*sīn

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct the reflexive possessive adjective *sīn for Proto-West Germanic, beside *mīn and *þīn,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sīnaz (“one's own”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites as *sīna- and Orel as *sīnaz.^[3][4] EWA traces Proto-Germanic *sīna- to an older *su̯ei̯-no-, a derivative of the locative of the reflexive pronoun.^[5]

Morphology

A possessive pronoun or adjective.^[6][5] As in Proto-Germanic, the possessive adjectives supplied the genitive of the personal pronouns.^[1] EWA notes that the word has the function of a possessive pronoun in all the Germanic languages except Gothic, where it is reflexive.^[5]

Evidence

The word is attested in Old English sīn,^[7] Old Frisian sīn,^[8] Old Saxon sīn in the Heliand and the Psalms,^[6] Old Dutch sīn in the Old Low Franconian psalms and in Williram's commentary,^[9][10] and Old High German sīn from the 8th century.^[5]

Competing analyses

Ringe and Taylor count the loss of the third-person reflexive among the changes of the northern West Germanic dialects: its oblique forms, accusative *sek ~ *sik and dative *siz, are attested in none of them, and Old High German has lost the dative too.^[11] Old English keeps sīn in its old reflexive use, but it is rare outside verse and is usually replaced by the genitive of the third-person pronoun.^[11] In Old Frisian and Old Saxon, as in Old High German, the word was shifted to a non-reflexive masculine singular "his";^[11] Ringe and Taylor allow that this may be due to Old High German influence.^[11]

Meanings

1. his, her, its or their own, referring to the subject^[1][2]

Old Frisian, Old Saxon and Old High German used the word simply for "his".^[11] In Old High German it can refer to a masculine or a neuter noun,^[5] and Old Frisian also used it as a noun, "what is his".^[8]

Reflexes

• Old English: sīn (“his, her”)^[7]
• Old Frisian: sīn (“his”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: sīn (“his”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: sīn (“his”)^[10]
• Old High German: sīn (“his, its”)^[5]

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. 125
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sīn
3. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 436
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 330
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. sîn²
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sīn
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sīn
8. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sīn
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sīn
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. sīn
11. ^ 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. 165
12. ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 349