*rādan

Reconstruction

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

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *rēdaną (“to consider, to advise”),^[4][5] which Kroonen cites as *rēdan- "to decide" and Orel as *rēđanan.^[5][6] Proto-Germanic *ē became *ā in Northwest Germanic, giving *rādaną,^[4] which became Proto-West Germanic *rādan and then Old English: West Saxon rǣdan, Kentish rēdan, Northumbrian rēda and Old Frisian rēda.^[2]

Morphology

A reduplicating strong verb of class VII.^[7][8] Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the past *rerōd ~ *rerd-, continued by the Anglian Old English past third singular reord.^[1] In their view the Proto-Germanic past had ablaut, with the indicative singular *rerōd, *rerōst and a default stem *rerd- with zero grade of the root;^[9] Proto-West Germanic inherited this zero-grade stem and levelled it through the past, and the other Anglian reduplicated pasts were built on the model of this verb and *lātan.^[1][9] In the other daughters the past has a different shape: Old Saxon rēd, plural rēdun, Old Dutch riet, rieden, Old High German riat.^[8]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English rǣdan, Old Frisian rēda, Old Saxon rādan and Old High German rātan,^[2] and Old Dutch rādan in Williram's commentary of about 1100.^[10] Old High German has it from the last quarter of the 8th century.^[8] An idiom for plotting against someone's life is found in Old Saxon, with līf and the genitive of the person,^[11] in Old Frisian on sīn līf rēda,^[12] and in Old High German ana den līb rātan.^[8]

Meanings

1. to advise, to counsel^[1][3]
2. to devise, to decide, to plan^[3]
3. to guess, to interpret^[3]

Old English also used the verb for "to rule" and "to read",^[13] and Old Frisian for deciding a case in court.^[12]

Derivatives

• *rād "advice, counsel", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[14] Orel derives the Proto-Germanic noun *rēđan, behind Old English rǣd, Old Frisian rēd, Old Saxon rād and Old High German rāt, from the verb.^[15]
• *andarādan "to fear", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[16] Ringe and Taylor note that Old English ondrǣdan (“to fear”), past ondreord, was originally a compound of the verb.^[1]
• *frarādan "to plot against, to betray", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[17] Köbler sets up Proto-Germanic *farrēdan for Old English forrǣdan, Old Frisian forrēda and Old High German firrātan.^[18]
• Ringe and Taylor reconstruct Proto-Northwest Germanic *garādiją "advice, provision", behind Old Saxon girādi (“advantage”), Old High German girāti (“advice, decision”) and Old English ġerǣde (“equipment”).^[19]

Reflexes

• Old English: rǣdan (“to advise, to plan, to decide, to rule, to guess, to read”)^[13]
• Old Frisian: rēda (“to advise, to protect, to help, to plan, to decide”)^[12]
• Old Saxon: rādan (“to consult, to guess, to take care of, to persuade, to plot”)^[11]
• Old Dutch: rādan (“to advise”)^[10]
• Old High German: rātan (“to advise, to consider, to decide, to help, to guess”)^[8]

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. 92
2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 149
3. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *rādan
4. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 11
5. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 408
6. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 304
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. rādan
8. ^ a b c d e 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. rātan
9. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 518
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. rādan
11. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. rādan
12. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. rēda
13. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. rǣdan 1
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *rād
15. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 303
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *andarādan
17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *frarādan
18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *farrēdan, *farrǣdan
19. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 239