*nū

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”),^[1][3] which Kroonen writes with a long vowel, *nū.^[4] Ringe and Taylor take the long vowel for a Proto-West Germanic lengthening of word-final vowels in stressed monosyllables, of which there are few examples: *bī, *nū and *swā.^[1] A similar lengthening took place in Old Norse, which has nú.^[1]

Morphology

An adverb, used also as a conjunction "now that, since" in Old English, Old Frisian and Old Saxon.^[5][6][7]

Evidence

The adverb is attested as Old English nū, Old Frisian nū, Old Saxon nū and Old High German nū,^[1] and Old Dutch nū glosses Latin nunc in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 9th century.^[8] It also ends the pen trial ⟨Hebban olla uogala⟩, which ONW dates to 1083–1110.^[9][10] Old High German has the forms nū, nu and no.^[11]

Competing analyses

Where Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the long vowel for all of West Germanic,^[1] Boutkan and Siebinga, following van Helten, take Old Frisian ⟨nu⟩ to have become ⟨nū⟩ only in stressed position, and list forms with both short and long vowels in Old English, Old Saxon and Old High German.^[12]

Meanings

1. now^[1][2]

Old English also used the word for "just now",^[5] Old Frisian for "then, afterwards",^[6] and Old High German for "so, therefore" and many other connective senses.^[11]

Reflexes

• Old English: nū (“now, just now”)^[5]
• Old Frisian: nū (“now, then”)^[6]
• Old Saxon: nū (“now, so”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: nū (“now”)^[9]
• Old High German: nū (“now, so, then”)^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 65
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *nū
3. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 289
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 392
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. nū
6. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. nū
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. nū
8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. nū
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. nū
10. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hebben
11. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. nū
12. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. nu