*kwemaną

Reconstruction

The verb is *kwemaną in Ringe and Wiktionary,^[1][2] *kwemanan in Orel^[3] and *kweman in Köbler.^[4] Kroonen heads it *kweman- ~ *kuman-,^[5] Seebold KWEM-A-.^[6]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to step”):^[2][7] Wiktionary and Ringe trace it to the aorist subjunctive, Ringe's *gʷém-e/o-.^[2][8]

Morphology

A strong verb of class IV;^[9][4] Ringe gives the principal parts *kwemaną, *kwam, *kwēmun, *kumanaz.^[1] Mailhammer puts it among the verbs with an accepted Indo-European etymology,^[9] and lists it with the zero-grade presents.^[10] The zero-grade noun *kum-þi-z shows *u from PIE *m̥.^[7]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman) in Gothic, Old Norse koma in Old Norse, and Old English cuman, Old Frisian kuma, Old Saxon kuman and Old High German queman in West Germanic.^[5] The Gothic principal parts are 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman), 𐌵𐌰𐌼 (qam), 𐌵𐌴𐌼𐌿𐌽 (qemun), 𐌵𐌿𐌼𐌰𐌽𐍃 (qumans).^[6] Kroonen compares Ancient Greek βάσκω (báskō, “to come”), Tocharian A kum-, Ancient Greek βαίνω (baínō, “to go”) and Latin veniō (“to come”).^[5]

Competing analyses

The daughters split between a full-grade present, as in Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman) and Old High German queman, and a zero-grade one, as in Old Norse koma and Old English cuman.^[5][6] Kroonen weighs an athematic present *gʷém-ti, plural *gʷm-énti; a root aorist, which he finds more likely since the presents of the other languages were made to primary aorists; and a zero-grade tudáti-present whose vowel was replaced by an analogical full grade in Gothic and Old High German.^[5] Seebold explains the Norse, English, Frisian and Saxon forms from a zero-grade present and takes the Gothic and Old High German full grade as a separate stem or a secondary adjustment to the normal type, but does not rule out an irregular development of the labiovelar.^[6] Ringe posits a Northwest Germanic change *kweman > *kwiman > *kuman.^[11] Orel reports Meillet's view that the verb was originally athematic.^[3]

Meanings

1. to come^[5][3][2]

Old Norse also used it with an accusative for "to roam through",^[6] and Old English for "to approach, to reach".^[12]

Derivatives

• *kumiz "coming, arrival",^[13] continued in Gothic 𐌵𐌿𐌼𐍃 (qums) and Old English cyme.^[6]
• *kumþiz "coming, arrival",^[14] Kroonen's *kwumþi-, an inherited ti-stem continued in Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌵𐌿𐌼𐌸𐍃 (gaqumþs, “convention”); Old Norse samkund (“convention”) shows the same formation with Verner's law.^[15] Orel matches it with Ancient Greek βάσις (básis, “step”), from IE *gʷm̥ti-.^[16]
• *kwēmiz "coming, able to come", a vṛddhi gerundive,^[17] continued in Old English gecwēme (“pleasant, acceptable”).^[18]
• *kumô "comer" and *wiljakwemô "welcome guest; welcome!".^[19][20]
• With prefixes: *bikwemaną "to come near, to happen, to obtain"^[21] and *gakweman "to come".^[22]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman, “to come”)^[23]
• Old Norse: koma (“to come”)^[24]
• Old English: cuman (“to come, to approach, to reach”)^[12]
• Old Frisian: kuma (“to come, to appear, to arrive”)^[25]
• Old Saxon: kuman (“to come”)^[26]
• Old High German: queman (“to come, to arrive, to return”)^[27]

References

1. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 272
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kwemaną
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 227
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *kweman
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. 316
6. ^ a b c d e f Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. KWEM-A-
7. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 112
8. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 186
9. ^ 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. 221
10. ^ 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. appendix A
11. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
12. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. cuman
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kumiz
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kumþiz
15. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 321
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 230
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kwēmiz
18. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 229
19. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kumô
20. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wiljakwemô
21. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bikwemaną
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gakweman
23. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 229
24. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 325
25. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. kuma
26. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kuman
27. ^ 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. queman