) in Gothic, Old Norse halda in Old Norse, and Old English healdan, Old Frisian halda, Old Saxon haldan and Old High German haltan in West Germanic.^[3] The Gothic verb means only "to tend, to graze cattle"; it occurs as an infinitive at Luke 15:15 and in the present at 1 Corinthians 9:7, and its preterite is not attested.^[6]

Competing analyses

Lehmann follows the derivation from PIE *kel- "to drive", with a shift from driving cattle to pasturing them.^[6] Orel compares Tocharian B käl(t)s- (“to goad, to drive”) and Latin praecellō (“to surpass”), from *keld-.^[3] Seebold thinks the verb's range of use, especially its narrowing to stock-keeping, fits a root meaning "to move around" much better, but finds no sure sound link, since that root had a labiovelar.^[5] Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain, naming Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to hide, to conceal”) as possible, beside Proto-Indo-European *kelH- (“to rise”) and *kel- "to drive".^[2]

Meanings

1. to hold, to keep^[2][4]
2. to tend, to keep animals, to pasture^[5][1]

Ringe notes that *haldaną meant "to keep animals, to pasture", while "to hold" was *habai-.^[1] Seebold sees a development from "to tend" through "to protect, to keep" to "to hold, to hold fast", concretely and figuratively, as in keeping laws and holding feasts.^[5]

Derivatives

• *xalđan "hold, fastening, support, custody", in Orel.^[12] LÄGLOS thinks that Finnish haltu (“power, possession, custody”) may have been borrowed from it.^[13]
• With prefixes, in Köbler: *bihaldan "to guard" and *gahaldan "to guard, to keep".^[14][15]
• *xulþaz "kind, faithful", which Orel thinks probably derived from the verb, after Mezger.^[16]
• Feist reports that Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌹𐍃 (haldis, “rather”) and its relatives have been joined either to this verb or to the adjective "inclined".^[17]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (haldan, “to tend, to graze cattle”)^[6]
• Old Norse: halda (“to hold, to tend”)^[18]
• Old English: healdan (“to hold, to contain, to possess, to rule, to keep”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: halda (“to hold, to keep, to observe”)^[19]
• Old Saxon: haldan (“to hold, to tend, to celebrate”)^[20]
• Old High German: haltan (“to hold fast, to keep, to guard, to protect”)^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 206
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haldaną
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xalđanan
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haldan
5. ^ a b c d e f g Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. HALD-A-
6. ^ a b c d e 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. haldan
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. healdan
8. ^ 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. 225
9. ^ a b 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. haltan
10. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xalþaz
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. healdan
12. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xalđan
13. ^ 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. 76
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bihaldan
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gahaldan
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xulþaz
17. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. haldis
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. halda
19. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. halda
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. haldan