*gōd

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *gōd for Proto-West Germanic and use it for their complete paradigm of the adjective,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz (“good”),^[3][4] which Kroonen cites by its stem *gōda- and Orel as *ʒōđaz.^[4][5] Ringe and Taylor trace several of its endings from Proto-Germanic: the masculine nominative plural *gōdai became *gōdē, the source of Old English gōde, Old Saxon gōde and Old High German guote;^[3] the genitive plural became *gōdezō;^[6] and the masculine accusative singular became *gōdanā, continued by Old English gōdne and Old Frisian gōdene.^[7]

Morphology

An adjective.^[1] In Proto-West Germanic all strong adjectives had become a-stems or (i)ja-stems, and Ringe and Taylor illustrate both the strong and the weak declension with this word.^[1] Their strong paradigm has the masculine and neuter nominative singular *gōd, masculine accusative *gōdanā, genitive *gōdas, instrumental *gōdu; the feminine nominative *gōdu, accusative *gōdā, genitive *gōdezā, dative *gōdezē; and in the plural the masculine nominative *gōdē, feminine nominative *gōdō, genitive *gōdezō and dative-instrumental *gōdēm.^[1] The weak endings are the same as those of the n-stem nouns.^[8] The suppletive comparison of Proto-Germanic survived in Proto-West Germanic,^[8] and Kroonen takes *batiz "better" for the adverb of the comparative of *gōda-.^[9]

Evidence

The adjective is found in all the West Germanic languages: Old English gōd, Old Frisian gōd, Old Saxon gōd and Old High German guot.^[4] Old High German has it from the 8th century,^[10] and Old Dutch guot in the Old Low Franconian psalms, which ONW dates to 901–1000, and in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[11] EWA mentions Lombard personal names in ⟨God(e)-⟩, but finds them hard to separate from the word for "god".^[10]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor call their reconstruction of the oblique cases of the strong singular partly inferential, because the daughters disagree in detail: they give the endings that regular sound change from Proto-Germanic would produce.^[8] They allow that the southern dialects may have had a genitive singular in *-es instead of *-as and a masculine accusative in *-an.^[8] They also hold that the nominative and accusative plural had not yet merged in Proto-West Germanic, so that the mergers in the daughters were parallel developments.^[8]

Meanings

1. good^[3][2]

The neuter used as a noun for "goods, property" is found in Old English, Old Saxon, Old High German, Old Dutch and Old Frisian.^[12]

Derivatives

• *gōdī "goodness", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Orel derives Proto-Germanic *ʒōđīn from the adjective, with Old Saxon gōdī and Old High German guotī,^[5] and Old Dutch has guodi.^[14]
• *gōdōn "to make good, to improve", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Old English gōdian and its cognates;^[15] Köbler gives the Old English verb the sense "to improve".^[16]

Reflexes

• Old English: gōd (“good, capable, considerable, wholesome”)^[17]
• Old Frisian: gōd (“good, upright, reliable, valuable, suitable”)^[18]
• Old Saxon: gōd (“good, fitting”)^[19]
• Old Dutch: guot (“good”)^[11]
• Old High German: guot (“good, useful, suitable, fertile, brave, noble”)^[10]

References

1. ^ 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. 119
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gōd
3. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 25
4. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 184
5. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 138
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 299
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 300
8. ^ a b c d e Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 120
9. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 55
10. ^ a b c 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. guot¹
11. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. guot
12. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. god 3
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gōdī
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. guodi
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gōdōn
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gōdian
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gōd, adj.
18. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. gōd
19. ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 168