𐌵𐌹𐌿𐍃

Forms

𐌵𐌹𐌿𐍃 (qius), an adjective of the wa-stem declension: the stem is qiwa- (genitive 𐌵𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃, qiwis) and the nominative qius arises from it.^[1][2][3][4] The sources list all the forms under qius, which is itself recorded once, at Romans 7:9;^[2][5][6] the others are 𐌵𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌶𐌴 (qiwaize), 𐌵𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌹 (qiwai) and 𐌵𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽𐍃 (qiwans), twice each in the Wulfila project's count, and 𐌵𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽𐌰 (qiwana) and 𐌵𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌼 (qiwaim), once each.^[6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *kwiwaz (“alive”), beside *kwikwaz,^[7][2] the form behind Old Norse kvikr, Old English cwic(u), Old Frisian quik, Old Saxon quik and Old High German quec (“alive”).^[8][9] Kroonen assigns the first to East Germanic and the second to Northwest Germanic, and holds that the Gothic type is the older, since it matches the forms outside Germanic.^[8] The -k- of the other languages long went unexplained;^[10][5] Lehmann takes it as a reflex of the same PIE sequence, by a process that still needs study.^[5] The PIE adjective is Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃uó- (“alive”),^[8] from Proto-Indo-European *gʷei- (“to live”),^[9][11] and its cognates are Latin vīvus, Lithuanian gývas, Old Irish béo and Welsh byw, with Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”).^[8][11][10] Feist and others take the Gothic -i- to be short;^[5] Kroonen explains the short vowel by pretonic shortening.^[8]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 9 tokens (Colossians 2:20 and 2 Timothy 4:1 in two manuscripts each), Köbler 7 places: Luke 20:38, Mark 12:27, Romans 7:9, 12:1 and 14:9, Colossians 2:20 and 2 Timothy 4:1.^[6][2] The Gospel records are in manuscript CA, the Epistle records in A, B and Car.^[6] In the Wulfila project's order the first is qiwaize at Luke 20:38.^[6] In PROIEL's alignment six of its seven tokens render Ancient Greek ζάω (záō, “to live”), Köbler's ζῶν "living".^[12][2] Luke 20:38 reads aþþan guþ nist dauþaize ak qiwaize, "but God is not God of the dead, but of the living".^[13]

Meanings

1. alive, living.^[1][14][2]

Word family

• 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (anaqiujan, “to rekindle, revive”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaqiujan, “to make alive”)
• 𐌼𐌹𐌸𐌲𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (miþgaqiujan, “to make alive together”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌿𐌽𐌰𐌽 (gaqiunan, “to come to life”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. qius*
2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. qius
3. ^ 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. 460
4. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 229
5. ^ a b c d 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. qius
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌵𐌹𐌿𐍃
8. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 320
9. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. qius
10. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 120
11. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 230
12. ^ 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
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, p. Lk 20:38
14. ^ Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 123