*helpaną

Reconstruction

The infinitive is *helpaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *xelpanan in Orel^[3] and *helpan in Köbler;^[4] Kroonen cites the stem *helpan-^[5] and Seebold the root HELP-A-.^[6]

Etymology

Wiktionary tentatively has it from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb- (“to help”), with a variant *ḱelp-, but points to the difficulties.^[2] Kroonen calls it a verb without a clear etymology,^[5] and Mailhammer puts it among the strong verbs with no IE etymology.^[7]

Morphology

A strong verb of class III,^[7][4] with the principal parts *helpaną, *halp, *hulpun, *hulpanaz.^[1] Seebold describes the Germanic verb as intransitive, taking the dative or genitive.^[6]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽 (hilpan), Old Norse hjalpa, Old English helpan, Old Frisian helpa and Old High German helfan.^[5][1] In Gothic it occurs as the infinitive and the imperative Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀 (hilp), and in the compound Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽 (gahilpan).^[8] Koivulehto proposed in 1974 that Finnish kelvata (“to be fit, to do”) was borrowed from it, from a Proto-Norse *helpan;^[9] LÄGLOS gives the Germanic source as *xelpan- and cites the semantic parallel of Old Norse duga (“to be fit; to help”).^[9]

Competing analyses

Kroonen finds it tempting to derive the verb from *kélp-e-, with Lithuanian šelpti (“to help”), and to explain the geminate from an iterative *hulpōn- from *klp-néh₂-; but no such iterative is attested, and he wonders whether the Lithuanian verb was borrowed from a lost Slavic root that was itself a loan from Germanic.^[5] He adds that Lithuanian gélbėti (“to help”) makes the problem more complex.^[5] Orel connects šelpti, with unclear differences in the consonants.^[3] Feist set up a root *kelb- beside *kelp- for the two Lithuanian verbs.^[10] Lehmann thinks the derivation from *kelb- possible if the Lithuanian verb changed its b to p before voiceless consonants, following Fraenkel, but finds little evidence for that root.^[8] Seebold finds no exact comparison and weighs three Baltic variants; he considers a root "to lean" or a root "to cover, to hide", and calls both uncertain.^[6] De Vries found attractive J. Trier's view that "help" was originally the communal work of the men's ring.^[11]

Meanings

1. to help^[5][3][4][2]

Old English also used the verb for "to heal, to improve",^[12] and Old High German also for "to be useful".^[6]

Derivatives

• *helpō "help, aid", an ō-stem.^[13][3][14]
• *gahelpan "to help", with *ga-, in Gothic, Old English, Old Saxon and Old High German.^[15]
• *Helparīks, a man's name, with *rīks "ruler".^[16]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽 (hilpan, “to help”)^[10]
• Old Norse: hjalpa (“to help”)^[11]
• Old English: helpan (“to help, to support, to heal”)^[12]
• Old Frisian: helpa (“to help, to assist; to be effective”)^[17]
• Old Saxon: helpan (“to help; to remedy”)^[18]
• Old High German: helfan (“to help, to assist, to support, to be of use”)^[19]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 270
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *helpaną
3. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 168
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *helpan
5. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 219
6. ^ a b c d Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. HELP-A-
7. ^ a b Mailhammer, Robert (2007), The Germanic Strong Verbs: Foundations and Development of a New System, Trends in Linguistics 183, Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 218
8. ^ 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. 211
9. ^ a b 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. 79
10. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 155
11. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 231
12. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. helpan
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *helpō
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *helpō
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gahelpan
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *Helparīks
17. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. helpa
18. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. helpan
19. ^ 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. helfan