*wegan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *wegan "to carry; to weigh" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, to carry”),^[2][3] which Kroonen cites by its stem *wegan-, Orel as *weʒanan and Köbler as *wegan.^[4][5][6]

Morphology

A strong verb of class V.^[3][7][8] Old Frisian has a form waga beside wega.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Old English wegan, Old Frisian wega, Old Saxon wegan and Old High German wegan.^[6][4] Old Saxon has it only in glosses of the end of the 10th century, among them the past participle ⟨wegana⟩ for Latin perpensa;^[7][10] Old High German has it from the third quarter of the 8th century.^[8] Wiktionary gives the Old Dutch verb only as a reconstruction.^[1]

Meanings

1. to carry^[1]
2. to weigh^[1]

Kroonen thinks the sense "to weigh" presumably arose from "to lift".^[4] Old English also used the verb for "to move", "to bring" and "to measure",^[3] Old Frisian for "to bring",^[9] Old Saxon only for "to weigh up, to ponder",^[10] and Old High German also for "to move", "to consider" and "to oppress".^[8]

Derivatives

• *weg "way", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Proto-Germanic *wegaz;^[11] Kroonen and Orel derive the Proto-Germanic noun from the verb.^[4][5]
• *wihti "weight", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz;^[12] Kroonen takes Proto-Germanic *wehti- "weight" for a ti-stem formed to the verb in the sense "to weigh".^[13]
• *waggjan "to move around, to shake", which Wiktionary reconstructs from Proto-Germanic *wagjaną;^[14] Kroonen calls Proto-Germanic *wagjan- an iterative-intensive formation from the verb, and Orel calls *waʒjanan its causative.^[15][16]

Reflexes

• Old English: wegan (“to move, to carry, to bring, to weigh”)^[17]
• Old Frisian: wega (“to weigh, to bring”)^[9]
• Old Saxon: wegan (“to weigh up, to ponder”)^[10]
• Old High German: wegan (“to move, to weigh, to consider”)^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wegan
2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *weganą
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wegan
4. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 577
5. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 452
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *wegan
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wegan
8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wegan
9. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wega
10. ^ a b c Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. wegan
11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wegaz
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wihtiz
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 578
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wagjaną
15. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 565
16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 438
17. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wegan