*gaburjan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *gaburjan "to happen" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *gaburjaną (“to be due; to happen”),^[1][2] which Köbler and Wiktionary analyse as the prefix *ga- with the verb *burjan.^[2][1] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the simple verb as Proto-Germanic *burjaną "to be begotten, to begin; to be fitting", and trace to it Old English (ġe)byrian (“to happen, to be fitting”), Old Saxon giburian (“to happen”) and Old High German giburen (“to arrive, to happen”).^[3]

Morphology

A weak verb of class I.^[4][5] The Heliand has the past giburida, also geburide;^[4] Old High German has the variants giburien and giburren.^[6]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English ġebyrian,^[7] Old Saxon giburian, in the Heliand,^[4] Old Dutch giburren, once in the Old Low Franconian psalms, where ⟨mohti geburran⟩ glosses Latin forsitan,^[8] and Old High German giburien, from the end of the 8th century.^[5] Old Frisian has the simple verb Old Frisian bera (“to be due”), whose -e- goes back to *-ü-,^[9] and Holthausen sets it beside byrian.^[10]

Competing analyses

On the traditional view, which EWA reports, these verbs are formed from a zero grade *bur-, *bor- of the root meaning "to carry, to lift";^[9] EWA holds that this explains only the sense "to lift", which could develop through "to raise" into "to begin, to set out".^[9] Otherwise, as Matzel showed according to EWA, an old present in *-jo- formed from the zero grade of the root lies behind them, since only a primary verb could form abstracts in *-ti- such as Old High German giburt and Old English ġebyrd (“lot”).^[9] EWA explains "to happen" as what befalls one, and "to be fitting" from the idea that what falls to one is also good for one.^[9] Ringe and Taylor take "to be begotten" to be the original meaning of *burjaną, and the verb perhaps most plausibly for an intransitive derived from *beraną "to carry; to bear (a child)".^[3]

Meanings

1. to happen^[1]

Old English also used the verb for "to belong, to be fitting",^[10] and Old High German for "to come to, to fall to one's share, to be due".^[6]

Reflexes

• Old English: ġebyrian (“to happen, to belong, to be fitting”)^[7]
• Old Frisian: bera (“to be due, to be fitting”), without the prefix^[11]
• Old Saxon: giburian (“to happen, to befall”)^[4]
• Old Dutch: giburren (“to happen”)^[8]
• Old High German: giburien (“to come to, to happen, to be due”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gaburjan
2. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gaburjan
3. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 223
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. giburian
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. giburien
6. ^ 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. giburien
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gebyrian
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. giburren
9. ^ a b c d e 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. burien
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. byrian
11. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bera