*webaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *webaną in Wiktionary,^[1] *weƀanan in Orel^[2] and *weban in Köbler;^[3] Kroonen cites the stem *weban-,^[4] Seebold WEB-A-.^[5]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to weave”).^[1] Ringe derives it from PIE *webh(H)- "to weave", comparing the Sanskrit and Tocharian B verbs;^[6] Kroonen calls it a strong verb with clear IE roots.^[4]

Morphology

A strong verb of class V.^[7][3] Its Old English principal parts are wefan, wæf, wæfon and wefen.^[5] In Old Norse the preterite plural ófu comes from *wābum,^[8] and Seebold takes the vowel of the past participle from a zero grade *ub-.^[5] Kroonen reconstructs the causative *wabjan- as PIE *h₁uobʰ-éie-.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested only in North and West Germanic: Old Norse vefa, Old English wefan and Old High German weban,^[4] with Middle Low German weven in Middle Low German.^[2] Gothic has no form.^[4] Seebold could not find the Old Saxon weban that Gallée lists;^[5] Köbler records Old Saxon wevan once, in a gloss of the end of the 9th century.^[10] Mailhammer counts it among the strong verbs with an accepted Indo-European etymology.^[7] Orel compares Tocharian A wäp-, Tocharian B wāp-, Ancient Greek ὑφή (huphḗ, “web”) and Albanian "to weave".^[2]

Competing analyses

Ringe writes the root *webh(H)-, with a possible final laryngeal,^[6] while Kroonen's causative implies an initial one, *h₁uobʰ-.^[9]

Meanings

1. to weave^[4][2][1][3]
2. to wind^[3]

Old Norse also used the verb for "to plait, to knit together",^[8][5] Old English for "to devise, to plot",^[11][5] and Old High German for "to plait".^[5]

Derivatives

• *wabją "web", a collective ja-stem.^[12][13]
• *wabjaną "to wrap, to entangle", the causative.^[9][14]
• *wiftiz "act of weaving", a verbal noun in *-ti-, perhaps from PIE *wébhtis;^[15] Orel's *weftaz "woof".^[16]
• *wibilaz "beetle, weevil", possibly.^[17][18]
• *wafsō "wasp", from a PIE word apparently derived from the root.^[15] Orel's *waƀsaz.^[19]

Reflexes

• Old Norse: vefa (“to weave, to plait”)^[20]
• Old English: wefan (“to weave, to devise”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: wevan (“to weave”), once^[10]
• Old High German: weban (“to weave, to plait, to spin”)^[21]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *webaną
2. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *weƀanan
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *weban
4. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 576
5. ^ a b c d e f g Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. WEB-A-
6. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 121
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. 223
8. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 649
9. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 564
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wevan
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wefan
12. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 563
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wabją
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wabjaną
15. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 134
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *weftaz
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wibilaz
18. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *weƀilaz
19. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *waƀsaz
20. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. vefa
21. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. weban