*dagēn

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the infinitive *dagēn "to dawn",^[1] and Ringe and Taylor cite the Proto-West Germanic stem as *dagē-.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *dagāną (“to dawn”),^[1] which Ringe and Taylor reconstruct for Proto-Northwest Germanic with the stems *dagja- (or *dagā-) and *dagai-, continued in Old Norse daga.^[2] Wiktionary analyses the verb as *dag "day" with the suffix *-ēn.^[1]

Morphology

A weak verb of class III in Old High German,^[3] but of class II in Old English.^[4] Ringe and Taylor explain the Old English verb as a remaking of *dagē- as *dægōjan, like *wakē- "be awake" and *hatē- "hate".^[5] Since class II verbs always had *ō or *ā in the following syllable, their root vowel was retracted, which is why Old English has dagian rather than a form with æ.^[5]

Evidence

The verb is attested as Old English dagian and Old High German tagēn.^[2] Old High German has it from the 10th century in glosses and in Notker; the present participle tagēnto glosses Latin crepusculo "at daybreak".^[3] For Old Frisian, Old Saxon and Old Dutch, Wiktionary gives only reconstructed forms;^[1] Middle Low German has dagen.^[6]

Meanings

1. to dawn, to become day^[2][1]

Reflexes

• Old English: dagian (“to dawn”)^[6]
• Old High German: tagēn (“to dawn, to become day”)^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *dagēn
2. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 191
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tagēn
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. dagian
5. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 190–191
6. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. dagian