𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (brūkjan), an irregular weak verb of the first class, construed with the genitive and, only at Skeireins 3:10, with the dative.^[1] Its preterite is 𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌰 (bruhta) and its past participle 𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌷𐍄𐍃 (bruhts), both formed without a connecting vowel.^[2][3] The Wulfila project records bruhta, brukjaima, brukjaidau, brukeiþ and brukjais twice each and five other forms once.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to make use of”).^[5] Lehmann sees the weak verb as the older formation, shared with Old High German brūhhan, and the strong verbs Old English brūcan, Old Frisian brūka and Old Saxon brūkan as a West Germanic reformation.^[6] Orel instead derives the Gothic verb from a j-present beside the strong verb.^[7] Feist and Lehmann compare Latin frūx (“fruit”) and fruor (“to enjoy”).^[8][6] Lehmann finds no further cognates and mentions a possible derivation from a root "cut off", the sense passing through "remove fruit for one's use".^[8][6]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 14 tokens (two ambiguous) and Köbler 10, in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Colossians, 1 Timothy and the Skeireins.^[4][9] The manuscripts are A, B, Lat5750 and E, and 1 Corinthians 10:30 has the word in a gloss in A.^[4][9] In canonical order the first is brukei at 1 Corinthians 7:21 in A.^[4] PROIEL aligns five of its seven tokens with Ancient Greek χράω (khráō) and one with μετέχω (metékhō).^[10] Köbler adds ἀπόχρησις (apókhrēsis).^[10][9] At 1 Corinthians 7:21 a slave who can become free is told "mais brukei", "make use of it rather".^[11]

Meanings

1. to use, make use of, partake of, for χρῆσθαι and μετέχειν^[2][12][9]
2. (leihtis brūkjan) to act lightly, frivolously^[13][14]

Related words

• 𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐍃 (brūks, “useful”)
• 𐌿𐌽𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐍃 (unbrūks, “useless”)

References

1. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. brūkjan
2. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 50
3. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 151
4. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽
6. ^ 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. bruks
7. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 60
8. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. brūks
9. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brūkjan
10. ^ 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
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. 1Cor 7:21
12. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. brūkjan
13. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 273
14. ^ 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. 414