*furi

Reconstruction

An adverb and preposition *furi in Kroonen, Köbler and Wiktionary.^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is from Pre-Germanic *pr̥h₂-i, from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before, in front”);^[3] Kroonen likewise reconstructs *prh₂-i, comparing Ancient Greek παρά (pará, “beside, alongside”) and Latin prae (“in front of, before”).^[1] Orel has no article *furi: he cites the Norse, Old Saxon and Old High German forms under *fur(a).^[4]

Morphology

An adverb and preposition.^[1][2] Wiktionary sees in its final *-i an allative ending, marking a goal.^[5] In Old Norse the comparative ending was added: Old Norse fyrir goes back to a North Germanic *furiz, "still further forward".^[6]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur), Old Norse fyr, Old English for and Old English fore, Old Saxon furi and Old High German furi.^[1][6] Wiktionary also lists Old Frisian fori and Old Dutch furi.^[3]

Competing analyses

The Gothic form is ambiguous: EWA lets Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur) continue either *furi or *fura,^[6] and Orel lists it under *fur(a), which he relates to Ancient Greek πάρ (pár, “along”) and Latin por-.^[4] Orel also assigns Old English fore and Old Saxon fora, which Kroonen lists here, to *furai.^[4][1] Feist held that several IE forms were mixed in the Germanic words.^[7] Köbler, after Pokorny, starts from an IE *prei, *pri or *peri "before".^[2]

Meanings

1. in front of, before^[1][3][2]
2. for^[1][3]
3. as an adverb, forward^[3]

Old High German used it also for "instead of", "because of" and "beyond".^[6]

Derivatives

• *furi- "in front, before; against, opposed", the prefix,^[8] as in *furibeudaną "to forbid".^[9]
• *furizô "former", the comparative, and the superlatives *furistaz "first, foremost" and *furist "at first".^[10][11][12] Orel writes *furistaz as a superlative of his *fur(a).^[13]
• Köbler's adverb *furiz "earlier".^[14]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur, “before, along, for”), which may also continue *fura^[7][6]
• Old Norse: fyr (“before, through, because of, for”)^[15] and fyrir^[6]
• Old English: for and fore, in Kroonen's list^[1]
• Old Saxon: furi (“forth, before, for, because of”)^[16]
• Old High German: furi (“before, past, instead of, because of”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 161
2. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *furi
3. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furi
4. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 119
5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *afti
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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. furi
7. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 96
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furi-
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furibeudaną
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furizô
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furistaz
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *furist
13. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 120
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *furiz
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. fyr
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. furi