*bijā

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *bijā "bee" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bijǭ (“bee”),^[1] which Kroonen cites as *bīōn- and Orel as *bīō(n).^[2][3] Kroonen takes the oldest formation to have been an n-stem with ablaut, nominative *bīō, genitive *binaz: the full grade survives in Old High German bīa and Old English bēo, the zero grade in the Old High German masculine bian.^[2] He credits Lühr with first recognising this ablauting paradigm.^[4]

Morphology

A feminine n-stem.^[5][6] Beside it Orel sets up West Germanic *binjan ~ *binō, continued in Old Saxon bini, found in compounds, and bina, and in Old High German bini and bīna.^[3] Wiktionary reconstructs a separate Proto-West Germanic *bini "bee", which it explains as the fossilised Proto-Germanic genitive singular *biniz.^[7]

Evidence

The word is attested as Old English bēo or bīo,^[6] and EWA gives the Northumbrian form as bīa.^[5] Old High German bīa is found only in glosses, once for a gadfly, and EWA notes that it has counterparts in almost all the Germanic dialects.^[5] Old Saxon has bī, mostly in compounds,^[5] and Köbler records the genitive plural bina in the Trier glosses.^[8] Old Dutch has bīa only as the first element of a place name, ⟨Bingart⟩, now Bingerden near Zevenaar in Gelderland, in a record of 970 that survives in a later copy.^[9]

Meanings

1. bee^[1][2]

Derivatives

• *bijakaʀ "beehive", which Wiktionary reconstructs as a compound with *kaʀ "vessel";^[10] Köbler lists an Old Saxon compound of the word with -kar.^[8]
• *bijakaʀjō "beekeeper", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[11] Old English has the compound bēocere.^[6]

Reflexes

• Old English: bēo (“bee”)^[6]
• Old Saxon: bī (“bee”)^[8]
• Old Dutch: bīa (“bee”)^[9]
• Old High German: bīa (“bee”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bijā
2. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 64
3. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 46
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2011), The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A Study in Diachronic Morphophonology, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 18, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, p. 228
5. ^ a b c d e 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. bîa
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bío
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bini
8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bī
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. bīa
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bijakaʀ
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bijakaʀjō