𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃

Forms

𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (galeiks), an adjective of the a-stem class, construed with the dative.^[1][2][3] The Wulfila project lists the forms 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (galeiks, six times), 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌹 (galeikai, six), galeikon (five), 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍉 (galeiko, four), 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰 (galeika, four), galeikan (four), 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺 (galeik, three), galeikom and galeikans (once each), a count that includes ambiguous tokens.^[4] The adverb is 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍉 (galeiko).^[1][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”),^[6][7] which Kroonen lists under the adjective *līka- (“similar, equal”).^[8] By surface analysis it is from Gothic 𐌲𐌰- (ga-) + -𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (-leiks).^[6] Uhlenbeck takes the literal sense to be "having the same shape", from 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺 (leik, “body”), and Lehmann says that most scholars explain it so, while Wood took the prefix as an intensifier.^[9][10] Casaretto describes the Germanic adjective as an exocentric formation beside a noun meaning "likeness, form".^[11] The cognates are Old Norse glíkr, Old English gelīc, Old Frisian gelīk, Old Saxon gilīk and Old High German gilīh.^[8][9] Outside Germanic, Uhlenbeck, Holthausen and Kroonen compare Lithuanian lýgus (“equal”).^[9][12][8] Lehmann reports that Uhlenbeck later doubted this link because he derived the adjective from the noun for "body".^[10] Köbler gives the Proto-Indo-European root only with a question mark.^[7]

Attestation

Köbler counts 18 records, in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in Romans and Galatians, in the Skeireins and in the Gothica Bononiensia.^[7] PROIEL has 15 tokens in manuscripts CA (12), A (2) and B (1).^[13] In canonical order the first is Matthew 11:16.^[13][7] PROIEL aligns it with Ancient Greek ὅμοιος (hómoios, “like”) nine times, and once each with τοιοῦτος (toioûtos), ὁμοιόω (homoióō) and ἴσος (ísos).^[13] Matthew 11:16 reads galeik ist barnam sitandam in garunsim, "it is like children sitting in the marketplaces".^[14]

Meanings

1. like, similar (to someone or something in the dative), for ὅμοιος and παρόμοιος.^[1][7][2]
2. galeiks wisan, to resemble, for ὁμοιάζειν.^[1][7]
3. galeiks wairþan, to become like, for ὁμοιοῦσθαι.^[1][7]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌹 (galeiki, “likeness”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍉𐌽 (galeikōn, “to compare, imitate”)

Related words

• 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺 (leik, “body”)
• 𐍃𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (samaleiks, “identical”)

Usage notes

At Philippians 2:6 the adverb galeiko renders Ancient Greek ἴσα (ísa, “equally”), which Gothic otherwise translates with forms of 𐌹𐌱𐌽𐍃 (ibns, “equal”).^[1][15][16] Castiglione saw in this choice a trace of Wulfila's Arianism.^[16] Falluomini notes that this hypothesis of a Homoean reading is not generally accepted today, since it is not certain that ibna and ἴσος corresponded exactly.^[17] Miller leaves the question open between Homoian theology and an objection to the notion of physical substance.^[18]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. galeiks
2. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 69
3. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 154, 1
4. ^ 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. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 71, 2
6. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃
7. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. galeiks
8. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 336
9. ^ a b c Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 56
10. ^ 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. ga-leiks
11. ^ Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 84
12. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 62
13. ^ a b c 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 11:16
15. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1920), Gotisches Elementarbuch, 5th–6th ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. § 9
16. ^ a b Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck
17. ^ Falluomini, Carla (2015), The Gothic Version of the Gospels and Pauline Epistles: Cultural Background, Transmission and Character, Arbeiten zur neutestamentlichen Textforschung 46, Berlin / Boston: de Gruyter, p. 15
18. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 317