*gaskehan

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *gaskehan "to happen" for Proto-West Germanic,^[1][2] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[3]

Etymology

Wiktionary takes it as formed from Proto-West Germanic *ga- + *skehan.^[3] The simple verb is Proto-Germanic *skehaną (“to move quickly; to happen”), which Kroonen cites as *skehan-;^[4] Köbler sets up the prefixed verb already for Proto-Germanic as *gaskehan.^[5] Ringe and Taylor list *gaskehan among the lexemes found only in West Germanic, which are more or less isolated etymologically.^[1] In Old English it became *gæskeohan and then poetic ġesċēon, which has a weak class II past.^[2]

Morphology

A strong verb of class V.^[6][7] EWA gives the Old High German past as ⟨-skah⟩, plural ⟨-skâhun⟩, and the past participle ⟨-skehan⟩.^[8] Old Frisian has weak forms beside the strong ones,^[9] and the Old English verb is weak.^[2][10] EWA derives Old English scēon and Middle High German schehen (“to hurry”) from a durative or intensive *skeχ-ōi̯e/a- instead.^[8]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English ġesċēon, Old Frisian skiā and Old High German giskehan,^[1] and Old Frisian also has the prefixed geskiā.^[11] Old Dutch has giskian in Williram's commentary of 1100.^[12] EWA notes that Dutch has only the prefixed verb, and that the Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish verbs were taken from Middle Low German.^[8] The simple verb is recorded once in Old High German or Old Saxon, as ⟨skihit⟩: Tiefenbach counts the form as Old Saxon, while EWA, after Lühr, takes the text for Old High German, already beside the usual prefixed verb.^[13][8]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary takes the verb for a West Germanic formation,^[3] and Köbler reconstructs the prefixed verb for Proto-Germanic.^[5] EWA thinks that two Indo-European roots may have fallen together in the Proto-Germanic verb, one meaning "to move quickly, to jump", behind the senses "to hurry", the other "to pass by", behind "to happen";^[8] Boutkan and Siebinga find no Indo-European etymology.^[14]

Meanings

1. to happen^[1][3]

Old English used the verb also for "to hurry, to run, to fly".^[10] Old High German also used it for "to fall to one's share, to arise".^[6]

Reflexes

• Old English: ġesċēon (“to befall, to happen, to hurry”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: geskiā (“to happen”)^[11]
• Old Dutch: giskian (“to happen”)^[12]
• Old High German: giskehan (“to happen, to take place, to befall”)^[6]

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. 126
2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 178
3. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gaskehan
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 442
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *gaskehan
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. giskehan
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. skiā
8. ^ 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. skehan
9. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. skiā
10. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. gescéon
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. geskiā
12. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. giskian
13. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. skehan
14. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. skia