*bi

Reconstruction

A preposition and adverb *bi in Kroonen, Orel and Wiktionary,^[1][2][3] which Köbler also lists as a verbal prefix.^[4] EWA sets up an unstressed *bi beside a stressed *bī with a later lengthening.^[5]

Etymology

Kroonen derives it from *h₁pi, comparing Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) and a Sanskrit adverb "on, at, by", from *h₁epi;^[1] Wiktionary, which calls the origin disputed, gives this as one theory: inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi, the zero grade of *h₁épi "on, at".^[3]

Morphology

An unstressed word, used as preposition, adverb and prefix.^[4][5] Its b instead of the expected f is explained by Verner's law acting at the beginning of the word, because the word mostly stood in clitic position without stress.^[1] Fulk takes the long vowel of the stressed forms from a lengthening of stressed final vowels, so that the word gave Old English be or, when stressed, bī, and nouns such as bīgenga (“inhabitant”) kept the long vowel in the prefix where verbs have be-.^[6] Orel likewise calls the West Germanic long vowel a secondary lengthening under stress.^[2] Ringe counts *bi- among the preverbs that their verbs never lack in any daughter, but holds that the univerbation of preverb and verb was not complete in Proto-Germanic, since Gothic can insert the clitic -𐌿𐌷 (-uh) between them.^[7]

Evidence

The word is attested in East and West Germanic: Gothic 𐌱𐌹 (bi) and, with a long vowel, Old English bī, Old Frisian bī and Old High German bī.^[1][2] EWA finds it in almost all the Germanic dialects; in the north the runic form occurs once, on the spear shaft of Kragehul in Denmark of the 6th century, while Old Icelandic has only a prefix with the vowel lost before the stress, and the prefix of Old Norwegian, Old Danish and Old Swedish is borrowed from Middle Low German.^[5] Gothic has it very often: Lehmann counts it eighteenth among the words attested.^[8]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary's second theory has the word inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰi, related to the instrumental ending *-bʰi.^[3] Feist started from IE *bhi and *mbhi,^[9] and Lehmann took the Gothic word as a conflation of two older adpositions.^[8] Köbler gives *ebʰi?, *obʰi, *bʰi-.^[4] EWA lists several possible connections outside Germanic, first the IE *epi, *opi, *pi "close to, onto", whose zero grade *pi, found in Sanskrit verbs, can parallel the Germanic word with Verner's law.^[5] Orel thinks it probably connected with *umbi "around".^[10] Holthausen called the Gothic word of unknown origin.^[11]

Meanings

1. by, at; near, around^[1][2][3]
2. as a prefix: a general locative prefix^[12][4]

Gothic used it for "about, over" and "concerning, according to",^[8] and Old High German in space, time, cause and manner, from "near, beside" to "because of" and "by means of".^[5]

Derivatives

• The prefix *bi-, from *bi.^[12]
• Prefixed verbs: *bilībaną "to stay, remain", *bisatjaną "to occupy, fill", *binemaną "to take away", *bistandaną "to stand by, surround" and *biganganą "to go about".^[12]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹 (bi, “about, around, concerning, by”)^[9]
• Old English: bī (“by, at, with, concerning”), unstressed be^[13]
• Old Frisian: bī (“by, near, with, during”), prefix bi-^[14]
• Old Saxon: bi (“by, at, through, with”)^[15]
• Old Dutch: bī^[3]
• Old High German: bī (“near, by, beside, with”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. xxix
2. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 44
3. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bi
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bi
5. ^ a b c d e f Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. bî
6. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
7. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 239
8. ^ 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. bi
9. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. bi
10. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 44, 434
11. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 15
12. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bi-
13. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bi
14. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bī
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bi