*mōtijan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *mōtijan for Proto-West Germanic.^[1] It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną (“to meet”),^[2] which Kroonen cites as *mōtjan-, Orel as *mōtjanan and Köbler as *mōtjan.^[3][4][5] It belongs to the weak verbs with a heavy root, whose present alternation *-ī- ~ *-ija- was replaced in Proto-West Germanic by *-i- ~ *-ija-.^[6] In Old English it became *mœ̅tjąn by i-umlaut, and then Northumbrian ġemœ̅ta, West Saxon mētan.^[2]

Morphology

A weak verb of class I.^[7][8] Its Proto-Germanic past *mōtidē "(s)he met" survives in Old Saxon muotta, and became Old English *mœ̅tidǣ, *mœ̅ttæ, Mercian and Northumbrian ġe-mœtte, West Saxon mette.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English mētan, Old Frisian mēta and Old Saxon mōtian.^[2] Old High German has muozen, recorded twice, with a record that Köbler dates to the 8th century;^[8] Boutkan and Siebinga give the Old High German verb the sense "to confront each other as enemies".^[10] For the Low Franconian side they cite Middle Dutch moeten "to meet".^[10]

Competing analyses

Wiktionary derives the Proto-Germanic verb from the noun *mōtą "meeting",^[11] and Orel likewise from his *mōtan "meeting", while Meringer derived it from *mōtō.^[4] Kroonen calls it a jan-verb closely related to the preterite-present *mōtan- "to approach, to concede to(?)".^[3] Boutkan and Siebinga find the only parallel outside Germanic in an Armenian verb meaning "to come near", a comparison that has been doubted.^[10] In their view, Wood's connection with the verb for "to measure" fails on the meaning and on the colour of the laryngeal.^[10]

Meanings

1. to meet^[2][1]

Old Frisian also used the verb for "to set against (a pledge)" and "to proceed against",^[12] and Old High German for "to clash".^[8]

Derivatives

• Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Germanic *gamōtijaną (“to meet, to encounter”) behind Old English ġemētan;^[13] Köbler lists the prefixed Old English verb.^[14]

Reflexes

• Old English: mētan (“to meet, to encounter, to find”)^[14]
• Old Frisian: mēta (“to meet, to proceed against”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: mōtian (“to meet”)^[7]
• Old High German: muozen (“to meet, to clash”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *mōtijan
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. 227
3. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 372
4. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 274
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *mōtjan
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 70
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. motian
8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. muozen
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 268
10. ^ a b c d Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. meta
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *mōtijaną
12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. mēta
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *gamōtijaną
14. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mētan