*under

Reconstruction

The word is *under in Wiktionary, Köbler and Fulk,^[1][2][3] *under- in Kroonen^[4] and *unđer in Orel.^[5] Ringe writes *undar, with *under as a possibility.^[6]

Etymology

In Kroonen and Ringe it continues two PIE prepositions that fell together in Germanic: one is from Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér (“under”), the other Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥tér (“inside, between”).^[4][6][1]

Morphology

An adverb and preposition.^[4][2] Feist and de Vries see in the "under" word a comparative formation, like Sanskrit अधर (ádhara, “lower”).^[7][8] Ringe gives the word as an example of Verner's law creating homonyms: through it *n̥tér and *n̥dʰér both gave *undar.^[6] The merger produced a preposition meaning both "under" and "among".^[4]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂 (undar), Old Norse undir, and Old Frisian under, Old Saxon undar and Old High German untar in West Germanic.^[4] Gothic has the word in the sense "under" only, at Mark 4:21, beside Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂𐍉 (undaro).^[9] The West Germanic languages keep both meanings: Old English and Old High German use the word for "under" and for "among".^[6] De Vries treats the Old Norse word for "between" as a separate word that coincided in form with the word for "under".^[8]

Competing analyses

The ending is disputed.^[6][10] Ringe hesitates between *-ar and *-er;^[6] Boutkan holds that the oldest outcome of PIE final *-er is *-ar, except before a following i.^[10] Fulk notes that the Old Norse form shows no umlaut, and that a change of *-er to *-ar may have happened only in medial syllables.^[3] For the "among" sense, the cognates are Sanskrit अन्तर् (antár, “between, within”), Latin inter (“among, between”) and Old Irish eter (“between”);^[4][5] Orel compares only these, and lists the West Germanic forms with the meaning "between".^[5]

Meanings

1. under^[4][2][1]
2. among, between^[4][2][1]

Old Frisian also used it for "within", "during" and "in the power of".^[11]

Derivatives

• *unđurniz "midday", in Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐍄𐍃 (undaurnimats, “midday meal”) and Old Norse undorn,^[5] and Orel derives it from *unđer and compares the formation of Latin internus (“internal”).^[5]
• Compounds: *underkuningaz "underking, viceroy" and *understandaną "to stand beneath; to understand".^[12][13]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂 (undar, “under”)^[7]
• Old Norse: undir (“under; between”)^[8]
• Old English: under (“under, during, through”)^[14]
• Old Frisian: under (“under, within, between, during”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: undar (“under, below, between”)^[15]
• Old High German: untar (“under, between, among”)^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *under
2. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *under
3. ^ a b Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
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. 559
5. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 434
6. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 124
7. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. undar
8. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 634
9. ^ 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. 404
10. ^ a b Boutkan, Dirk (1995), The Germanic 'Auslautgesetze', Leiden Studies in Indo-European 4, Amsterdam / Atlanta: Rodopi
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. under
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *underkuningaz
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *understandaną
14. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. under
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. undar
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. untar