*finþan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *finþan "to find, to discover, to come upon".^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *finþaną (“to find”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *finþan- and Köbler as *fenþan, *finþan.^[3][4] In the northern West Germanic dialects it became *fį̄þan, whence Old Saxon fīđan.^[2]

Morphology

A strong verb of class III.^[5][6] Old English has the principal parts findan, fand, fundon, funden, with the voiced alternant of Verner's law carried through the whole paradigm.^[7] Old Frisian finda has the same d, while Gothic, Old Norse and Old High German findan point to *-þ-, and Old Saxon has both fīđan and findan.^[2][7]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English findan, Old Frisian finda, Old Saxon findan beside fīthan,^[8] Old Dutch findan and Old High German findan, which is recorded from the 8th century.^[6] Old Dutch has the past fant "I found" in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 9th century,^[9] and ONW records the verb in Williram's commentary on the Song of Songs of about 1100 and in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[10]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor call the levelling of the voiced alternant in findan an innovation of the northern West Germanic dialects, which Old High German findan does not share.^[7] Boutkan and Siebinga instead set up a Proto-Germanic *findan beside *finþan, the latter continued by Gothic, Old Norse and Old Saxon fīthan, and reconstruct Proto-Frisian *finda.^[5]

Meanings

1. to find, to discover, to come upon^[1][2]

Kroonen gives the Proto-Germanic verb the meanings "to find; to feel".^[3] Old English also used it for "to meet, to obtain, to decide",^[11] Old Frisian for "to judge, to decide, to fix" and "to invent (pretexts)",^[12] and Old High German for "to notice, to recognize, to establish, to devise".^[6]

Derivatives

• *fundōn "to set out, to depart", which Wiktionary reconstructs from *fundī "findable";^[13] Kroonen takes Proto-Germanic *fundōn-, behind Old English fundian (“to try to find, to strive”) and Old Saxon fundon (“to strive, to proceed”), for the iterative of *finþan-.^[14]
• Ringe and Taylor take Proto-Germanic *funsaz "ready to go, hastening", the source of Old English fūs, Old Saxon fūs and Old High German funs, to be apparently a derivative of *finþaną.^[15]

Reflexes

• Old English: findan (“to find, to meet, to discover, to obtain, to decide”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: finda (“to find, to come upon, to judge, to decide”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: findan (“to find”), fīthan^[8]
• Old Dutch: findan (“to find”)^[10]
• Old High German: findan (“to find, to come upon, to discover, to recognize”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *finþan
2. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 140
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 141
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *fenþan, *finþan
5. ^ a b Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. finda
6. ^ a b c d 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. findan
7. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 344
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. findan
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. findan
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. findan
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. findan
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. finda
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *fundōn
14. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 159
15. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 29