*beran

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the infinitive *beran.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to carry”),^[2] which Kroonen cites by its stem *beran-, and Orel and Fulk as *beranan.^[3][4][5] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct several Proto-West Germanic forms of its paradigm.^[6][7][8] The Proto-Germanic present subjunctive, second singular *beraiz, third singular *berai, third plural *berain, had unstressed *ai, which became *ē throughout Northwest Germanic, giving *berēz, *berē, *berēn;^[6] with the loss of final *-z the second singular became Proto-West Germanic *berē as well.^[9] The past plural *bērun became Proto-Northwest and Proto-West Germanic *bārun.^[10][8]

Morphology

A strong verb of class IV.^[11][12] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the present participle *berandī, *-ija-: the Proto-Germanic participles were consonant stems in *-nd-, and in Proto-West Germanic their masculine and neuter were remade as ija-stems after the feminine in *-nd-ī, *-nd-ijō-.^[7] West Germanic also formed an inflected infinitive by adding a suffix *-anja- with ja-stem endings, mostly in the dative after a preposition, as in Old English tō berenne.^[5] The Proto-Northwest Germanic first plural *berumaz is continued, with an added syllable, by Old High German berumēs, while the northern West Germanic languages replaced it with the form of the third plural.^[13]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English beran, Old Frisian bera, Old Saxon beran and Old High German beran,^[2] and EWA calls it an inherited Germanic verb found in all the Germanic languages.^[11] In Old Dutch, ONW has it from Williram's commentary of about 1100 and the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[14] ONW also lists the form ⟨bïrïd mi⟩ "carries me" on the yew stick of Britsum, dated there to 501–510.^[14] The reading is disputed: Bugge read ⟨bered mi⟩ or ⟨birid mi⟩, "N.N. carries me", while Looijenga, who gives no date, reads ⟨bæræd mi⟩ and takes ⟨beret⟩ on the other side for the plural imperative of the Old Frisian verb.^[15] Gamillscheg derives French bard, earlier Old French beard, from Frankish *berhard (“bearer, portable thing”), formed to the Frankish verb.^[16]

Competing analyses

The verb is Stiles's example of the uniform plural of the present, one of the features shared by Old English and Old Frisian that are adduced for an Anglo-Frisian group: these languages have one form for all three persons of the plural, where Old High German has three.^[17] In his later survey of the isoglosses of West Germanic the uniform plural is the defining feature of the Ingvaeonic languages, and the traditional view takes such features for innovations after Proto-West Germanic, with High German standing in for the older state.^[18] Ringe and Taylor likewise describe the loss of the first plural as an innovation of the northern West Germanic languages.^[13]

Meanings

1. to carry^[2][1]
2. to bear (a child)^[19][1]

Old Saxon also used the verb for "to possess",^[12] Old High German also for "to bring forth, to beget",^[11] and Old Frisian used the passive for "to be born".^[20]

Derivatives

• *gaberan "to bear, to give birth", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[21] Orel lists the prefixed verb in Old English, Old Saxon and Old High German.^[4]
• Ringe and Taylor take Proto-Germanic *burjaną "to be begotten", the source of Old English ġebyrian (“to happen, to be fitting”), Old Saxon giburian and Old High German giburen "to happen", to be perhaps an intransitive derived from *beraną.^[19]

Reflexes

• Old English: beran (“to carry, to endure, to bring, to give birth”)^[22]
• Old Frisian: bera (“to carry; in the passive, to be born”)^[20]
• Old Saxon: beran (“to carry, to possess”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: beran (“to bear, to carry”)^[14]
• Old High German: beran (“to bring forth, to carry, to beget, to give birth”)^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *beran
2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 325
3. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 59
4. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 41
5. ^ a b Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 284
6. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 25
7. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 78
8. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 149
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 43
10. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 12
11. ^ 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. beran
12. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. beran
13. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 17
14. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. beran
15. ^ Looijenga, Tineke (2003), Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. Britsum
16. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 96
17. ^ Stiles, Patrick V. (1995), Remarks on the 'Anglo-Frisian' thesis, in: Volkert F. Faltings, Alastair G. H. Walker, Ommo Wilts (eds), Friesische Studien II, NOWELE Supplement 12, Odense: Odense University Press, 177–220, p. §1.2
18. ^ Stiles, Patrick V. (2013), The Pan-West Germanic isoglosses and the subrelationships of West Germanic to other branches, NOWELE 66/1, 5–38, p. 18–19
19. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 223
20. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bera
21. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gaberan
22. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. beran