*anafangi

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *anafangi "embrace, grasp" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Proto-West Germanic *ana- + *fangi (“grasp, catch”), as Wiktionary derives it.^[1] Köbler derives Old Saxon anafang from ana and *fang, and Old Frisian onfang from on and fang;^[2][3] EWA and Köbler refer Old High German anafang to ana and the verb fāhan (“to catch”).^[4][5] Orel lists Old Saxon ana-fang "touch" among the reflexes of Proto-Germanic *fanʒiz,^[6] and Ringe and Taylor cite Old High German ana-fang "beginning" beside Old Norse fengr under Proto-Northwest Germanic *fangiz "grasp, booty".^[7]

Morphology

A masculine noun.^[4][2][3] The stem class is unsure: EWA has an a-stem, Köbler an a- or i-stem in Old Saxon and Old High German and an i-stem in Old Frisian,^[4][2][5][3] and Tiefenbach a masculine or neuter a-stem.^[8]

Evidence

The noun is recorded in Old Frisian onfang, also onfeng, anfeng and onefang,^[3][9] in Old Saxon anafang, once, in the genitive ⟨anafangas⟩ of the Old Saxon confession of the end of the 10th century,^[8][2] and in Old High German anafang, from the end of the 9th century.^[5] For Old Dutch Wiktionary gives only a reconstructed form.^[1]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary lists Old English onfenġ as a reflex,^[1] but Köbler files onfėng as a variant of andfėng (“reception, defence, attack”), formed with the prefix and- and fėng.^[10] Wiktionary takes Old Norse áfang, a neuter, for either a parallel formation, or a loan or cognate with a change of gender.^[1]

Meanings

1. embrace, grasp^[1]

Old Saxon used the noun for "touching, embrace",^[2] Old Frisian for "touching", with "unriucht onfeng" for indecent touching,^[9] and Old High German for "beginning", in Rhine Franconian also for "touching".^[4]

Reflexes

• Old Frisian: onfang (“touching”)^[3]
• Old Saxon: anafang (“touch”)^[8]
• Old High German: anafang (“beginning, touching”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *anafangi
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. anafang
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. onfang
4. ^ a b c d e 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. anafang
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. anafang
6. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 92
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 209
8. ^ a b c Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. anafang
9. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. onfeng
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. onfėng