*hopōn

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *hopōn and names no Proto-Germanic ancestor, calling its origin unknown.^[1]

Etymology

It may be inherited from Proto-Germanic *hupōn (“to hope”), a weak verb that Köbler sets up, listing its reflexes only from the West Germanic languages.^[2] Holthausen too calls the origin of Old English hopian unknown.^[3]

Morphology

A weak verb of class II.^[4][5][6]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English hopian,^[3] Old Frisian hopia,^[7] Old Saxon hopōn^[5] and Old Dutch hopon.^[8] The single Old Saxon record, a past tense ⟨hopada⟩ glossing Latin timeo "I fear" in 10th-century glosses, was not confirmed by Wadstein.^[5] In Old Dutch, ONW has ⟨hopade⟩ for Latin sperauit in the Groningen psalm glosses of 1151–1175, and ⟨hoffo do⟩ "hoped" in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[8] Old High German has no record: Köbler sets up only an unattested *hoffōn.^[9]

Competing analyses

ONW reads the Old Dutch gloss ⟨hopon sulun⟩ for Latin ⟨captabunt⟩ in the Old Low Franconian psalm glosses of the 10th century as this verb, "they shall hope".^[8] Köbler instead takes the gloss for hōpon (“to gather, to heap”), and gives van Helten's and Kern's other readings.^[10]

Wiktionary reports that the verb has been compared with Ancient Greek κύπτω (kúptō, “to bend forward, to stoop”), a connection Kluge supported with a meaning "to fear" in Old Saxon and in High German dialects, and that Kluge thought the meaning was influenced by Latin spērō; it also compares Proto-Germanic *huppōną.^[1]

Meanings

1. to wait in anticipation, to await, to expect^[1]
2. to hope^[1]

Old English also used the verb for "to trust".^[3]

Derivatives

• Köbler traces Old Dutch tōhopa (“hope”) and Old English hopa (“hope”) to the same Proto-Germanic verb.^[11][12]

Reflexes

• Old English: hopian (“to hope, to expect, to trust”)^[3]
• Old Frisian: hopia (“to hope”)^[7]
• Old Saxon: hopōn (“to hope”)^[5]
• Old Dutch: hopon (“to hope”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hopōn
2. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hupōn
3. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hopian
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hopian
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hopōn
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hopia
7. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hopia
8. ^ a b c d Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hopon
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hoffōn?
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hōpon
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tōhopa
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hupō