*obar

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over”),^[1][3] which Kroonen cites as *uber- and Köbler as *uber, *uberi.^[3][4] Ringe and Taylor count it among the indeclinables with initial *u- that treat the Northwest Germanic lowering of *u to *o inconsistently: Old English ofer has the lowered vowel, like the other West Germanic forms, but ufan(e) "from above" does not; they also find the voiceless Verner's law variant in Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar) surprising.^[5] In Old English the second vowel was fronted, *obær, as the early spelling ⟨ofær⟩ shows.^[1]

Morphology

A preposition and adverb.^[3][6]

Evidence

The word is found in all the West Germanic languages: Old Frisian over, Old Saxon obar and Old High German obar,^[5] beside Old English ofer^[1] and Old Dutch over, recorded in the Old Low Franconian psalms of the 10th century and in Williram's commentary of 1100.^[7] Old Frisian also has the contracted ūr,^[8] and Boutkan and Siebinga take ⟨over⟩ and ⟨ovir⟩ for the older stage, before the loss of the medial -v-.^[9] Köbler heads the Old High German word ubar.^[10]

Meanings

1. over^[1][2]
2. above^[3][2]

Old English also used the word for "beyond, across" and "against",^[11] Old Frisian for "against" and "after",^[8] and Old Saxon for "beyond, at, within".^[12]

Derivatives

• *obarōn "to exalt, to raise up", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Köbler sets up an Old English weak verb *oferian "to raise", derived from the preposition.^[14]

Reflexes

• Old English: ofer (“above, over, beyond, across, against”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: over (“over, against, after”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: obar (“over, beyond, against”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: over (“over”)^[7]
• Old High German: ubar (“over, beyond, more than”)^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 333
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *obar
3. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 557
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *uber
5. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 33
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ovar
7. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. over
8. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. over
9. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. over
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ubar
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ofer
12. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. ovar
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *obarōn
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *oferian