*bilīban

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *bilīban "to stay, to remain" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bilībaną (“to stay, to remain”),^[1] which Wiktionary analyses as the prefix *bi- and the verb *lībaną.^[2] Kroonen and Orel head the verb without the prefix, as *līban- and *līƀanan, and both list Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (bileiban) and the prefixed West Germanic verbs.^[3][4][2] Kroonen finds the root-final *b, where *f would be expected, obscure, and allows that the strong verb may have been derived from the stative *libēn- "to live".^[3] EWA takes the Proto-Germanic verb to have meant properly "to adhere, to stick", and its form to have generalised the variant with grammatical change.^[5]

Morphology

A strong verb of class I.^[5][6] Old High German has the past bileib, bilibun and the past participle biliban.^[5] Beside Old English bilāf there are irregular pasts bilæf, bileaf, perhaps influenced by the causative belǣfan (“to leave behind”), derived from the strong verb.^[5]

Evidence

The verb is attested as Old English belīfan, Old Frisian bilīva, Old Saxon bilīvan, Old Dutch bilīvan and Old High German bilīban, all with the prefix.^[5][3] Old High German has it in Alemannic glosses from the end of the 8th century,^[5] Old Saxon in the Heliand,^[7] and Old Dutch in the imperative bleif, glossing Latin mansi, in the Psalms of the 9th century.^[8] The vowel of the prefix was elided in Old High German as early as the 9th or 10th century, as in the participle blibenar,^[5] and Old Frisian has both bilīva and blīva.^[9]

Meanings

1. to stay, to remain^[1][3]

Old Frisian also used the verb for "to be left over", "to die" and "to become",^[9] and Old High German for "to cease" and "to die".^[5]

Derivatives

• Wiktionary reconstructs the causative Proto-Germanic *bilaibijaną (“to cause to stay, to leave behind”);^[10] Kroonen calls *laibjan- "to leave over" the causative to the verb.^[11]

Reflexes

• Old English: belīfan (“to stay, to remain”)^[6]
• Old Frisian: bilīva (“to stay, to remain, to die, to become”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: bilīvan (“to remain, to stay away”)^[7]
• Old Dutch: bilīvan (“to stay, to remain”)^[12]
• Old High German: bilīban (“to stay, to remain, to cease, to die”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bilīban
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bilībaną
3. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 335
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 247
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. bilîban
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. belīfan
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bilīvan
8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bilīvan
9. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bilīva
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bilaibijaną
11. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 323
12. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. bilīvan