*makōn

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

Wiktionary takes it for a verb formed in West Germanic, from Proto-West Germanic *mak (“fit, suitable”) + *-ōn.^[2] Kroonen likewise makes the adjective *maka- "fit" the base of the verb, which he writes *makōjan-.^[3]

Morphology

A weak verb of class II.^[4][5] Ringe and Taylor cite Old Saxon makon and Old High German mahhōn for the Proto-West Germanic form; it was remade as *makōjan, continued by Old Frisian makia, and this became Old English macian through *makœ̄jan and *makejan.^[6][7] Since the endings of all the class II weak verbs are identical, they call this development the only example of *-ōj-, but one attested thousands of times.^[7]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English macian, Old Frisian makia, Old Saxon makon and Old High German mahhōn,^[1] and Ringe and Taylor list it among the lexemes unique to West Germanic, which are more or less isolated etymologically.^[8] Old Dutch has makon, recorded as ⟨macodon⟩ "they made" in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 10th century.^[9] Boutkan and Siebinga mark the Old Norse verb maka as a loan from Middle Low German.^[10]

Competing analyses

Some sources set up the verb for Proto-Germanic: Köbler reconstructs a weak verb *makōn "to make, to knead", counting the Old Norse verb among its reflexes,^[11] and Boutkan and Siebinga reconstruct *makōjanaN.^[10] The direction of derivation is disputed as well: Kroonen derives the verb from the adjective *maka-, while Orel derives the adjective *makaz from the verb *makōjanan.^[3][12] Kroonen holds that the original meaning was "to match, to put together" rather than "to knead", which makes the usual comparison with Greek and Slavic words for kneading and smearing obsolete.^[3] Holthausen still compares the Old English verb with Breton and Greek words for kneading.^[13]

Meanings

1. to make^[1][2]
2. to prepare, to arrange^[2][13]
3. to build^[2][14]

Old English also used the verb for "to cause" and "to behave",^[13] Old Frisian for "to repair", "to found", "to decide" and "to appoint",^[15] and Old Saxon for "to fix" and "to inflict".^[14]

Reflexes

• Old English: macian (“to make, to prepare, to cause, to use, to behave”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: makia (“to make, to do, to build, to repair, to decide”)^[15]
• Old Saxon: makon (“to construct, to form, to fix, to inflict”)^[14]
• Old Dutch: makon (“to make”)^[9]
• Old High German: mahhōn (“to make, to do, to create, to produce, to prepare”)^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 127
2. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *makōn
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 350
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. macian
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. makōn
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 191
7. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 228
8. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 126–127
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. makon
10. ^ a b Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. makia
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *makōn
12. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 257
13. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. macian
14. ^ a b c Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. makon
15. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. makia
16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mahhōn