*grōan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the verb *grōan.^[1] It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *grōaną (“to grow”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites as *grōan-, Orel as *grōanan and Köbler as *grōan.^[2][4][3] Ringe and Taylor describe how the strong verbs whose roots ended in a vowel in Proto-Germanic acquired various consonants filling the hiatus in the West Germanic languages; in Old English the consonant was *w.^[5] It arose first before the present indicative first singular *-u and the past plural *-un, and Old Frisian appears to have done the same, to judge from the derivative Old Frisian grōwinge (“growth, swelling”).^[6]

Morphology

Old English inflected grōwan as a strong verb of class VII, with the past grēow.^[7] Old Frisian has both a strong verb grōwa and a weak verb grōia;^[8] Old Saxon and Old High German have weak verbs of class I,^[9][10] and Old Dutch a weak verb.^[11]

Evidence

The verb is attested as Old English grōwan,^[12] Old Frisian grōwa,^[8] Old Saxon grōian, in the form ⟨groio⟩ glossing Latin virere,^[9] Old Dutch gruoien, in Williram's commentary on the Song of Songs of 1100,^[11] and Old High German gruoen, recorded from the 8th century in glosses and in Notker.^[10] EWA holds that the Old Saxon form given by Holthausen cannot be verified.^[10]

Competing analyses

EWA separates two verbs: a weak verb with a j-suffix behind Old High German gruoen, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch groeyen and Old Frisian grōia, and a strong verb of class VII behind Old English grōwan, Old Norse gróa and a single Middle Dutch past ⟨grieu⟩.^[10] It rejects the derivation of all the forms from one j-present, which it finds in Schrijver.^[10] Mailhammer lists the Proto-Germanic verb among the reduplicating verbs.^[13]

Meanings

1. to grow^[2][1]

Wiktionary specifies the growth of plants.^[1] Old High German also used the verb for "to become green, to thrive",^[10] Old Saxon for "to flourish",^[9] and Old Frisian for the healing of wounds.^[8]

Derivatives

• *grōnī "green": Old Frisian grēne, Old Saxon grōni, Old High German gruoni;^[14] Kroonen relates the Proto-Germanic adjective to the verb.^[2]
• Kroonen derives the ti-stem *grōþi- "growth, young vegetation", Old Frisian grēde, from the verb;^[15] Wiktionary reconstructs it as Proto-Germanic *grōdiz (“growth”).^[16]

Reflexes

• Old English: grōwan (“to grow, to increase, to sprout”)^[12]
• Old Frisian: grōwa (“to grow; to heal”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: grōian (“to flourish”)^[9]
• Old Dutch: gruoien (“to grow”)^[11]
• Old High German: gruoen (“to become green, to grow, to thrive”)^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *grōan
2. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 191
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *grōan
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 143
5. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 150
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 151
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 348
8. ^ a b c d Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. grōwa
9. ^ a b c d Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. grōian
10. ^ a b c d e f g 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. gruoen
11. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. gruoien
12. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. grōwan
13. ^ Mailhammer, Robert (2007), The Germanic Strong Verbs: Foundations and Development of a New System, Trends in Linguistics 183, Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 225
14. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 227
15. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 192
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *grōdiz