*neman

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *nemaną (“to take”),^[3][4] which Kroonen cites by its stem *neman- and Orel as *nemanan.^[4][5] In the northern dialects Proto-West Germanic *e was raised to *i before *m, so that *neman became *niman, while Old High German neman kept the vowel.^[1][3] In Old English, Kentish and Mercian nioman show back umlaut of this *i, while West Saxon has the i levelled in from the third singular present and the subjunctive.^[3]

Morphology

A strong verb of class IV.^[6][7] The Proto-Germanic past second singular *namt was replaced in Proto-West Germanic by *nāmī, which Old English continues as nōme.^[8] The past plural, Proto-Germanic *nēmun, became Proto-Northwest Germanic *nāmun, and in the northern dialects its vowel was nasalised before the nasal, *ną̄mun.^[9] In the past participle, Proto-Germanic *numanaz kept its *u before the nasal in the north, as in Old Saxon ginuman, while Old High German lowered it, ginoman.^[10]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English niman, Old Frisian nima and Old Saxon niman, with occasional forms in e in Old Frisian and Old Saxon, and Old High German neman.^[1] In Old Dutch, ONW records nami in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 10th century, and further forms in Williram's commentary of about 1100 and in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[11]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor treat the raising of *e to *i before *m as a change of the northern dialects, of which there are naturally few examples.^[1] Nielsen reports that Morsbach in 1897, arguing against Siebs's English–Frisian common language, cited this verb as the one case in which Old English agrees with Old Saxon against Old Frisian, the first two having i before the nasal and Old Frisian e.^[12] Boutkan and Siebinga note that the manuscript R₁ has both forms of the Old Frisian verb; they take its i to be probably borrowed from the second and third singular present, *nimis, *nimiþ, though a sporadic raising of e before a nasal is also possible.^[7]

Meanings

1. to take^[1][2]

Old English also used the verb for "to receive", "to seize" and "to marry",^[13] and Old Frisian for "to rape" and "to marry".^[14]

Derivatives

• *bineman "to take away" and *franeman "to take away, to plunder", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[15][16] Köbler sets up Proto-Germanic *bineman and *farneman for the prefixed verbs of Old English, Old Frisian, Old Saxon and Old High German.^[17][18]
• *ganeman "to take along; to learn", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[19] Köbler gives the prefixed verb in Gothic, Old English, Old Dutch, Old Saxon and Old High German.^[20]
• *nāmī "takeable, acceptable", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[21] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *nēmiz, the source of Old High German nāmi (“acceptable”), from the verb.^[22]

Reflexes

• Old English: niman (“to take, to accept, to seize, to receive”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: nima (“to take, to seize, to rape, to marry”)^[14]
• Old Saxon: niman (“to take, to get, to receive, to accept”)^[23]
• Old Dutch: neman (“to take”)^[11]
• Old High German: neman (“to take, to take away, to seize”)^[24]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 141
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *neman
3. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 321
4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 387
5. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 284
6. ^ 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. neman
7. ^ a b Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. nima
8. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 67
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 143
10. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 31
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. neman
12. ^ Nielsen, Hans Frede (1981), Old English and the Continental Germanic Languages: A Survey of Morphological and Phonological Interrelations, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 33, Innsbruck, p. 49
13. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. niman
14. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. nima
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bineman
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *franeman
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bineman
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *farneman
19. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ganeman
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *ganeman
21. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *nāmī
22. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 286
23. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. niman
24. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. neman