*wunēn

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the infinitive *wunēn.^[1] Ringe and Taylor write the Proto-West Germanic stem *wu/onē- "be used to, stay, dwell", and *wunē- ~ *wunēja- for the form behind an Old English relic.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *wunāną (“to be content; to dwell”),^[1][2] which Ringe and Taylor reconstruct as a stative *wunai- ~ *wunja- (perhaps *wunā-) "be at peace", Kroonen as *wunēn- and Orel as *wunēnan.^[2][3][4] Kroonen takes it for a stative verb to the adjective *wuna(n)- "accustomed".^[3]

Morphology

A weak verb of class III, the stative class.^[2][5] In the northern West Germanic dialects the uniform stem vowel *-ē- of this class may have been replaced everywhere by *-ē- ~ *-ēja-, but this can only be shown for Old English, since in the other northern languages these verbs went over to class II.^[6] Old English keeps a relic of the class III present in the northern Mercian plural wyniġaþ "(we) remain"; otherwise the Old English verb belongs to class II, as does the Old Saxon verb, while Old High German wonēn keeps class III.^[2] The Old Frisian verb is also of class II.^[7]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages, Old English wunian, Old Frisian wunia (also ⟨wonia⟩), Old Saxon wunon beside wonon, and Old High German wonēn, all "to stay, to dwell".^[8] Its root vowel shows a contrast between the northern and the southern dialects: in the north an intervocalic nasal normally kept stressed *u from being lowered to *o even before a non-high vowel, while in the south the lowering took place, as in the Old High German verb.^[8] Old Dutch has wonon (“to dwell”) in the psalms, which Köbler dates to the 9th century,^[9] and ONW has it from Williram's commentary of 1100 and the Middle Franconian Rhyme Bible.^[10] Old High German has the verb in glosses from the last quarter of the 8th century.^[5]

Meanings

1. to be used to^[2][3]
2. to stay, to dwell^[2][1]

Old English also used the verb for "to inhabit" and "to be accustomed",^[11] and Old Saxon for "to remain, to linger, to endure".^[12]

Derivatives

• *wunungu "dwelling, home", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[13] Old English has wunung (“dwelling”).^[14]

Reflexes

• Old English: wunian (“to dwell, to inhabit, to remain, to be accustomed”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: wunia (“to dwell, to be accustomed”)^[15]
• Old Saxon: wonon (“to dwell, to remain, to linger”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: wonon (“to dwell”)^[10]
• Old High German: wonēn (“to dwell, to stay, to live, to be used to”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wunēn
2. ^ a b c d e f g Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 162
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 599
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 475
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wonēn
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 161
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wunia
8. ^ a b Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 31
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wonon
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. wonon
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wunian
12. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wonōn
13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wunungu
14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wunung
15. ^ Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wunia