𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (habān), a weak verb of the third class, with the preterite 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰 (habaida).^[1][2][3][4] The commonest forms in the Wulfila project's count are the third person singular present 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌸 (habaiþ, 72 times), the nominative plural participle 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐍃 (habandans, 35), the participle 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (habands, 30) and the preterite habaida (25).^[5] With an infinitive it forms a periphrastic durative future.^[1][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to have, to hold”),^[7] a weak verb continued by Old Norse hafa, Old English habban, Old Frisian habba, Old Saxon hebbian and Old High German habēn.^[8][9][10] Kroonen explains it as a stative verb, Proto-Indo-European *kh₂p-éh₁-, to the European root of 𐌷𐌰𐍆𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hafjan, “to lift”).^[9] Orel likewise calls it a durative of the verb continued by hafjan.^[10] Lehmann calls the etymology uncertain: following Collitz he takes the verb as a blend of a formation from Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰ- (“to seize, take”) and one from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize”), and holds that a verb of possession that is also an auxiliary must have arisen in Germanic, perhaps in contact with Italic.^[11] The likeness to Latin habeō (“to have, hold”) has long been noted, but Feist and Uhlenbeck point out that the common preform with an aspirated velar that Kluge proposed would have given a different consonant in Latin.^[8][12] Uhlenbeck thought the Gothic verb might even have been borrowed from Latin in early times, as Luft had proposed.^[12] Feist rejects the loan,^[8] and Holthausen leaves open whether it comes from Latin or belongs with hafjan.^[13]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 315 tokens (one ambiguous) and Köbler 274 records, in all four Gospels, in the Pauline epistles and in the Skeireins.^[5][14] The Wulfila project's tokens are in manuscripts CA (156), A (82), B (67), Car (5) and E (5).^[5] In canonical order the first is Matthew 5:23.^[5][15] In PROIEL's Gospels and Epistles it renders Ancient Greek ἔχω (ékhō, “to have”) 227 times out of 264, and also κρατέω (kratéō, “to hold fast”) (six times), ἀπέχω (apékhō), δαιμονίζομαι (daimonízomai, “to be possessed by a demon”) and others.^[15] Matthew 5:23 reads 𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌴𐌹 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 𐌸𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌸 𐍈𐌰 𐌱𐌹 𐌸𐌿𐌺 (þatei broþar þeins habaiþ ƕa bi þuk), "that your brother has something against you".^[16]

Meanings

1. to have, possess (for ἔχω)^[1][3][15]
2. to hold, take hold of (for κρατέω)^[3][14][15]
3. to hold (someone to be), consider^[3][17]
4. of age and time, to be: 𐍆𐌹𐌼𐍆 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐌽𐍃 𐌾𐌴𐍂𐌴 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (fimf tiguns jere haban), "to be fifty years old" (John 8:57)^[18][19]
5. with an adverb, to be, be situated: ubil haban, "to be ill", aftumist haban, "to be at the point of death"^[20][2][3]
6. with an infinitive, to be about to, be destined to; also forming a durative future^[21][1][3]

Word family

• 𐌰𐍆𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (afhaban, “to abstain”)
• 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (anahaban, “to oppress, possess”)
• 𐌰𐍄𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (athaban, “to approach”)
• 𐌳𐌹𐍃𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (dishaban, “to seize”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (gahaban, “to hold, keep”)
• 𐌿𐍆𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (ufhaban, “to raise up”)
• 𐌿𐌽𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (unhabands, “not having”)

Related words

• 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐍉𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (gahobains, “self-control”)

Usage notes

Its uses with an adverb and with an infinitive are set phrases recorded by the glossaries: wairs haban, "to be worse", manwuba haban, "to be ready", gafahana haban, "to hold captive".^[3][20]

References

1. ^ a b c d Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. haban
2. ^ a b Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 280
3. ^ a b c d e f g Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 75
4. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 191
5. ^ 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
6. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 207
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽
8. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. haban
9. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 197
10. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *xaƀēnan
11. ^ 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. haban
12. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 68
13. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 40
14. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. haban
15. ^ a b c d 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
16. ^ 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 5:23
17. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 145
18. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1868), A Moeso-Gothic Glossary, with an Introduction, an Outline of Moeso-Gothic Grammar, and a List of Anglo-Saxon and Old and Modern English Words Etymologically Connected with Moeso-Gothic, London: Asher, p. s.v. haban
19. ^ 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. 436
20. ^ a b Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. haban
21. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 31