*reufaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *reufaną in Wiktionary and Ringe,^[1][2] *reufanan in Orel,^[3] and *reufan or *reuban in Köbler;^[4] Kroonen cites the stem *reufan-,^[5] Seebold REUF-A-.^[6]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- (“to break”), through *Hréwpt.^[1] Kroonen reconstructs the PIE thematic present *Hréup-e-, calls it an IE strong verb, and compares Latin rumpō (“to burst, to break open”) and Sanskrit "to tear, to break, to plunder", from *Hru-m-p-e-.^[5] In Ringe's account the Germanic present continues the PIE aorist subjunctive *Hréwp-e/o-, beside the nasal present *Hrunépti "is breaking", which was thematised in Latin and in the Sanskrit verb.^[2]

Morphology

A strong verb of class II.^[7][4] Beside it stood an iterative *rupp/bōn- with the paradigm third singular *ruppōþi, third plural *rubunanþi, from *Hrup-néh₂-ti, *Hrup-nh₂-énti.^[8]

Evidence

The verb is found only in North and West Germanic: Old Norse rjúfa and Old English rēofan.^[5][9] Of the verb, only the past participles Old English rofen (“broken”) and berofen (“bereaved”) are recorded in Old English.^[6] Gothic has no form of the verb,^[5] only the derived Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌱𐍉𐌽 (biraubōn, “to rob”).^[6][10] Mailhammer gives it an inexact Indo-European etymology.^[7]

Competing analyses

Orel derives it from IE *reup- and compares Sanskrit "to suffer racking pain", Latin rumpō and Lithuanian rùpti (“to become rough”).^[3] De Vries likewise compared Latin rumpō and Lithuanian rūpėti (“to care”), and put the verb under an IE root *reu.^[9] Kroonen's monograph on n-stems derives a whole Germanic verbal complex, with the iterative opposition of the verb and *ruppōþi, from the root *reup-.^[11]

Meanings

1. to break, to break off;^[5] to tear^[1][4]

Old Norse also used it for "to destroy" and, figuratively, for breaking a treaty.^[6] The sense "to pluck" belongs to the derivatives: the iterative gave Middle High German rupfen (“to rip”),^[8] and *raupijaną means "to pluck, to rip".^[12]

Derivatives

• *raubaz "loot, robbery".^[13][14]
• *raubijaną "to rob, to tear off", which Kroonen takes as a merger of an intensive to the verb and a verb formed from *rauba-.^[13][15]
• *raubō "rift", a feminine ō-stem.^[13][16]
• *ruppōną "to tear off", the iterative.^[8][17]
• *raupijaną "to pluck",^[12] which Orel connects with the verb despite its irregular *p;^[18] Kroonen derives it from the iterative.^[13]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: rjúfa (“to break, to tear apart”)^[19]
• Old English: rēofan (“to break, to tear”), recorded only in the past participle^[20][6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *reufaną
2. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 186
3. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *reufanan
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *reuban
5. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 410
6. ^ a b c d e Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. REUF-A-
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. 217
8. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 418
9. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 449
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. biraubōn
11. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2011), The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A Study in Diachronic Morphophonology, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 18, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, p. 282
12. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *raupijaną
13. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 406
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *raubaz
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *raubijaną
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *raubō
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ruppōną
18. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *raupjanan
19. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. rjúfa
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. réofan