𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃

Forms

𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (aiws), a masculine noun of the a-declension with some i-stem forms.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are the accusative singular 𐌰𐌹𐍅 (aiw, 18 tokens), the dative 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰 (aiwa, 15), the genitive 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃 (aiwis, 8), the dative plural 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌼 (aiwam, 7), the genitive plural 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌴 (aiwe, 6) and the accusative plural 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐌽𐍃 (aiwins), once, at Matthew 6:13, with the ending of the i-stems.^[4][5] The nominative is not recorded.^[6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“long time, age, eternity”),^[7][8] related to Old Norse ævi (“lifetime, age”), Old English ǣ (“law”), Old Saxon ēo (“law”) and Old High German ēwa (“eternity; law”), which in West Germanic turned to law and religion.^[5][8][9] The accusative used as an adverb, 𐌰𐌹𐍅 (aiw, “ever”), matches æ, ā and io "always".^[8][10] Casaretto explains the word as a remodelled Proto-Indo-European u-stem Proto-Indo-European *h₂ói-u- (“life, time”),^[5][7] seen in Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn, “lifetime, age”), Ancient Greek αἰεί (aieí, “always”) and Latin aevum (“age”).^[8][10][9]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 55 tokens, in all four Gospels, eight Epistles and the Skeireins.^[4] Köbler counts 51.^[6] They are in manuscripts CA (28), B (14), A (10), Car (2) and Lat5750 (1), and the first is Matthew 6:13 in CA.^[4] PROIEL aligns the noun 29 times with Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn).^[11] The Lord's Prayer ends at Matthew 6:13 unte þeina ist þiudangardi jah mahts jah wulþus in aiwins, "for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever".^[12]

Meanings

1. time, age, lifetime; the world, for Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn).^{[1][2][13][11]}
2. eternity, all time.^[6] Du aiwa and in aiwins mean "for ever", fram aiwa "from the beginning of the world".^[14][15]
3. in the accusative aiw, ever; with the negation, ni aiw "never", for Ancient Greek οὐδέποτε (oudépote).^[3][6]

Word family

• 𐌰𐌹𐍅 (aiw)
• 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (aiweins)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅 (halisaiw)
• 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅 (sunsaiw)
• 𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (usaiwjan)

Related words

• 𐌰𐌾𐌿𐌺𐌳𐌿𐌸𐍃 (ajukduþs)

Usage notes

Matthew 9:33 has the adverbial ni aiw: ni aiw swa uskunþ was in Israela, "never was such a thing seen in Israel".^[16] Lehmann reports the view that the word took on religious and legal senses in Germanic, in Gothic especially through the pairing of the adjective 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (aiweins, “eternal”) with 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (libains, “life”) for "eternal life".^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. aiws
2. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 34
3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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
5. ^ a b c Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. aiws*
7. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃
8. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 10
9. ^ a b c 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. aiws
10. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 8
11. ^ a b Haug, Dag T. T. et al., PROIEL Treebank: The Gothic Bible (gothic-nt), 2023 release, Pragmatic Resources in Old Indo-European Languages, University of Oslo
12. ^ 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. Mt 6:13
13. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 305
14. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 41
15. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 15
16. ^ 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. Mt 9:33