*umbi

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the preposition *umbi for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Fulk writes West Germanic *umbi.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around”),^[3][4] which Kroonen cites as *umbi- and Orel as *umƀi.^[4][5] In the Northwest Germanic area stressed *u was not lowered before a nasal in the syllable coda, nor before a high front vowel in the next syllable,^[6] and *umbi meets two of these conditions.^[3]

Morphology

A preposition and adverb,^[7][8] also used as a prefix of verbs, as in Old Saxon and Old High German.^[9][10] Its final *-i was kept after the heavy root syllable, where it was otherwise lost: Ringe and Taylor call the preposition the only apparent exception to this loss in Old English ymbe, and explain it by its forming a single phonological word with the following noun.^[11]

Evidence

The word is found in all the West Germanic languages: Old English ymb, Old Frisian umbe, Old Saxon umbi and Old High German umbi.^[7][12] Old Dutch has umbe in the psalms and in Williram's commentary of 1100,^[13][14] and de Vaan cites it as an example of the Old Dutch assimilation of ⟨mb⟩ to ⟨mm⟩, giving Early Middle Dutch omme.^[15] De Vaan traces Dutch om to *umbi, and puts the lack of i-umlaut in High German down to the cluster ⟨mb⟩.^[16]

A runic record may be found on the bow brooch of Bad Ems, from about 560–585 or just after.^[17] Krause read its ⟨ubada⟩ as ⟨u(m)bada⟩, shortened from *umbi-bada "consolation", a compound like Old Saxon gibada (“consolation”), and this reading has prevailed.^[17] Düwel, Nedoma and Oehrl propose instead ⟨u(m)-bada⟩ from *un-bada "lack of consolation, mischief", a word of ill-wishing.^[17]

Competing analyses

Fulk notes that *umbi is usually equated with Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí, “around”), but that the kept final vowel after a heavy syllable, against Old Norse um, is a difficulty; he suggests that a folk etymology of the ending as the preposition *bī kept the vowel, while Klingenschmitt argues for a phonological cause.^[2] Boutkan and Siebinga likewise suggest that the -i was taken from the preposition Old Frisian bi or introduced after the prefix of verbs.^[12] Ringe and Taylor explain it by the close link of the preposition with the following noun.^[11]

Meanings

1. around, about^[2][1]

Old English also used the word for "near, towards" and "concerning, because of",^[7] and Old Frisian for "because of", "for" and "concerning".^[18]

Derivatives

• *umbihringijan "to encircle, to surround", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[19] Old English has ymbhringan.^[20]
• *umbisittjan "to sit around, to surround", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[21] Old English has ymbsittan (“to besiege”).^[22]

Reflexes

• Old English: ymb (“around, near, concerning”)^[7]
• Old Frisian: umbe (“around, because of, for, concerning”)^[18]
• Old Saxon: umbi (“around, concerning”)^[9]
• Old Dutch: umbi (“around”)^[14]
• Old High German: umbi (“around, about, concerning”)^[23]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *umbi
2. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 241
3. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 30
4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 558
5. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 434
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 29
7. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ymb
8. ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 425
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. umbi
10. ^ Findell, Martin (2012), Phonological Evidence from the Continental Runic Inscriptions, Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 79, Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 109
11. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 288
12. ^ a b Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. umbe
13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *umbi?
14. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. umbi
15. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2018), Historical Development of Dutch: Phonology & Morphology, Dialects & Stages, course reader, Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics
16. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2017), The Dawn of Dutch: Language Contact in the Western Low Countries before 1200, NOWELE Supplement Series 30, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 318
17. ^ a b c Düwel, Klaus; Nedoma, Robert; Oehrl, Sigmund (2020), Die südgermanischen Runeninschriften, 2 vols, Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 119, Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. SG-9
18. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. umbe
19. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *umbihringijan
20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ymbhringan
21. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *umbisittjan
22. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ymbsittan
23. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. umbi