𐌰𐌹𐍂

Forms

𐌰𐌹𐍂 (air), an indeclinable adverb.^[1][2][3] Its comparative is the adverb 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐍃 (airis) "earlier, long ago", and the comparative adjective 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐌶𐌰 (airiza) means "elder, ancestor".^[4][5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *airi (“early”),^[7][8] which Orel takes as an old locative.^[8] The cognates are Old Norse ár, Old English ǣr, Old Saxon ēr and Old High German ēr, "early" or "before".^[8][6] Outside Germanic Orel relates Avestan ayarə (“day”) and Ancient Greek ἠέριος (ēérios, “early”);^[8] Uhlenbeck adds ἦρι (êri, “early in the morning”) and Old Irish an-áir (“from the east”).^[9] Köbler traces it to a Proto-Indo-European noun for "day, morning", Proto-Indo-European *h₁ā̆i̯er-, perhaps from a root meaning "to burn, shine".^[10]

Attestation

Köbler counts three records: Mark 1:35 and 16:2, both in manuscript CA, and one in the fragment he cites as GotBon (1r,10); the Wulfila project has only the two in Mark.^[10][2] Köbler gives Ancient Greek πρωΐ (prōḯ, “early”) as the Greek word it renders.^[10] Mark 1:35 reads jah air uhtwon usstandands usiddja, "and rising long before daylight, he went out".^[11][12] Mark 16:2 has filu air, "very early".^[13]

Meanings

1. early, in the early morning, for πρωΐ^[1][10][14]
2. soon^[15][16]

Related words

• 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐍃 (airis, “earlier, long ago”)
• 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐌶𐌰 (airiza, “elder, ancestor”)

Usage notes

In air uhtwon (Mark 1:35) Neckel took the adverb to mean "earlier than dawn", a reading Lehmann reports as supported by W. Horn.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. áir
2. ^ a b De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 268
4. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 166, 2b
5. ^ Stamm, Friedrich Ludwig; Heyne, Moriz (1920), Ulfilas oder die uns erhaltenen Denkmäler der gotischen Sprache: Text, Wörterbuch und Grammatik, 13th–14th ed. by Ferdinand Wrede, Paderborn: Schöningh, p. 400
6. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. air
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌰𐌹𐍂
8. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 9
9. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 7
10. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. air
11. ^ De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be, p. Mk 1:35
12. ^ a b Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. air
13. ^ De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be, p. Mk 16:2
14. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1868), A Moeso-Gothic Glossary, with an Introduction, an Outline of Moeso-Gothic Grammar, and a List of Anglo-Saxon and Old and Modern English Words Etymologically Connected with Moeso-Gothic, London: Asher, p. 12
15. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. áir
16. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 169