*bringan

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bringaną (“to bring”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *bringan-.^[3] Ringe and Taylor derive Old English bringan from Proto-Germanic *bringaną, with the spelling ⟨ng⟩ pronounced [ŋg] because the two consonants had always been in contact.^[2]

Morphology

A verb with a strong present and a weak past: Proto-Germanic *branhtē "(s)he brought" belongs to a small inherited class of such pasts, with *bohtē "(s)he bought".^[4] Its nasalized long vowel was rounded in Old English and Old Frisian brōhte, brōhte, while Old Saxon brāhta has ā, like Old High German;^[5][6] Ringe and Taylor find the Old Saxon outcomes of this nasalization apparently contradictory.^[7] In Old High German the past is mostly weak, though Otfrid also has strong forms, and in the oldest glosses strong past participles already outnumber the weak ones;^[8] Old English poetry also has a strong past participle.^[8] Ringe and Taylor give the Proto-Germanic present second and third singular as *bringizi, *bringidi.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old Frisian bringa, Old Saxon bringan, Old Dutch bringan and Old High German bringan.^[8] Old Saxon has it only twice, in the C manuscript of the Heliand, beside the usual weak brengian.^[8] In Old Dutch, ONW records it in the Old Low Franconian psalms, dated there to 901–1000, and in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[10] EWA states that North Germanic originally lacked the verb, its Danish and Swedish forms being borrowed from German.^[8]

Competing analyses

Beside *bringan the daughters have weak presents: Old English brengan, Old Frisian brenga and Old High German brengen.^[11] Köbler derives the Old Saxon and Old High German weak verbs from a separate Proto-Germanic weak verb *brangjan,^[12][13] while Wiktionary lists the weak forms among the reflexes of *bringan.^[1] EWA reports that the weak past is mostly taken for original and as old as Proto-Germanic, and the weak presents and the rare strong pasts for secondary.^[8]

Meanings

1. to bring^[1]

Old English also used the verb for "to bring forth, to lead, to offer",^[14] Old Frisian for "to give birth, to testify, to make",^[15] and Old Saxon for "to accomplish".^[12]

Derivatives

• *forþbringan "to bring forth", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[16] Köbler records the combination in Old English and Old Frisian.^[17][18]

Reflexes

• Old English: bringan (“to bring, to bring forth, to lead, to offer”)^[14]
• Old Frisian: bringa (“to bring”), beside brenga and branga^[15][19]
• Old Saxon: bringan (“to bring”)^[20]
• Old Dutch: bringan (“to bring, to bring back, to lead”)^[10][21]
• Old High German: bringan (“to bring, to offer, to lead, to produce”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bringan
2. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 4
3. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 77
4. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 99
5. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 142
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 145
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 146
8. ^ a b c d e f g 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. bringan
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 296
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. bringan
11. ^ 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. brengen
12. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brengian
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brengen
14. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bringan
15. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. brenga
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *forþbringan
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bringan
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brenga
19. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bringa
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bringan
21. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bringan