𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (beidan), a strong verb of class 1, taking a genitive object.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are the third person singular present 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌹𐌸 (beidiþ), 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌼 (beidam), 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌼𐌰 (beidaima), and the present participle 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (beidands, twice) and 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐍃 (beidandans, three times).^[4] The preterite and the past participle are not attested;^[5] Miller gives them as *baiþ, *bidum, *bidans.^[6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bīdaną (“to wait”),^[7][8] with the cognates Old Norse bíða (“to wait for; to suffer”), Old English bīdan, Old Saxon bīdan and Old High German bītan.^[8][9] Kroonen derives it from a European verb Proto-Indo-European *bʰéidʰ-e-, the source also of Ancient Greek πείθομαι (peíthomai, “to trust, obey”) and Latin fīdō (“to trust”), and thinks the Germanic sense "to wait" developed from "to suffer", as Old Norse still has both meanings.^[8] Köbler gives the same root, with the sense "to persuade, compel".^[4] Uhlenbeck doubted the comparison with Latin and Greek because of the meaning,^[10] and Holthausen calls the origin unknown.^[11] Kroonen takes 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (baidjan, “to force”) as its causative.^[12]

Attestation

Köbler counts eight records, in Matthew, Luke, Mark, Galatians and the Skeireins; the Wulfila project counts ten tokens, two of them ambiguous.^[4][13] Most are in manuscript CA, Galatians 5:5 is in B and the Skeireins passage in E.^[4] In canonical order the first is beidaima at Matthew 11:3.^[4] PROIEL aligns it three times with Ancient Greek προσδοκάω (prosdokáō), twice with προσδέχομαι (prosdékhomai) and once each with ἀπεκδέχομαι (apekdékhomai) and προσεύχομαι (proseúkhomai).^[14] Matthew 11:3 reads þu is sa qimanda, þau anþarizuh beidaima?, "are you the one who is coming, or should we wait for another?"^[15]

Meanings

1. To wait for, await, expect (with the genitive), for Ancient Greek προσδοκάω (prosdokáō) and προσδέχομαι (prosdékhomai)^[1][2][14]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (gabeidan, “to endure”)
• 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (usbeidan, “to await”)

Related words

• 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (baidjan, “to force”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. beidan
2. ^ 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. 272
3. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. beidan
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. beidan*
5. ^ 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. beidan
6. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽
8. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 63
9. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. beidan
10. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 25
11. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 14
12. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 47
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
14. ^ 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
15. ^ 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 11:3