*talōn

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *talōn for Proto-West Germanic, from Proto-Northwest Germanic *talō̄ną "to calculate, to consider",^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, to tell”),^[1][3] which Köbler writes *talōn,^[3] while Kroonen traces the verbs to *talōjan-.^[3][4] In Old English the weak verbs of class II always have a retracted a before a nonnasal consonant in a monosyllabic root, because the next syllable had *ō or *ā when the retraction took place.^[1] Ringe and Taylor trace Old English talian to *talōn through *tælōjan.^[1]

Morphology

A weak verb of class II.^[5][6] Tiefenbach records the Old Saxon verb with a reflexive dative, in the present ⟨talod⟩ and the past ⟨taloda⟩ of the Heliand.^[7]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English talian, Old Frisian talia, Old Saxon talon and Old High German zalōn.^[1] Wiktionary gives the Old Dutch verb only as a reconstruction.^[2] It is a separate word from Wiktionary's *tālōn "to rob, to plunder", with a long vowel, behind Old High German zālōn (“to rob”).^[8][9]

Meanings

1. to calculate, to consider^[1][2]

Old English also used the verb for "to count, to value, to narrate, to ascribe",^[10] Old Frisian for "to speak" and "to sue",^[11] and Old High German for "to count, to think over".^[6]

Derivatives

• Wiktionary analyses the verb as formed from *talu "calculation" with *-ōn.^[2]
• *bitalōn "to account for, to pay", which Wiktionary reconstructs with a prefix;^[12] Old Frisian has bitalia (“to pay, to redeem”).^[13]

Reflexes

• Old English: talian (“to count, to reckon, to consider, to value, to narrate”)^[10]
• Old Frisian: talia (“to reckon, to speak, to sue”)^[11]
• Old Saxon: talon (“to calculate, to consider”)^[7]
• Old High German: zalōn (“to reckon, to consider, to count”)^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 190
2. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *talōn
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *talōn
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 508
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. talōn
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. zalōn
7. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. talon
8. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *tālōn
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. zālōn
10. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. talian
11. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. talia
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *bitalōn
13. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. bitalia