*biddjan

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the Proto-West Germanic form as phonetic *[biddjan], phonemic */bidjan/,^[1] and Wiktionary has *biddjan.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bidjaną (“to ask for”),^[1] which Kroonen cites as *bedjan-, Orel as *ƀiđjanan and Köbler as *bedjan, *bidjan.^[3][4][5] West Germanic gemination doubled the consonant before *j;^[1] Ringe and Taylor hold that it was at first only a rule of pronunciation, and that the underlying form may have stayed */bidjan/ for some generations.^[1]

Morphology

A strong verb of class V with a j-present.^[6][7] Ringe and Taylor's Proto-West Germanic paradigm has the infinitive *biddjan, the inflected infinitive *biddjannjē, the present participle *biddjandī, the present indicative *biddju, *bidisi, *bidiþi, plural *biddjum, *bidiþ, *biddjanþ, the present subjunctive *biddjē, *biddjēs, plural *biddjēm, *biddjēþ, *biddjēn, and the imperative *bidi (marked as uncertain), plural *bidiþ.^[8] The past indicative is *bad, *bādī, *bad, plural *bādum, *bādud, *bādun, the past subjunctive *bādī, and the past participle *bedan.^[8] Ringe and Taylor suggest that the dozen or so strong j-presents of this kind, with forms such as *bidiþi "asks for" beside *bidjanþi "they ask for", helped learners to reanalyse the forms with the stem vowel *-i- as having no underlying *-j-; the reanalysis was then extended to the weak verbs of class I.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English biddan, Old Frisian bidda, Old Saxon biddian and Old High German bitten.^[1] Old Dutch has the first singular biddon "I pray", glossing Latin dēprecor, in the psalms of the 9th century,^[10][6] and bidden in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[11] EWA finds the verb in all the Germanic languages, always meaning "to ask", and in Gothic, Old English and Old Norse also "to pray".^[6]

Competing analyses

The origin of the Proto-Germanic verb is debated.^[3] Orel derives it from Proto-Germanic *bīdaną (“to wait”);^[4] Boutkan and Siebinga, following Lehmann, reject this link.^[12] Kroonen also rejects the view that *bedjan- arose from *bidjan- on the model of the verbs for "to lie" and "to sit", because the merger of *e and *i that it needs happened separately in East and West Germanic.^[3] EWA finds no certain etymology.^[6]

Meanings

1. to ask for^[1]
2. to ask, to make a request^[2]

Old English also used the verb for "to pray" and "to command, to demand",^[13] Old Frisian for "to command" and "to pray",^[14] Old Saxon for "to invite",^[7] and Old High German for "to pray".^[6]

Derivatives

• *gabiddjan "to pray", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[15] Köbler lists the prefixed verb in Old Saxon.^[7]
• *bedul "given to asking, suppliant", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[16] Orel sets up a Proto-Germanic *ƀiđilaz derived from the verb, with Old English bedul and Old High German bitil (“suitor”).^[4]
• *bedu "request, prayer", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[17] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *ƀiđō either from the verb or directly from the verb for "to wait".^[4]

Reflexes

• Old English: biddan (“to pray, to ask, to command, to demand”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: bidda (“to ask for, to command, to pray”)^[14]
• Old Saxon: biddian (“to ask for, to request, to invite”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: bidden (“to ask, to pray”)^[11][10]
• Old High German: bitten (“to ask, to beg, to implore, to pray”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 51
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *biddjan
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 57
4. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 45
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bedjan
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. bitten
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. biddian
8. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 107
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 71
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bidden
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. bidden
12. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. bidda
13. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. biddan
14. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bidda
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gabiddjan
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bedul
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bedu