𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bigitan), a strong verb of class 5.^[1][2][3] Lehmann cites the preterite singular 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌰𐍄 (bigat), the preterite plural 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌴𐍄𐌿𐌽 (bigetun) and the past participle 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽𐍃 (bigitans).^[4] The commonest forms in the corpus are bigat (15 tokens), bigetun (9), 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌸 (bigitiþ, 8), bigitans and the passive 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌿 (bigitaidau, 5 each).^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bigetaną,^[6][7] the prefix 𐌱𐌹- (bi-) with the strong verb *getan- (“to find, to be able”).^[8][9] The cognates are Old Norse geta (“to get, attain”), Old English begietan, Old Saxon bigetan and Old High German bigezzan.^[9][10][4] Lehmann traces the root to Proto-Indo-European *gʰed-, whose closest parallels have a nasal infix: Ancient Greek χανδάνω (khandánō, “to take in, hold”) and Latin prehendō (“to grasp”).^[4] Without the nasal he and Holthausen add praeda (“booty”).^[4][11] Feist also compares a Slavic verb meaning "to guess", which Lehmann, following Fraenkel, does not accept.^[12][4]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 70 tokens, in Matthew, John, Luke and Mark, in Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians and 2 Timothy, and twice in the Skeireins;^[5] Köbler counts 66.^[5][7] Most are in manuscript CA, the others in A, B, E (the Skeireins) and Lat5750.^[5] In canonical order the first is Matthew 7:14.^[5] Of its 64 tokens in the Gospels and Epistles, 60 render Ancient Greek εὑρίσκω (heurískō, “to find”), with single instances for ἀνευρίσκω (aneurískō), ἔχω (ékhō) and ζητέω (zētéō).^[13] Matthew 8:10 reads ni in Israela swalauda galaubein bigat, "not in Israel did I find such faith".^[14]

Meanings

1. To find, discover; for εὑρίσκω.^[6][13][1]
2. To meet with, come upon.^[10][2]
3. To obtain, attain.^[2][12]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. bi-gitan
2. ^ a b c Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 279
3. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 171
4. ^ a b c d e 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. bi-gitan
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. bigitan
8. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 175
9. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 133
10. ^ a b Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 37
12. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. bi-gitan
13. ^ 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
14. ^ 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 8:10