*standaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *standaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *stanđanan in Orel,^[3] *standan, *stanþan in Köbler,^[4] *standanan in Fulk,^[5] and STA-N-D-A- in Seebold.^[6] Kroonen cites it by its stem *standan-.^[7]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”),^[2][4] which Ringe writes *stah₂-; he reconstructs the principal parts *standaną, past *stōþ, plural *stōdun, participle *stadanaz.^[1]

Morphology

A strong verb of class VI,^[8][4][1] which Mailhammer puts among the verbs with an accepted Indo-European etymology.^[8] Ringe calls it the only unarguable nasal-infixed present of Proto-Germanic, with no exact parallels in other branches of Indo-European.^[1] The past had a Verner alternation, *stōþ beside the stem *stōd-: West Germanic shows the d, while Gothic generalised the þ, as in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐍉𐌸𐌿𐌽 (stoþun) "they were standing".^[9] The verb stood in suppletion with *stēn-.^[7] Fulk notes that Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old Low Franconian and Old East Norse also show an athematic stem, with the other forms supplied by *standanan.^[5]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan) in Gothic, Old Norse standa in Old Norse, and Old English standan, Old Frisian stonda, Old Saxon standan and Old High German stantan in West Germanic.^[7] The Gothic verb is in Wulfila's Bible, for example at Luke 6:8.^[10] Old High German still has archaic preterites without the nasal, stuat and stuot, beside the newer stuont with the nasal taken over from the present.^[11]

Competing analyses

Kroonen, after Kortlandt, holds that the present root *stand- was created from the third person plural present *stanþi, from *sth₂-énti, and the plural preterite *stunþ, from the PIE aorist *sth₂-nt; the third person singular aorist *stéh₂-t gave *stōþ, and the plural *stōdun arose by Verner's law once the aorist had merged with the perfect.^[7] On this view the verb did not start out as a nasal present at all.^[7] Ringe instead takes the present as backformed to the past with a nasal infix, after Seebold, and with suffixal accent, which explains its *-d-; the past reflects pre-Proto-Germanic *stāt-.^[9] Wiktionary derives the past from an innovated extension of the root, Pre-Germanic *stéh₂-t-, and the present from an n-infixed *sth₂-n-t-.^[2] Orel calls it a secondarily built nasal present derived from *stēnan, and cites Sturtevant's comparison with Hittite ištandāi- (“to hesitate, to delay”).^[3]

Meanings

1. to stand^[7][3][2]
2. to stay^[4]

Old English also used the verb for "to exist, to remain, to last",^[12] Old Norse for "to rest, to extend",^[6] and Old High German for "to remain, to be situated" and "to rise again".^[11]

Derivatives

• *stōdijaną "to make stand", a causative, with Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐍄𐍉𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (anastodjan, “to begin”).^[13][14]
• *stundō "point in time, period", a zero-grade noun in *-ō.^[15]
• *stassiz "standing".^[16]
• With prefixes: *atstandaną "to stand near",^[17] *bistandaną "to stand around, to surround",^[18] *andastandaną "to oppose, to withstand",^[19] *furaistandaną "to stand in front";^[20] in Köbler also *gastandan "to stand firm" and *farstandan "to understand, to oppose".^[21][22]
• Nouns in Orel: *stađō, derived from the verb, and *staþōn, from it and *stēnan.^[3]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan, “to stand”)^[23]
• Old Norse: standa (“to stand”)^[24]
• Old English: standan (“to stand, to exist, to remain, to last”)^[12]
• Old Frisian: stonda (“to stand, to be located, to last”)^[25]
• Old Saxon: standan (“to stand”)^[26]
• Old High German: stantan (“to stand, to stand firm, to remain”)^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 277
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *standaną
3. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *stanđanan
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *standan
5. ^ a b Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. § 12.64
6. ^ a b Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. STA-N-D-A-
7. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 473
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 96
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. standan
11. ^ a b c 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. stantan
12. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. standan
13. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 258
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stōdijaną
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stundō
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stassiz
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *atstandaną
18. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bistandaną
19. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *andastandaną
20. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furaistandaną
21. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gastandan
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *farstandan
23. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. standan
24. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. standa
25. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. stonda
26. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. standan