*brōþēr

Reconstruction

The word is *brōþēr in Ringe, Fulk and Wiktionary,^[1][2][3] the stem *brōþer- in Kroonen and Bammesberger,^[4][5] *ƀrōþēr in Orel^[6] and *brōþar or *brōþer in Köbler.^[7]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”),^[3] the Indo-European word for "brother": Ringe starts from PIE *bhráh2tēr, Kroonen from *bʰreh₂-ter-.^[1][4][8]

Morphology

An r-stem.^[9] In Proto-Germanic the r-stems had been reduced to five kinship terms inflected alike, the masculines *fadēr and *brōþēr and the feminines *mōdēr, *swestēr and *duhtēr; the nominative singular ended in *-ēr, the accusative probably in *-arų, the vocative in *-ar.^[9] Fulk assumes a nominative *brōþēr from PIE *bhrātēr, earlier *bhrāter-s; following Stiles, he takes Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar) to have the stem of the vocative rather than a shortened *-ēr.^[2] Kroonen thinks the suffix *-ter- of *swestēr may be analogical after this word.^[8]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar), Old Norse bróðir, and Old English brōþor, Old Frisian brōther, Old Saxon brōthar and Old High German bruodar in West Germanic.^[4] The Gothic word is frequent in Wulfila's Bible, and Crimean Gothic has bruder.^[10][7] Orel lists the cognates Tocharian A pracar, Tocharian B procer, Ancient Greek φρήτηρ (phrḗtēr), glossed by Hesychius as "brother", Latin frāter and Old Irish bráth(a)ir.^[6]

Meanings

1. brother^[4][6][3][7]

Old Frisian also used the word for a brother in a monastery,^[11] and Old High German for a twin, a stepbrother and a half-brother.^[12] In Greek the cognate names the member of a social group.^[13]

Derivatives

• *brōþurbanô "fratricide", with *banô;^[14] Orel's *ƀrōþur-ƀanōn.^[15]
• *fōstra-ƀrōþēr "foster brother" in Orel.^[16]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar, “brother”)^[10]
• Old Norse: bróðir (“brother”)^[13]
• Old English: brōþor (“brother”)^[17]
• Old Frisian: brōther (“brother; brother in a monastery”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: brōthar (“brother”)^[18]
• Old Dutch: bruother^[12]
• Old High German: bruoder (“brother, twin, half-brother”)^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 116
2. ^ a b Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
3. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *brōþēr
4. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 79
5. ^ Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 208
6. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 57
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *brōþar
8. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 500
9. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 308
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brōþar
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. brōther
12. ^ a b c 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. bruoder
13. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. bróðir
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *brōþurbanô
15. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 58
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 110
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brōþor
18. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. BRŌTHAR