*aiganą

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *aiganą in Wiktionary and Ringe,^[1][2] and *aigan in Köbler.^[3] Kroonen cites the stem *aigan-.^[4]

Etymology

Wiktionary has it from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“ability, possession”), through a PIE perfect *h₂eh₂óyḱe.^[1] Kroonen starts from *(h₂e-)h₂óik-, with a query,^[4] LIV from the perfect *He-Hói̯k̑/Hik̑- of a root *Hei̯k̑- "to appropriate oneself",^[5] and Köbler from Pokorny's *ēik-.^[3]

Morphology

A preterite-present verb.^[4][3] Ringe gives the principal parts *aiganą, *aih, *aihtē.^[2] Gothic kept the alternation of h and g: Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌷 (aih) beside the plural 𐌰𐌹𐌲𐌿𐌼 (aigum);^[6] Lehmann calls it the only Gothic verb with it,^[7] and Fulk counts the form with h seven times beside the one with g once.^[8] Kroonen finds the lack of ablaut in this verb unique, and suggests that it belonged to the reduplicating class with o-grade throughout the preterite, following Seebold: a pre-Germanic *h₂e-h₂óik-e should regularly have given *aihe, plural *aigunþ.^[4]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (aigan), third person singular 𐌰𐌹𐌷 (aih), Old Norse eiga in Old Norse, and Old English āgan, Old Frisian āga, Old Saxon ēgan and Old High German eigan in West Germanic.^[4] Ringe and Köbler mark the Gothic infinitive as unattested.^[2][9] De Vries cites a Norwegian runic ⟨aih⟩ on the Myklebostad stone from the end of the 6th century.^[10] Looijenga reads ⟨aig⟩ "owns" on the Aquincum brooch, dated to the first half of the 6th century, where Krause had read n,^[11] but takes ⟨ahti⟩ on the Nydam II object as a noun "possession" rather than a preterite of this verb.^[12] LÄGLOS derives Finnish aikoa (“to intend”) from *aigan-, Proto-Norse *aigan.^[13] Outside Germanic, Kroonen compares Tocharian B aik- (“to know”) and the Sanskrit and Avestan verbs for "to control, to have".^[4]

Competing analyses

Lehmann thinks the root is securely continued only in Indo-Iranian and Germanic,^[7] and Feist kept an Oscan verb apart because its meaning is uncertain.^[6] Where Kroonen reconstructs an unablauting o-grade preterite,^[4] LIV sets up a perfect with ablaut.^[5]

Meanings

1. to own, to possess^[4][2][1]
2. to have^[3][1]

Ringe stresses that this was originally the basic verb for "to have", while *habai- meant "to hold".^[14] Old English also used it for "to owe, must",^[15] Old Frisian for "to be obliged",^[16] and Old Norse also for "to be married to".^[17]

Derivatives

• *aiganaz "own", an adjective from the verb;^[18][4] Feist took Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌲𐌹𐌽 (aigin, “property”) as originally its participle.^[19]
• *aihtiz "possessions, property", a ti-stem.^[20][21]
• *aigô "owner", an n-stem,^[22][23] and *aihtēr "owner".^[24]
• *aigǭ "property".^[25]
• *aikaną "to make one's own, to claim".^[26][21]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (aigan, “to have, to own”), third person singular 𐌰𐌹𐌷 (aih)^[6]
• Old Norse: eiga (“to own, to possess”)^[27]
• Old English: āgan (“to have, to possess, to owe, must”)^[28]
• Old Frisian: āga (“to be obliged, to have, to own, to owe”)^[16]
• Old Saxon: ēgan (“to have, to own”)^[29]
• Old High German: eigan (“to have, to own, to hold”)^[30]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aiganą
2. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 292
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *aigan
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 8
5. ^ a b Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *Hei̯k̑-
6. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. aih
7. ^ a b 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. *aigan
8. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. aigan
10. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 95
11. ^ Looijenga, Tineke (2003), Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 226
12. ^ Looijenga, Tineke (2003), Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 157
13. ^ Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 12
14. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 206
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. āgan
16. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. āga
17. ^ Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 11
18. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aiganaz
19. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. aigin
20. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aihtiz
21. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 9
22. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aigô
23. ^ Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 172
24. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aihtēr
25. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aigǭ
26. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *aikaną
27. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. eiga
28. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. āgan
29. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. ēgan
30. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. eigan