*wurdą

Reconstruction

The word is *wurdą in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *wurđan in Orel^[3] and the stem *wurda- in Kroonen and Köbler.^[4][5] De Vries also writes *wurða-.^[6]

Etymology

Wiktionary has it inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥dʰom (“word”);^[2] Kroonen starts from *(h₂)urdʰ-o-, and Orel from *u̯ṛdho-.^[4][3]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[4][7] De Vries sees in it a formation with a PIE suffix -dh-.^[6] In Ringe's derivation the PIE syllabic *r̥ gave Germanic *ur, and the *þ that resulted from the PIE *t became *d by Verner's law, since the stress followed: *wurþón > *wurdą.^[1][8]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd) in Gothic, Old Norse orð in Old Norse, and Old English word, Old Frisian word, Old Saxon word and Old High German wort in West Germanic.^[4][3] The Gothic word is in Wulfila's Bible.^[9] Outside Germanic, Kroonen compares Latin verbum (“word”) and the Baltic words for "word", and Orel calls the Old Prussian word for "word" identical with it.^[4][3]

Competing analyses

For the PIE side, Kroonen notes that the European forms point straightforwardly to *urdʰ-, but that if a Hittite verb meaning "to curse" belongs here, the root began with a laryngeal.^[4] Köbler connects it with a root *u̯er- "to say, to speak".^[5] Ringe derives it instead from a PIE neuter participle *wr̥h₁tóm "said", with a *t that became *d by Verner's law, and compares Ancient Greek ῥῆμα (rhêma, “word”) for the laryngeal.^[1][8]

Meanings

1. word^[4][3][5][2]
2. speech, saying^[2]

Old English also used the word for "command", "story" and "fame",^[10] and Old Norse for "greeting".^[6]

Derivatives

• *wurđjan in Orel, "speech", behind Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳𐌹 (gawaurdi, “conversation”) and the words for "answer";^[11] Wiktionary has *gawurdiją "speech, talk" and *andawurdiją "answer".^[12][13]
• *wurdōną "to speak";^[14] Orel writes *wurđōjanan.^[15]
• *wurđjanan, behind Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (andwaurdjan, “to answer”).^[16]
• *feluwurdijaną "to use many words".^[17]
• *wurđiʒaz "wordy" and the compound *wurđa-wīsaz "wise in words".^[18][19]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd, “word”)^[20]
• Old Norse: orð (“word, speech, greeting”)^[6]
• Old English: word (“word, speech, sentence, command”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: word (“word, statement”)^[21]
• Old Saxon: word (“word, speech, command”)^[22]
• Old Dutch: wort^[2]
• Old High German: wort (“word, speech, report”)^[23]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 101
2. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wurdą
3. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *wurđan
4. ^ 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. 600
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *wurda-
6. ^ a b c d de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 419
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. orð
8. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 123
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. waúrd
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. word
11. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *wurđjan
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gawurdiją
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *andawurdiją
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wurdōną
15. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *wurđōjanan
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *wurđjanan
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *feluwurdijaną
18. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *wurđiʒaz
19. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *wurđa-wīsaz
20. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. waurd
21. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. word
22. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. WORD
23. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wort