*hlaupan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the infinitive *hlaupan.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to run, to jump”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites as *hlaupan- and EWA as *χlau̯pe/a-.^[3][4] In Old English the diphthong *au became ⟨ēa⟩, so that Old English hlēapan stands beside Old Frisian hlāpa and Old High German loufan.^[2] De Vaan counts West Germanic *hlaupan‑ among the words whose *au became a long o in Dutch.^[5]

Morphology

A strong verb of class VII.^[6][4] In West Germanic the reduplicated past was given up; in verbs with a cluster at the start of the root, a past with *eu was abstracted from verbs like *hauwan, past *heuw, and spread to all roots with *au.^[7] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the past *hleup behind hlēop and liof, and *uzhleupun behind Old Saxon ⟨ahliopun⟩ "they ran up";^[7] Old Frisian has instead the past hlēp.^[7] The Old English principal parts are hlēapan, hlēop, hlēopon, hlēapen.^[8]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English hlēapan, Old Frisian hlāpa, Old Dutch lōpan and Old High German loufan.^[4] Old Saxon has only the prefixed āhlōpan (“to run up”), with the past plural ⟨ahliopun⟩ in the Heliand.^[9][4] In Old Dutch, ONW records the verb in the psalms of the 10th century and in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[10] The oldest Old High German records sometimes keep the initial ⟨h⟩.^[4]

Competing analyses

Kroonen takes the strong verb for a back-formation from the iterative *hluppōn-, and the root-final p for the continuation of a geminate before Germanic.^[3] Wiktionary takes it the other way round, deriving *hluppōną as an iterative from *hlaupaną.^[11] Mailhammer lists the verb as having no Indo-European etymology.^[12]

Meanings

1. to jump forward, to leap^[1]

Old English also used the verb for "to run, to go, to dance",^[13] Old Frisian for "to walk, to run, to flow",^[14] and Old High German for "to run, to hurry, to flow".^[4]

Derivatives

• *hloppōn "to leap, to run repeatedly", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Proto-Germanic *hluppōną.^[11]
• Kroonen takes Old Frisian hlēpa (“to call, to summon”) to continue a causative *hlaupjan-, with a query on the meaning;^[3] EWA finds the causative in Old Norse.^[4]

Reflexes

• Old English: hlēapan (“to run, to leap, to go, to dance”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: hlāpa (“to walk, to run, to flow”)^[14]
• Old Saxon: only āhlōpan (“to run up”)^[9]
• Old Dutch: lōpan (“to run”)^[10]
• Old High German: loufan (“to run, to hurry, to flow”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hlaupan
2. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 172
3. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 229
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. loufan
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2018), Historical Development of Dutch: Phonology & Morphology, Dialects & Stages, course reader, Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics
6. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. hlapa
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. 89
8. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 348
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. āhlōpan
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. lōpan
11. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hloppōn
12. ^ Mailhammer, Robert (2007), The Germanic Strong Verbs: Foundations and Development of a New System, Trends in Linguistics 183, Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 225
13. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hlēapan
14. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hlāpa