*sebun

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *sebun for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sebun (“seven”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites as *sebun-, Orel and Fulk as *seƀun, and Köbler as *sebun or *sibun.^[3][4][5][6] EWA traces the West Germanic forms to Proto-Germanic *seƀun(i̯e-).^[7] Old Saxon and Old High German raised the vowel of the first syllable to i before the u of the second, if this had not happened earlier, against Old English seofon.^[5]

Morphology

A cardinal numeral.^[8][7]

Evidence

The numeral is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English seofon, Old Frisian sigun, Old Saxon siƀun, Old Dutch sivon and Old High German sibun.^[9][10] In Old High German it is found from the 8th century.^[7] Old Dutch has it in the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible of 1151–1200.^[11] In West Saxon, the back umlaut of e happened only before a following u with l, r or a labial in between, and Ringe and Taylor cite Proto-Germanic *sebun becoming West Saxon and Northumbrian seofon and Mercian seofen as a typical example.^[2] Old Frisian has -g- in the East Frisian forms such as sigun and siugun, and -v- in the West Frisian forms such as sav(e)n.^[9]

Competing analyses

The -g- of Old Frisian sigun has more than one explanation.^[9][12] Boutkan reports that it has been explained as an analogy of Old East Frisian after the word for "nine", while some scholars prefer a sound change, which he finds certainly possible.^[9] Berr also explains the g by analogy with niugun.^[10] De Vaan counts it as a case of the velarization of *w to g between the high vowels i and u, a change still productive in Frisian when *v had become w, so that the Frisian forms come from *sivun, from *sebun.^[12]

Meanings

1. seven^[1]

Derivatives

• *sebundō "seventh", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *seƀunđōn from *seƀun and lists Old English seofoþa, Old Frisian sigunda, Old Saxon siƀondo and Old High German sibunto.^[4]
• *sebun tigiwi "seventy", which Wiktionary reconstructs from *sebun and *tigiwi "decads".^[14]

Reflexes

• Old English: seofon (“seven”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: sigun (“seven”)^[15]
• Old Saxon: siƀun (“seven”)^[16]
• Old Dutch: sivon (“seven”)^[11]
• Old High German: sibun (“seven”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sebun
2. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 324
3. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 429
4. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 321
5. ^ a b Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *sebun
7. ^ a b c d 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. sibun
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. seofon
9. ^ a b c d Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. sigun
10. ^ a b Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 344
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. sivon
12. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2017), The Dawn of Dutch: Language Contact in the Western Low Countries before 1200, NOWELE Supplement Series 30, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 88
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sebundô
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sebun tigiwi
15. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sigun
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sivun