*kweman

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *kweman for Proto-West Germanic,^[1][2] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *kwemaną (“to come”),^[3] which Kroonen cites as *kweman- ~ *kuman-, Orel as *kwemanan and Köbler as *kweman.^[4][5][6] In the northern dialects Proto-West Germanic *e was apparently raised to *i before *m, and *kweman became *kwiman and then *kuman, while Old High German kept the form with e, queman.^[2] Ringe and Taylor leave open whether the change of *wi to *u was regular; alternatively, the present subjunctive may have had a zero-grade root, as Old English cyme suggests, and a stem *kum- first limited to the subjunctive may have spread to the whole present.^[7] These developments were shared by Old Saxon.^[8]

Morphology

A strong verb of class IV.^[9][10] Ringe and Taylor's Proto-West Germanic paradigm has the infinitive *kweman, the inflected infinitive *kwemannjē, the present participle *kwemandī, the present indicative *kwemu, *kwimizi, *kwimidi, plural *kwemum, *kwimid, *kwemand, the present subjunctive *kwemē, the imperative *kwem, plural *kwimid, the past indicative *kwam, *kwāmī, *kwam, plural *kwāmum, *kwāmud, *kwāmun, the past subjunctive *kwāmī and the past participle *koman or *kuman.^[1] The past plural continues Proto-Germanic *kwēmun "they came".^[11] In Old High German the regular past participle quoman is found only in a few texts and glosses; elsewhere it is formed after class V.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old High German queman, Old English cuman, Old Frisian kuma and Old Saxon kuman,^[2] Old High German from the last quarter of the 8th century.^[9] In Old Dutch, ONW has kuman from the Old Middle and Old Low Franconian Psalms of the 10th century, Williram's commentary of about 1100 and the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[12] EWA takes some Old High German spellings with ⟨cu-⟩ for Ingvaeonic.^[9]

Competing analyses

The northern *kuman against the Old High German form is one of the few examples of the raising of *e before *m that Ringe and Taylor count among the changes of the northern West Germanic dialects, shared by Old Saxon.^[7]

Meanings

1. to come^[2][3]

Old High German also used the verb for "to arrive, to return, to arise, to descend from, to become",^[9] and Old Frisian for "to amount to, to cost" and "to proceed against" in court.^[13]

Derivatives

• *anakweman "to come to, to arrive", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[14] Old Saxon has the prefixed verb.^[10]
• *uppakweman "to come up, to rise", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[15] Old English has the compound.^[16]
• *unþakweman "to escape", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[17] Old Frisian has the prefixed verb.^[18]

Reflexes

• Old English: cuman (“to come, to approach, to reach, to go”)^[19]
• Old Frisian: kuma (“to come, to appear, to amount to”)^[13]
• Old Saxon: kuman (“to come, to arise”)^[20]
• Old Dutch: kuman (“to come”)^[12]
• Old High German: queman (“to come, to arrive, to return, to arise”)^[9]

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. 107
2. ^ 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. 141
3. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *kweman
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 316
5. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 227
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *kweman
7. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 141–142
8. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 142
9. ^ 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. queman
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kuman
11. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 50
12. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. kuman
13. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. kuma
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *anakweman
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *uppakweman
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. cuman
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *unþakweman
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. kuma
19. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. cuman
20. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. kuman