*grōnī

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *grōnī "green" for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2] It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *grōniz (“green”),^[1][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *grōni-, Orel as *ʒrōniz and Köbler as *grōni- or *grōnja-.^[3][4][5] Ringe and Taylor trace it to Proto-Northwest Germanic *grōniz, and Wiktionary describes it as *grōniz with an adjective suffix *-ī.^[1][2] In Old English it became *grœ̄nī, whence Northumbrian grœ̄ne and West Saxon grēne.^[1]

Morphology

An adjective.^[3][6] Old Saxon inflects it as a ja-stem.^[7] Kroonen relates it to Proto-Germanic *grōaną (“to grow”),^[3] and Orel derives it from that verb.^[4] EWA calls it a formation within Germanic, made with the suffix *-ni- of verbal adjectives to the strong verb "to grow".^[6]

Evidence

The adjective is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English grēne, Old Frisian grēne, Old Saxon grōni and Old High German gruoni,^[1][3] and Old Dutch gruoni, recorded as ⟨grone⟩ in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible of 1151–1200.^[8] Old High German has it from the 8th century.^[6] Orel also cites a Burgundian *gronis.^[4] De Vaan traces both Dutch groen and the dialect forms with i-mutation, ⟨greun⟩ and ⟨gruun⟩, to *grōni-, and maps an isogloss between them.^[9]

Meanings

1. green^[1][2]

EWA takes the word to have been at first no colour term, but one transferred to the colour from young, growing plants.^[6] Old English also used it for "young, unripe, growing, living",^[10] Old Frisian for "fresh", of hides,^[11] and Old High German for "fresh, raw, new".^[6]

Derivatives

• *grōnēn "to become green, to flourish", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[12] Köbler lists Old English grēnian and Old High German gruonēn under Proto-Germanic *grōnēn.^[13]
• *grōnijan "to make green", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[14] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *ʒrōnjanan, with Old High German gruonen (“to green”), from the adjective.^[4]

Reflexes

• Old English: grēne (“green, young, unripe”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: grēne (“green, fresh”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: grōni (“green, greenish”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: gruoni (“green”)^[8]
• Old High German: gruoni (“green, fresh, raw, new”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 227
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *grōnī
3. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 191
4. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 143
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *grōni-
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. gruoni
7. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. grōni
8. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. gruoni
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2017), The Dawn of Dutch: Language Contact in the Western Low Countries before 1200, NOWELE Supplement Series 30, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 421
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. grēne
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. grēne
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *grōnēn
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *grōnēn, *grōnǣn
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *grōnijan