𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (duginnan), a strong verb of the third class.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are mostly preterites: 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽𐌽 (dugann, 27 times) and 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌿𐌽 (dugunnun, 14 times), beside a few present forms such as 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰 (duginna).^[4]

Etymology

Wiktionary gives two explanations: either it is inherited from Proto-Germanic *duginnaną, or it is a Gothic formation with the prefix 𐌳𐌿- (du-) on a verb *ginnaną (“to begin”).^[5] No other Germanic language has the verb with this prefix; the others have *biginnaną instead, while the simple verb is recorded nowhere.^[5] The West Germanic cognates are Old English beginnan, Old Frisian biginna, Old Saxon beginnan and Old High German biginnan.^[6][7][3] The further origin is unknown: Kroonen and Feist find no certain etymology,^[7][8] Lehmann calls it disputed and considers a nasal present of Proto-Indo-European *gʰend- (“to seize”),^[9] and Orel compares Ancient Greek θείνω (theínō, “to kill”) and Proto-Slavic *gъnati (“to drive”).^[6]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 48 tokens and Köbler 47, in Matthew, Luke, Mark, 2 Corinthians and Philippians.^[4][10] Most are in manuscript CA, the rest in A, B and C.^[4] The first record in canonical order is Matthew 11:7.^[4] In PROIEL's alignment it renders Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō) 41 times, and once each ἐπιχειρέω (epikheiréō) and προενάρχομαι (proenárkhomai).^[11] At Matthew 11:7 dugann Iesus qiþan þaim manageim bi Iohannen, "Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John".^[12]

Meanings

1. to begin, with an infinitive; for ἄρχω^[1][13][11]
2. to attempt, undertake; for ἐπιχειρέω^[9][10]

Usage notes

At Luke 6:25 and Philippians 1:18 it serves to express a durative future.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. du-ginnan
2. ^ 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. ^ a b Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. du-ginnan
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. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌳𐌿𐌲𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽
6. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 132
7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 178
8. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. du-ginnan
9. ^ 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. du-ginnan
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. duginnan
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 11:7
13. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 173