*sagjaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *sagjaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *saʒjanan in Orel^[3] and *sagjan in Köbler;^[4] Kroonen cites the stem *sagjan-.^[5] Orel also allows a variant *saʒēnan.^[3]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to say, to recount”):^[5][6] Kroonen derives it from an intensive *sokʷ-éie-, a formation that Germanic shares with Balto-Slavic.^[5] Wiktionary allows either that iterative or intensive or an innovated stative *sokʷ-h₁-yé-ti.^[2]

Morphology

A weak verb.^[3][5] Ringe counts it among the few statives of class III that still had a present stem in *-ai- ~ *-ja-, with the past *sagdē and the participle *sagdaz, judging from Old Norse and northern West Germanic relics.^[1] Old High German sagēn continues a stem *sagēn-.^[5]

Kroonen explains the g by the loss of labialisation of *kʷ before *j after a root with o.^[5] Ringe starts from pre-Proto-Germanic *sokwəyó-, with Grimm's and Verner's laws; he argues that a vowel reflex of the first laryngeal separated the *gʷ from the *j and may have delabialised it.^[6][7]

Evidence

The verb is found in North and West Germanic: Old Norse segja, Old English secgan, Old Frisian sedza, Old Saxon seggian and Old High German sagēn.^[5][3] Kroonen and Orel list no Gothic form.^[5][3] Old High German has the class III verb sagēn beside rarer forms of a class I verb seggen; how the two came to stand side by side is disputed.^[8] Outside Germanic Kroonen calls it identical with Lithuanian sakýti (“to say”), and compares Ancient Greek ἐννέπω (ennépō, “to say, to recount”) and Old Irish seichid (“says”).^[5]

Meanings

1. to say^[5][4][2]
2. to recount, to tell^[5][3]
3. to speak^[4]

Old English also used it for "to accuse",^[9] and Old Frisian for "to determine, to declare".^[10]

Derivatives

• *sagǭ "story",^[11] which Kroonen writes *sagō(n)- and calls a formation related to the verb.^[12]
• *saʒnō "tale, report" and the adjective *saʒulaz, in Orel.^[3]
• *furaisagjaną "to say beforehand, to predict", with *furai-.^[13]
• *sanþasagulaz "truthful", with *sanþaz.^[14]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: segja (“to say, to tell”)^[15]
• Old English: secgan (“to say, to speak, to tell, to accuse”)^[9]
• Old Frisian: sedza (“to say, to speak, to declare”)^[10]
• Old Saxon: seggian (“to say”)^[16]
• Old High German: sagēn (“to say, to speak, to tell, to proclaim”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 287
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sagjaną
3. ^ a b c d e f g Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 311
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *sagjan
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 420
6. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 131
7. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 164
8. ^ 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. sagên
9. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. secgan
10. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sedza
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sagǭ
12. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 421
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furaisagjaną
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sanþasagulaz
15. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 467
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sėggian