*frō

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs an adverb *frō "early" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

EWA traces Old High German fruo and its cognates to Proto-Germanic *frō-.^[2]

Morphology

An adverb.^[2][3] Old High German also has a comparative fruor (“earlier”), only in Notker.^[2]

Evidence

The adverb is attested in Old High German fruo, recorded from before 800 in glosses, the Murbach Hymns, Otfrid, Tatian and Notker,^[2] and in Old Dutch fruo, glossing Latin mane in the Middle and Low Franconian Psalms and glosses of 901–1000 and used in Williram's commentary of 1100.^[4] EWA lists as its other Germanic cognates Middle Low German, Old and Middle Dutch, East Frisian, Danish and Swedish words, with no Old English, Old Frisian or Old Saxon form.^[2] The word is thus recorded early only in the continental languages;^[2][4] Wiktionary gives Old Saxon only as an unattested form.^[1]

Competing analyses

EWA reports Wilmanns's view that the adverb is an uninflected accusative singular neuter, but itself takes it as formally identical with Latin prō (“before, for”), an old instrumental form.^[2] It rejects a preform with *-u̯- for the related Greek adverb, which the Germanic evidence does not support: such a *-u̯- would have left traces in the adjective Old High German fruoi (“early”) derived from the adverb.^[2][2]

Meanings

1. early^[1][2]

Old High German also used the word for "in the morning", "soon" and "quickly".^[2]

Derivatives

• Wiktionary reconstructs an adjective *frō(ī) "early", formed from the adverb with the suffix *-ī;^(Wiktionary|s.v. *frō(ī)) Old High German has the adjective fruoi (“early, of the morning, premature”),^[5] which Orel and Köbler set beside the adverb under a Proto-Germanic adjective *frōw(j)az, *frōwa-.^[6][7]

Reflexes

• Old Dutch: fruo (“early”)^[4]
• Old High German: fruo (“early, in the morning, soon”)^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *frō
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. fruo
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. fruo
4. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. fruo
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. fruoi
6. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 116
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *frōwa-