*sinkwan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *sinkwan.^[1] Ringe and Taylor state that the root of Old English sincan (“to sink”) still ended in *kw in Proto-West Germanic, as Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽 (sigqan) shows, so that the Old English verb should never have had a palatal ċ.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną (“to sink”),^[3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *sinkwan-, Köbler as *senkwan, *sinkwan, and EWA as *senku̯-e/a-.^[3][4][5]

Morphology

A strong verb of class III.^[6][5] Old High German has the past sank, sunkun, and Old Saxon sank, sunkun.^[5]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English sincan,^[7] Old Saxon sinkan in the Heliand and the Genesis,^[8] and Old High German sinkan from the end of the 8th century.^[5] Köbler records Old Frisian sinka,^[9] and Hofmann and Popkema record the prefixed bisinka (“to sink down”) only in the phrase ⟨evele bisinka⟩ "to disagree with one", said of a drink.^[10] No Old Dutch form is recorded: EWA's Dutch evidence begins with early Middle Dutch sinken.^[5]

Meanings

1. to sink^[1][3]

Old English also used the verb for "to sink in",^[7] and Old High German for "to settle".^[11]

Derivatives

• *sankwijan "to cause to sink", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[12] Kroonen takes Proto-Germanic *sankwjan- for the causative of *sinkwan-, the source of Old English sencan (“to sink, to immerse”), Old Saxon bisenkian (“to cause to sink”) and Old High German senken.^[13]

Reflexes

• Old English: sincan (“to sink, to sink in”)^[7]
• Old Frisian: sinka (“to sink”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: sinkan (“to sink, to sink down”)^[8]
• Old High German: sinkan (“to sink, to descend”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sinkwan
2. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 211
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 437
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *senkwan, *sinkwan
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. sinkan
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sinkan
7. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. sincan
8. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. sinkan
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sinka
10. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bisinka
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sinkan
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sankwijan
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 426