*skeraną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *skeraną in Wiktionary and Ringe,^[1][2] *skeranan in Orel and Fulk,^[3][4] and *skeran in Köbler.^[5] Kroonen cites the verb by its stem *skeran-,^[6] Seebold as SKER-A-.^[7]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”):^[1] LIV gives that root the meaning "to cut, scratch, trim", with a root present seen in Ancient Greek κείρω (keírō, “I shear”).^(LIV 2001|s.v. *(s)ker-) Kroonen reconstructs the pre-form as *skérH-e-, with a laryngeal;^[6] Wiktionary takes his *skerH- to be an extension of the root.^[1]

Morphology

A strong verb of class IV.^[8][9] Ringe gives the principal parts *skeraną, *skar, *skērun, *skuranaz, beside those of *beraną and *teraną.^[2] Mailhammer's list files the verb under class V, among the strong verbs with an accepted Indo-European etymology.^[10]

Evidence

The verb is attested in North and West Germanic: Old Norse skera, Old English scieran, Old Frisian skera and Old High German sceran.^[6] Kroonen calls it a strong verb with a European distribution.^[6] Neither Kroonen nor Orel cites a Gothic form of the verb itself, but Orel lists Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐍃𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (usskarjan, “to tear out”) under its causative.^[11] The verb was borrowed into Finnic as Finnish keritä (“to shear, to cut off”), from Proto-Germanic *skeran- or Proto-Norse *skeran;^[12] de Vries lists the Finnish loan too.^[13] EWA reconstructs an Old Low Franconian *skeran "to divide, to distribute" from its loan into Old French escirer (“to distribute, to separate”).^[8] For Old Saxon, Seebold assigns a gloss once read as its past participle to another verb;^[7] EWA lists Old Saxon -skeran (“to shear”).^[8]

Competing analyses

Orel connects Ancient Greek κείρω (keírō, “to cut, to shear”), Albanian shqerr (“to tear cloth”), Old Irish scaraim (“to separate”) and Lithuanian skìrti (“to separate”).^[3] Kroonen sets the Lithuanian verb, glossed "to cut", and Old Irish "to divide, to separate" beside it as *skrH-ie- and *skrH-eh₂-ie-.^[6] Seebold assigns the verb to a base Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- (“to cut”), which he finds hard to delimit from similar formations, and adds Umbrian kartu (“he shall cut”).^[7]

Meanings

1. to cut^[6][5]
2. to shear^[1][2][5]

Old Norse also used the verb for "to slaughter" and Old English for "to shave",^[6] Old Frisian for "to mow" and "to graze".^[14]

Derivatives

• *skēra- "pair of scissors", whose Old Norse and Old High German plural endings Kroonen takes as an old neuter dual.^[6]
• *skurdiz "cutting", a ti-stem;^[15][16] *skēriz "cutting, cuttable", a vṛddhi gerundive.^[17]
• *skarjaną "to separate, to allot", the causative.^[11][18]
• In Orel: *skarō "crowd, army", *skarnan "dung", *skarjan "isolated rock in the sea" and *skar(j)ōn "ploughshare".^[19]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: skera (“to cut, to slaughter”)^[13]
• Old English: scieran (“to shear, to cut, to split, to hew”)^[20]
• Old Frisian: skera (“to cut, to mow, to graze”)^[14]
• Old Saxon: -skeran (“to shear”), as EWA lists it^[8]
• Old High German: skeran (“to shear, to cut off, to trim”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *skeraną
2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 271
3. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *skeranan
4. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *skeran
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 443
7. ^ a b c Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. SKER-A-
8. ^ 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. skeran
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. skera
10. ^ 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. 222
11. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *skarjanan
12. ^ 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. 83
13. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. skera
14. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. skera
15. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 451
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *skurdiz
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *skēriz
18. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *skarjaną
19. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 335
20. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. scieran