*morgin

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *morgin "morning, tomorrow" for Proto-West Germanic, with *morgan as an alternative form.^[1][2] Ringe and Taylor derive the early West Saxon nominative merġen from *morgin, beside morgen.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *murginaz (“morning”),^[4][5] and Ringe and Taylor hold that both Proto-Germanic *murgina- and *murgana- must be recognized as widely current preforms, since Gothic has the *-i- form and Old High German morgan the *-a- form.^[3] The *o of *morgin- can only have been levelled in from *morgan-, in which the *u of Proto-Germanic *murganaz had been regularly lowered.^[3] EWA explains the different suffix forms by a change of suffix.^[6]

Morphology

A masculine a-stem,^[6][7] though Köbler classes the Old English noun as a ja-stem.^[8] The early West Saxon dative or instrumental on merġen "in the morning" has no ending, which must reflect a short high vowel: either *-i, apparently a dative ending levelled from *nahti "night", or the instrumental *-u.^[3]

Evidence

The noun is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English morgen, also margen, mergen and myrgen, Old Frisian morn, Old Saxon morgan, Old Dutch morgan and Old High German morgan.^[6] Old Dutch has it in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 10th century,^[9] and Old High German from the end of the 8th century.^[6] The word is the first part of Lombardic morgingab (“morning gift”),^[6] and Finnish murkina (“early morning meal”) and its Finnic relatives were borrowed from the Proto-Germanic form *murǥina-.^[6]

Competing analyses

EWA sets up Proto-Germanic *murǥa/e/una- and *marǥina- and holds that an n-stem, which Kroonen considers for the different suffix forms, is not needed.^[6] Orel derives Old English meriġen and Middle Dutch margen, mergen from *marʒinaz.^[4] Ringe and Taylor ask whether the alternation of *-ana- and *-ina- is connected with the isolated strong masculine accusatives singular in *-inǭ, and note that such an alternation is not rare in Germanic adjective formation.^[3]

Meanings

1. morning^[3][1]
2. tomorrow^[1][6]

The daughters use the word in adverbial phrases for "tomorrow, in the morning, the next morning", as Old Saxon and Old Dutch an morgan.^[6] Old Saxon and Old High German also used it for a measure of land, an acre.^[10][11]

Derivatives

• Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Germanic *murgnagebō (“morning gift”);^[12] Orel cites the compound as *murʒina-ʒeƀō "bridal gift", behind Old English morgengifu and Old High German morgangeba.^[4]

Reflexes

• Old English: morgen (“morning, forenoon, tomorrow”)^[8]
• Old Frisian: morn (“morning”)^[13]
• Old Saxon: morgan (“morning, forenoon, acre”)^[10]
• Old Dutch: morgan (“morning”)^[9][14]
• Old High German: morgan (“morning, the next day, acre”)^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *morgin
2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *morgan
3. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 19
4. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 276
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *murgana-
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. morgan
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. morgan
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. morgen
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. morgan
10. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. morgan
11. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. morgan
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *murgnagebō
13. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. morn
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. morgan