*krīgan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *krīgan "to strive, to struggle" for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and de Vaan writes the verb *krīgan.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *krīganą (“to be stubborn”),^[3][1] which Kroonen cites as *krīgan- and Köbler as *kreigan?, *krīgan?.^[3][4] Kroonen finds no certain etymology for it.^[3] EWA too calls the further origin uncertain, and rules out the substrate origin that De Vries proposed.^[5]

Morphology

A strong verb.^[3] Kroonen takes the related adjective *kriagi-, a gerundive, to imply an otherwise lost reduplicating verb *kraigan- beside it.^[3] EWA finds the strong verb hard to separate in most languages from a weak verb "to wage war" made from the noun, and thinks the strong verb may in part have become weak.^[5]

Evidence

The strong verb is first found in Middle Dutch crigen (“to strive, to fight; to obtain”),^[3] Middle Low German krīgen and Middle High German krīgen.^[5] Old Frisian has the weak verb krīgia, also krīga, krīa,^[6] which EWA lists with them.^[5] Old Saxon has only the noun krēg, and Old High German the noun krieg "stubbornness", both glossing Latin pertinācia,^[7][5] and the weak verb kriegēn (“to make a noise”), which EWA takes for a derivative of the noun.^[8] De Vaan derives Dutch kregel (“touchy”) from *krigila- "stubborn", with Middle Dutch krigel recorded in West Brabant in 1265.^[2]

Competing analyses

Kroonen takes the oldest meaning to be "to be stiff, stubborn", as in Old Frisian halskrīga (“stiff neck”), whence "to strive" and "to fight";^[3] de Vaan follows him.^[2] EWA doubts that the Old Frisian noun belongs here, because of its meaning.^[5]

Meanings

1. to strive, to struggle^[1]

Old Frisian used its verb for "to obtain, to get, to win, to seize, to conquer".^[6]

Derivatives

• *krīg "strife, struggle, fight", which Wiktionary reconstructs as possibly from the verb;^[9] EWA derives the noun, Old High German krieg, presumably from the strong verb.^[5] Kroonen derives the Old High German variant krēg "stubbornness" from *kriaga-, with the same base as *kriagi-.^[3]

Reflexes

• Old Frisian: krīgia (“to obtain, to get, to win, to seize, to conquer”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *krīgan
2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2017), The Dawn of Dutch: Language Contact in the Western Low Countries before 1200, NOWELE Supplement Series 30, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 139
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 304
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *kreigan?
5. ^ 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. krieg
6. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. krīgia
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. krēg
8. ^ 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. kriegên
9. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *krīg