*hauʀijan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *hauʀijan,^[1] and Ringe and Taylor write the Proto-West Germanic verb *hauzijan.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną (“to hear”),^[2] which Kroonen cites as *hauzjan- and Köbler as *hauzjan, *hausjan.^[3][4] The two spellings differ over rhotacism: Ringe and Taylor hold that the merger of *z with *r happened independently in Norse and in West Germanic, and that, being an easily repeatable change, it cannot be ascribed to Proto-West Germanic with confidence.^[5] Between vowels, including *j, *z did merge with *r in all the West Germanic daughters, and this verb is one of their examples.^[2]

Morphology

A weak verb of class I.^[6][7] Its root syllable is heavy, and Ringe and Taylor describe how Proto-West Germanic remodelled such verbs so that the present-stem suffix was *-i- alternating with *-ija-: present indicative *hauziju, *hauzisi, *hauziþi, third plural *hauziją̄þ, subjunctive *hauzijē-, imperative *hauzi.^[8] The short *-i- of the second and third singular replaced the long *-ī- of Proto-Germanic *hauzīsi, *hauzīþi, which accounts for Old English hīerst, hīerþ and Old High German hōris, hōrit.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English hīeran, Old Frisian hēra, Old Saxon hōrian and Old High German hōren.^[2] Old High German has it from the last quarter of the 8th century.^[7] EWA notes that Old Dutch has only the prefixed verb,^[7] while ONW records hōren in Williram's commentary of about 1100 and in the Groningen psalm glosses of 1151–1175.^[10] The verb Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hausjan) has a voiceless consonant, which Ringe and Taylor take for an analogical alternant, perhaps from the word for "ear";^[2] EWA finds it not yet satisfactorily explained.^[7]

Meanings

1. to hear^[2][1]
2. to listen^[1][11]

Old English also used the verb for "to obey" and "to belong",^[11] Old Frisian for "to belong" and "to be due",^[12] Old Saxon for "to obey" and "to belong",^[6] and Old High German for "to obey" and "to belong to".^[7]

Derivatives

• *gahauʀijan "to listen to, to obey", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Old English, Old Saxon and Old High German have the verb with the prefix.^[14][6][15]

Reflexes

• Old English: hīeran (“to hear, to listen, to obey, to grant, to belong”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: hēra (“to hear, to accept, to belong, to be due”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: hōrian (“to hear, to obey, to belong”)^[6]
• Old Dutch: hōren (“to hear, to belong”)^[10]
• Old High German: hōren (“to hear, to listen, to obey, to belong to”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *hauʀijan
2. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 83
3. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 217
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *hauzjan
5. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 82
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hôrian
7. ^ a b c d e f 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. hôren
8. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 161
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 70
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hōren
11. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hīeran
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēra
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gahauʀijan
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. híeran
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hōren