*un-

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the prefix *un- for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *un- (“un-, not”),^[1][2] which Köbler lists with Gothic, Old Norse and all the West Germanic languages,^[2] and Boutkan and Siebinga set up the same Proto-Germanic prefix behind Proto-Frisian *un-.^[3]

Morphology

A negative prefix, used before adjectives and nouns,^[4][3] and in Old High German also before verbs.^[5]

Evidence

The prefix is found in all the West Germanic languages: Old English un-,^[6] Old Frisian un-,^[4] Old Saxon un-,^[7] Old Dutch un-^[8] and Old High German un-.^[5] Old Frisian also has a by-form ⟨on-⟩, which Boutkan and Siebinga explain by the Old West Frisian variant ⟨o⟩ of ⟨u⟩ before nasals.^[3] De Vaan finds the prefix in West Flemish ⟨uival⟩ "unfortunate, disliked", which matches German Unfall and reflects an Old Franconian *un-fala-; he reconstructs *unfal- > *ūfal-, so that in this variant the nasal was lost before ⟨f⟩ and the prefix was not restored, as it otherwise was.^[9] He takes the form for a relic of a regular nasal loss, which need not be explained by a Proto-Frisian substratum.^[9]

Meanings

1. not, un- (negative prefix)^[1][3]

Derivatives

• *unebn "uneven, not level", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[10] Old English and Old Saxon have the negated adjective.^[11][12]
• *unhiurī "unpleasant", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Old Saxon has it.^[12]

Reflexes

• Old English: un- (“un-”)^[6]
• Old Frisian: un- (“un-”)^[4]
• Old Saxon: un- (“un-”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: un- (“un-”)^[8]
• Old High German: un- (“un-, in-”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *un-
2. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *un-
3. ^ a b c d Boutkan, Dirk; Siebinga, Sjoerd Michiel (2005), Old Frisian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 1, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. un-
4. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. un-
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. un
6. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. un-
7. ^ Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. s.v. un-
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. un-
9. ^ a b 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. 232
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *unebn
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. un-
12. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. un
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *unhiurī