*handulōn

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *handulōn for Proto-West Germanic,^[1][2] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *handulōną (“to take in the hand, to grip”),^[1][4] which Ringe and Taylor write *handulō̄ną and set up for Proto-Northwest Germanic, on the evidence of Old Norse hǫndla, and which Köbler writes *handlōn.^[1][5] Ringe and Taylor count it among the handful of verbs with suffixes other than the usual ones that can be reconstructed for Proto-West or Proto-Northwest Germanic, and place it beside Proto-Germanic *handuz "hand".^[1] Wiktionary analyses the Proto-Germanic verb as *handuz with the frequentative suffix *-lōną.^[4]

Morphology

A weak verb of class II.^[6][7] In the prehistory of Old English it was remade as *handulōjan and then syncopated to handlian.^[2] Ringe and Taylor note that such verbs do not meet the conditions for i-umlaut, so that it cannot be told whether they syncopated as early as hālsian or later, like bletsian.^[2]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English handlian,^[8] Old Frisian handelia,^[9] Old Saxon handlōn, glossing Latin tractare in glosses of the first half of the 10th century,^[10] Old Dutch handalon, recorded as ⟨handolon⟩ in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible of 1151–1200,^[11] and Old High German hantalōn.^[7]

Meanings

1. to handle^[2][3]

Old English also used the verb for "to feel" and "to discuss",^[8] Old Frisian for "to negotiate",^[9] and Old High German for "to touch, to grasp at, to knead".^[7]

Derivatives

• *handulā "handle", which Wiktionary reconstructs from the verb.^[3]
• *handulungu "grasping, touching", which Wiktionary reconstructs with the suffix *-ungu.^[3]

Reflexes

• Old English: handlian (“to feel, to treat, to discuss”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: handelia (“to treat, to negotiate”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: handlōn (“to treat, to feel”)^[10]
• Old Dutch: handalon (“to treat”)^[11]
• Old High German: hantalōn (“to treat, to touch, to feel, to take in the hand”)^[7]

References

1. ^ 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. 131
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. 269
3. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *handulōn
4. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *handulōną
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *handlōn
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. handlian
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hantalōn
8. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. handlian
9. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. handelia
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. handlon
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. handalon