*stainīn

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *stainīn "made of stone" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *stainīnaz (“(made) of stone”),^[2] which Ringe and Taylor cite beside Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (staineins) and Old High German steinīn.^[2] Adjectives of material in *-īna-, such as *gulþīnaz "golden" and *stainīnaz, were very common in Proto-Germanic.^[3] In Old English, long *ā developed from the Proto-West Germanic diphthong *ai and was then umlauted to ǣ, so that the word went through *stānīn to Old English stǣnen.^[2]

Morphology

An adjective,^[4][5] which Wiktionary analyses as *stain (“stone”) with the suffix *-īn.^[1]

Evidence

The adjective is attested in Old English as stǣnen, glossing Latin lapideus,^[4] in Old Frisian as stēnen,^[6][7] and in Old High German as steinīn, from the 8th century, for Latin lapideus and saxeus.^[5] Wiktionary gives the Old Saxon and Old Dutch forms only as reconstructions.^[8]

Meanings

1. made of stone^[1][2]

Old High German also used the adjective for "stony, rocky".^[5]

Reflexes

• Old English: stǣnen (“of stone”)^[4]
• Old Frisian: stēnen (“of stone”)^[6]
• Old High German: steinīn (“of stone, stony, rocky”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stainīn
2. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 234
3. ^ Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 326
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. stǣnen
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. steinīn
6. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. stēnen
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. stênen
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *stainīnaz