*krītaną

Reconstruction

The verb is *krītaną in Wiktionary,^[1] *krītanan in Orel,^[2] and *kreitan or *krītan, both marked as doubtful, in Köbler.^[3] Lehmann writes it *kritan-.^[4]

Etymology

Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Indo-European *greyd- (“to shout”), beside *grey-, which seems to be connected with Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂- (“to cry hoarsely”).^[1]

Morphology

A strong verb of class I.^[4][5] Orel also classes it as a strong verb.^[2]

Evidence

Wiktionary notes that placing the verb in Proto-Germanic rests on a single Crimean Gothic word, printed eriten, which is taken to be a misprint for criten or the like.^[1] Lehmann reports that Busbecq glossed it "flere", "to cry", and counted it among the words that differ little from those of his own language; elsewhere the verb is found in Middle Dutch criten, Middle Low German kriten (“to scream”) and Middle High German krīzen (“to cry loudly, to groan”).^[4] Old Saxon, Old Dutch and Old High German forms are only reconstructed.^[1] Holthausen traces Italian gridare, French crier and Portuguese gritar to a Gothic *kreitan,^[6] and Wiktionary reports that some take it as the source of Vulgar Latin *crītāre.^[1]

Competing analyses

Orel connects the verb, at a distance, with the group of IE *ger-, comparing Sanskrit जरते (járate, “sounds”) and Lithuanian gùrti (“to sound loudly”).^[2] Wiktionary's cognates are gùrti, Middle Irish grith (“a cry”), Welsh gryd (“a scream”) and Latin gingriō (“to cackle”).^[1] Lehmann calls the verb onomatopoeic, and reports that Høst and Stearns took the Crimean Gothic word for a misprint of griten, connected with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (gretan, “to weep”).^[4] Feist also left open whether it belongs with 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (gretan) or with the Middle Dutch and Middle High German verbs, and thought it probably onomatopoeic.^[7] Holthausen called its origin obscure.^[6] Wiktionary sets beside it *krīskaną (“to scream, to shout”), from the same root, and *krintaną (“to grumble”), possibly a nasal-infix form of it.^[8][9]

Meanings

1. to call out, to scream, to shout^[1][3]
2. to proclaim^[1]

Feist renders the Crimean Gothic word "to weep",^[7] and Middle Low German used the verb for "to scream, to howl".^[3]

Reflexes

• Crimean Gothic: eriten, read criten or kriten^[4][10]
• Middle Dutch: criten (“to scream”), in Lehmann's list^[4]
• Middle Low German: kriten (“to scream”), in Orel's list^[2]
• Middle High German: krīzen (“to cry loudly”), in Orel's list^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *krītaną
2. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *krītanan
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *kreitan
4. ^ a b c d e f 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. criten
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *kreitan
6. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. *kreitan
7. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. kriten
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *krīskaną
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *krintaną
10. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. eriten