*uber

Reconstruction

The word is *uber in Wiktionary and Boutkan,^[1][2] *uber- in Kroonen,^[3] and *uber or *uberi in Köbler.^[4] Orel heads it *uƀeri,^[5] and Ringe writes *ubar, with *uber as a query, beside *ubiri.^[6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”).^[1][7]

Morphology

An adverb and preposition.^[3][5] Verner's law gave the b: PIE *upér(i) became *ufér, *uféri and then *ubar, *ubiri.^[6] Ringe takes *ubiri from *upéri, with the particle *-i, which caused the umlaut of Old High German ubiri and Old Norse yfir, and *ubar from *upér without it.^[7]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar) in Gothic, Old Norse yfir in Old Norse, and Old English ofer, Old Saxon obar and Old High German ubar in West Germanic.^[3] Its cognates include Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Latin super and Old Irish for.^[3][5]

Competing analyses

Kroonen reconstructs the PIE form as *h₁uperi;^[3] Orel and Feist as *uperi or *uper(i).^[5][8] Boutkan holds that the oldest reconstructible outcome of PIE final *-er is *-ar, citing Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar) and Old Saxon obar.^[2] For the Norse forms, Wiktionary derives Old Norse of and Old Norse ofr from this word,^[1] while de Vries calls Old Norse yfir a comparative formation to of.^[9]

Meanings

1. above, over^[3][4]
2. over, across; over, above, of a position^[1]

Old English also used it for "beyond", "across", "against" and "more than".^[10]

Derivatives

• *uberō "up", an adverb in Köbler.^[11]
• Compounds: *uberganganą "to go over, to transgress", *uberfullaz "overfull",^[12][13] *uberstīganą "to climb over" and *uberlagjaną "to overlay".^[14][15]

Reflexes

• Gothic: 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar, “over”)^[8]
• Old Norse: yfir (“above, over”)^[9]
• Old English: ofer (“above, beyond, over”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: over (“over, against”)^[16]
• Old Saxon: ovar (“over, beyond”)^[17]
• Old High German: ubar (“over”)^[18]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uber
2. ^ a b Boutkan, Dirk (1995), The Germanic 'Auslautgesetze', Leiden Studies in Indo-European 4, Amsterdam / Atlanta: Rodopi
3. ^ 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. 557
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *uber
5. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *uƀeri
6. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 123
7. ^ a b Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 142
8. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. ufar
9. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. yfir
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ofer
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *uberō
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uberganganą
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uberfullaz
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uberstīganą
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uberlagjaną
16. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. over
17. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. ovar
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ubar 1