*slahaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *slahaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *slaxanan in Orel^[3] and *slahan in Köbler;^[4] Kroonen cites the stem *slahan- and Seebold the verb as SLAH-A-.^[5][6]

Etymology

Kroonen has it from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, to strike”), from a present *slak-e-, a root that may first have been onomatopoeic;^[5] Wiktionary gives the same root, apparently onomatopoeic.^[2]

Morphology

A strong verb of class VI.^[7][4] Ringe gives the principal parts *slahaną, *slōh, *slōgun, *slaganaz, with the grammatical change of h and g;^[1] he notes that this ablaut pattern closely resembles that of *etaną "to eat".^[8] EWA finds the same alternation in the agent nouns Old High German liodslago (“singer”) and liodslaho.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (slahan) in Gothic, Old Norse slá in Old Norse, and Old English slēan, Old Frisian slā, Old Saxon slahan and Old High German slahan in West Germanic.^[5] The past participle stands on the Möjbro stone in Uppland, which Antonsen dates to 300 AD: Proto-Norse ᛊᛚᚨᚷᛁᚾᚨᛉ (slaginaz) "slain", which he reads as Proto-Germanic *slag-in-a-z.^[10] Outside Germanic the only match is Celtic: Kroonen compares Middle Irish slachta (“hit”) and calls the verb an isogloss shared by Germanic and Celtic,^[5] and Orel adds slacc (“sword”).^[3]

Competing analyses

Mailhammer classes the verb as having an uncertain Indo-European etymology,^[7] and Ringe counts it among the class VI verbs whose origins are problematic in various ways.^[8] Antonsen reconstructs the participle as PIE *slak-yn-o-s.^[10]

Meanings

1. to beat, to strike, to hit^[5][4][2]
2. to slay, to kill^[5][1][2]

Old Norse also used the verb for "to forge" and "to throw",^[11] Old Frisian for "to coin", "to fill in a breach in a dyke" and "to drive cattle",^[12] and Old High German for "to hammer" and "to slaughter".^[13]

Derivatives

• *slagiz "blow", an i-stem.^[5][3]
• *slagô "striker, slayer", an agent noun with the zero grade,^[14] found in West Germanic compounds such as Old English manslaga (“murderer”).^[15]
• *slahtuz "striking, killing".^[16][3]
• *slagjǭ "sledge, mallet".^[17]
• *slōgiz "able to strike", a vṛddhi gerundive.^[18]
• In Orel: *slaʒan "blow", *slaxō(n) "bar, bolt" and *slaxtō(n) "slaughter".^[3]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (slahan, “to strike”)^[19]
• Old Norse: slá (“to strike, to kill, to forge”)^[11]
• Old English: slēan (“to strike, to throw, to stab, to kill”)^[20]
• Old Frisian: slā (“to strike, to slay, to coin”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: slahan (“to strike, to kill”)^[21]
• Old High German: slahan (“to strike, to hit, to slay, to kill”)^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 275
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *slahaną
3. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *slaxanan
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *slahan
5. ^ a b c d e f g Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 452
6. ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. SLAH-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. 224
8. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 213
9. ^ 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. liodslago
10. ^ a b Antonsen, Elmer H. (1975), A Concise Grammar of the Older Runic Inscriptions, Sprachstrukturen A 3, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. Möjbro stone
11. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. slā
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. slā
13. ^ 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. slahan
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *slagô
15. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 246
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *slahtuz
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *slagjǭ
18. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *slōgiz
19. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. slahan
20. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. slēan
21. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. slahan