*haubid

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor think the Proto-West Germanic form was probably *haubid, and Wiktionary has the same form.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *haubidą (“head”), which Ringe and Taylor hold to be certainly the Proto-Germanic form, on the evidence of Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌸 (haubiþ).^[1] Wiktionary calls *haubidą a variant of *haubudą,^[2] Köbler sets up both *haubuda- and *haubida-,^[3] and Kroonen writes *ha(u)beda- ~ *ha(u)buda-.^[4]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[5][6]

Evidence

Old Saxon hōƀid and Old High German houbit support *haubid.^[1] Old Dutch has hōvit in the psalms, dated by Köbler to the 9th century,^[7] and in Williram's commentary of 1100.^[8] Old English hēafod and Old Frisian hāved reflect *haubud instead.^[1][9] Ringe and Taylor explain the Old English form by a change of unstressed *i to *u before a back vowel in the next syllable: the suffix *-id- stood before a back vowel only in the plural forms, and the resulting *-ud- could have been levelled into the singular.^[1] EWA, following Wagner, connects the Merovingian personal name Chaubedo, formed with an n-suffix from a West Frankish *haubid.^[6]

Competing analyses

Kroonen calls the variation between the roots *hab- and *haub- and the suffixes *-ed- and *-ud- problematic.^[4] Latin caput and Old English hafola (“head”) suggest that *haub- is the newer root, but Gothic shows that it is Proto-Germanic.^[4] He considers an old paradigm *hafuþ, genitive *habweþaz, in which *haub- arose by metathesis in the oblique cases, and so finds a loan from a non-Indo-European language of Europe unlikely.^[4] Boutkan and Siebinga, on the other hand, think it clear that the word comes from a substrate, since the vowel of the first syllable and the suffixes *-id- and *-ud- remain unexplained.^[10]

Meanings

1. head^[1][2]

Old English also used the word for "top, source, beginning",^[11] Old Frisian for "person", "single head of cattle" and "landing place",^[12] and Old High German for "chief, leader, top, beginning".^[6]

Derivatives

• *haubidakussīn "pillow" and *haubidawundu "head wound", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13][14] Köbler lists the Old Saxon compounds hōvidkussīn and hōvidwunda.^[5]
• *haubidalaus "headless", which Wiktionary reconstructs; its descendants include Old English hēafodlēas.^[15]

Reflexes

• Old English: hēafod (“head, top, source, beginning”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: hāved (“head, person”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: hōƀid (“head, top”)^[5]
• Old Dutch: hōvit (“head”)^[8]
• Old High German: houbit (“head, chief, leader, top, beginning”)^[6]

References

1. ^ 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. 257
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haubid
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *haubida-
4. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 215
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hôvid
6. ^ 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. houbit
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hovid
8. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. hōvit
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 270
10. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. haved
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hēafod
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hāved
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haubidakussīn
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haubidawundu
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *haubidalaus