*taljaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *taljaną in Wiktionary,^[1] *taljanan in Orel^[2] and *taljan in Köbler;^[3] Kroonen cites it as *taljan- under the noun *tala-.^[4]

Etymology

Köbler has it from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to aim, to reckon”),^[3] like Lehmann, who glosses the PIE root "aim, compute".^[5] Kroonen traces the base noun to *dolH-o-.^[4]

Morphology

A weak verb of the first class, a jan-verb.^[6][7] Wiktionary and Orel derive it from a noun: Wiktionary forms it from *talō "narration, calculation" with *-janą,^[1] Orel from his *talan.^[2] Fulk discusses why Old English tellan shows no breaking, which would be expected from *taljan.^[8]

Evidence

The verb is attested in North and West Germanic: Old Norse telja, Old English tellan, Old Frisian tella, Old Saxon tellian and Old High German zellen.^[2][4] Gothic has a different formation, Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌻𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (talzjan, “to correct, to instruct”), which Lehmann takes as a denominative of an s-stem *taliz-.^[5]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary compares Latin dolus (“guile, deception”),^[1] and Kroonen sets beside the base noun Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “bait, trick”) and Hittite talliye/azi (“to pray to, to evoke a deity”).^[4] Elsewhere Kroonen notes that the Hittite verb has also been connected with the root of Old Norse þulr (“sage”), but that it is usually compared with *taljan-.^[9]

Meanings

1. to count, to reckon^[4][2][3][1]
2. to recount, to tell^[2][3][1]

Kroonen thinks the oldest meaning was "to line up", from which "to count, to recount" developed.^[4] Old English also used the verb for "to consider, to think, to believe, to ascribe".^[10]

Derivatives

• *talō "narration, calculation", the base noun in Wiktionary.^[1] Kroonen relates *talō(n)- "speech, recount" to the neuter *tala- "number, speech".^[4]
• *talōjan- "to count, to speak", a related weak verb.^[4]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: telja (“to count, to reckon, to tell, to speak”)^[11]
• Old English: tellan (“to count, to reckon, to think, to tell”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: tella (“to count, to tell, to calculate, to answer for”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: tellian (“to count, to tell, to say”)^[13]
• Old High German: zellen (“to count, to reckon”)^[14]
• Gothic has no reflex of this formation.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *taljaną
2. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *taljanan
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *taljan
4. ^ 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. 508
5. ^ a b c Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. *talzjan
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. telja
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tellan
8. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
9. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 550
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. tellan
11. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. telja
12. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. tella
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tellian
14. ^ Riecke, Jörg (1996), Die schwachen jan-Verben des Althochdeutschen: Ein Gliederungsversuch, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 360