*haitan

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the infinitive *haitan for Proto-West Germanic, with the past third singular *hehēt,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same infinitive.^[2] It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *haitaną (“to call”),^[3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *haitan-.^[4] Because unstressed *ai had already merged with *ē in Northwest Germanic, the past *hehait had become Proto-Northwest Germanic *hehēt.^[3] When the reduplication was given up, this gave the past *hēt beside the present *haitan, continued in Old English hātan, hēt, Old Frisian hēta, hēt, Old Saxon hētan, hiet and Old High German heiʒan, hiaʒ.^[3]

Morphology

A strong verb of class VII, a reduplicating verb.^[5][6] The reduplicated past survives, with the vowel of the root syllable lost, only in Anglian Old English heht, which Ringe and Taylor derive from Proto-West Germanic *hehēt.^[1] The past second singular, Proto-Germanic *hehaist, was replaced in Proto-West Germanic by *hehētī, the source of Old English hēte and Old High German hieʒi.^[7] Ringe and Taylor name it as a verb that kept a synthetic present passive: Proto-Germanic *haitadai "is called" became Northwest Germanic *haitadē, the source of Old English hātte.^[8][9] Ringe and Taylor set up Proto-West Germanic *haittē for it, with a query, by comparison with the syncope in *sattē.^[10]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English hātan, Old Frisian hēta, Old Saxon hētan and Old High German heizan.^[4][5] In Old Dutch the infinitive is recorded as ⟨etan⟩ for ⟨hetan⟩ in psalms that Köbler dates to the 9th century,^[11] and ONW has the verb from the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 10th century and in Williram's commentary of 1100.^[12] ONW also lists a Frankish *hētan, reconstructed in the FEW behind Old French sohaidier.^[12] Gamillscheg derives this verb, the source of French souhaiter (“to wish”), recorded from the 12th century as ⟨soshaidier⟩, from Frankish *hait (“wish”).^[13]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor allow that the *-a- of the passive *haitadē may have been lost by the same early syncope that removed *-i- between coronal stops, giving *haittē; but since the syncope in this relic could have happened later, they draw no conclusions from it.^[14] Elsewhere they derive Old English hātte from Proto-West Germanic *haitadē, if it was not already syncopated at that date.^[9]

Meanings

1. to call^[3][2]
2. to name; in the passive, to be called^[8][2]
3. to promise^[2]

Kroonen takes "to call" for the original meaning.^[4] Old English also used the verb for "to command" and "to promise",^[15] Old Frisian for "to command" and "to vow",^[16] and Old High German for "to bid, to order, to determine".^[5]

Derivatives

• *hait² "promise", which Wiktionary reconstructs as a noun formed to the verb;^[17] Köbler lists Old English hāt (“command, promise, vow”) under it.^[18]
• *andahaitan "to acknowledge, to confess", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[19] Köbler sets up *anhaitan for Old Saxon andhētan and Old High German intheizan (“to vow, to promise”).^[20]
• *haitijō "caller, leader", which Wiktionary reconstructs behind Old High German compounds in ⟨-heizo⟩;^[21] Köbler cites Old High German skuldheizo (“steward, magistrate”).^[22]

Reflexes

• Old English: hātan (“to call, to command, to promise, to be called”)^[15]
• Old Frisian: hēta (“to be called, to name, to command, to promise”)^[16]
• Old Saxon: hētan (“to call, to name, to command”)^[23]
• Old Dutch: hētan (“to call, to be called”)^[12]
• Old High German: heizan (“to call, to name, to order, to be called”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 92
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haitan
3. ^ 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. 89
4. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 202
5. ^ a b c d 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. heizan
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hêtan
7. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 67
8. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 21
9. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 265
10. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 25
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hētan
12. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hētan
13. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 866
14. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 73
15. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hātan
16. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēta
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haitą
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haitam
19. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *andahaitan
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *anhaitan
21. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haitijō
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haitō-
23. ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 195