*helan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *helan for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *helaną (“to hide, to conceal”),^[1][2] which Kroonen cites by its stem *helan-, Köbler as *helan and EWA as *χele/a-.^[2][3][4]

Morphology

A strong verb of class IV.^[4][5][6] Seebold gives the Old English principal parts as helan, hæl, hælon, holen and the Old Saxon ones as helan, hal, holan.^[7] In German the verb later became weak, which EWA puts down to its rare use.^[4]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English helan, Old Frisian hela and Old High German helan, the last from the 8th century.^[4] Old Saxon has it in the Heliand and the Genesis.^[8] Old Dutch has only the prefixed Old Dutch bihelan (“to conceal”), with the past participle ⟨beholona⟩ in the Old Low Franconian psalms, dated in ONW to 901–1000.^[9][10] Kroonen and EWA list the verb only in the West Germanic languages.^[2][4]

Meanings

1. to hide, to conceal^[1][2]

Kroonen takes "to cover" for the probable original meaning, which Old English kept beside "to conceal".^[2] Wiktionary also gives "to fence, to trade in stolen goods", a sense Kroonen records from Middle Dutch and German.^[1][2] Old High German also used the verb for "to keep silent about, to deny".^[4]

Derivatives

• *bihelan "to cover over, to conceal", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[11] Köbler sets up the prefixed verb from Old English behelan, Old Frisian bihela, Old Dutch bihelan and Old Saxon bihelan.^[12]
• *helabāri "concealing; hidden", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Old High German has helabāri.^[14]
• *helmō "handle, helm", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Proto-Germanic *helmô and analyses as the verb with a suffix *-mō.^[15]
• Kroonen derives Proto-Germanic *helma- (“helmet”) from the root of the verb in its sense "to cover".^[16]
• Ringe and Taylor discuss whether Proto-Germanic *huljaną (“to cover, to hide”), nearly a synonym of *helaną, was formed from it directly; they also consider a denominative of *hulą "hole, hollow".^[17]

Reflexes

• Old English: helan (“to conceal, to cover, to hide”)^[18]
• Old Frisian: hela (“to conceal”)^[19]
• Old Saxon: helan (“to conceal, to hide”)^[8]
• Old Dutch: bihelan (“to conceal”), only with the prefix^[9]
• Old High German: helan (“to hide, to conceal, to keep secret, to deny”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *helan
2. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 218
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *helan
4. ^ 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. helan
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. helan
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hela
7. ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. 252
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. helan
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. bihelan
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bihelan
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bihelan
12. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *bihelan
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *helabāri
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. helabāri
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *helmō
16. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 219
17. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 280
18. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. helan
19. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. hela