*samnōn

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the weak verb *samnōn "to gather, to assemble" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *samnōną (“to gather”),^[1][2] which Köbler cites as *samnōn or *samanōn and Orel as *samanōjanan.^[2][3] Orel derives the verb from the adverb *samanē̆ "together",^[3] and EWA calls Old High German samanōn a denominative verb from saman.^[4]

Morphology

A weak verb of class II.^[5][6][4] Wiktionary analyses it as *saman "together" with the verbal suffix *-ōn.^[1]

Evidence

The verb is found as Old English samnian and somnian, Old Frisian samnia and somnia, Old Saxon samnōn and Old High German samanōn, and outside West Germanic as Old Norse samna.^[5][3] Old Saxon has it about thirty times in the Heliand of about 830,^[6] and Old High German in glosses from the beginning of the 9th century.^[4] EWA lists an Old Low Franconian Old Dutch samanon,^[4] while Köbler sets up only an unattested Old Dutch verb behind the nouns Old Dutch samnung and samnunga (“assembly, congregation”) of the Psalms.^[7] In Old Frisian the variant ⟨sōgenia⟩ may have arisen, as van Helten suggested, under the influence of the numeral "seven", because seven persons took part in a certain court procedure.^[8] Beside Middle High German samenen there is the dissimilated samelen,^[9] and German usually has the dissimilated sammeln.^[4]

Meanings

1. to gather, to assemble^[1][2]

Old English also used the verb for "to meet" and "to unite, to join",^[10] Old Frisian also in the impersonal sense "to amount to",^[11] and Old High German also for "to count up" and "to bring about".^[4]

Derivatives

• *samnungu "gathering, assembly", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[12] it is found as Old Saxon samnunga^[13] and as the nouns Old Dutch samnung and samnunga.^[14]
• *samalōn "to gather, to collect", which Wiktionary reconstructs as a dissimilated form of an earlier *samnalōn built on *samnōn.^[15]

Reflexes

• Old English: samnian (“to gather, to meet, to unite, to join”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: somnia (“to gather, to assemble”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: samnōn (“to gather”)^[9]
• Old High German: samanōn (“to gather, to assemble, to count up”)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *samnōn
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *samnōn
3. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 317
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. samanôn
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. samnian
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. samnon
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *samnon?
8. ^ Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. somnia
9. ^ a b Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 335
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. samnian
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. somnia
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *samnungu
13. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. samnunga
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. samnunga
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *samalōn