𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (haldan), a reduplicating verb of the third class.^[1][2][3] The Wulfila project records the present participle 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐍃 (haldandans, three times) and 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (haldandan, once), the past participle 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰 (haldana, twice) and 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌹𐌶𐌴 (haldanaize, once), the infinitive 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (haldan) and the third person singular present 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌹𐌸 (haldiþ).^[4][3] No preterite is recorded.^[5][6] The handbooks give the preterite as 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳 (haihald), with the reduplicating syllable hai-.^[7][8]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *haldaną (“to watch, look after”),^[9][3] and has cognates in Old Norse halda, Old English healdan, Old Frisian halda, Old Saxon haldan and Old High German haltan.^[5][10][11] In the other languages the verb means "to hold, keep, guard", so the recorded Gothic meaning is narrower.^[12][5] Lehmann derives it, with a dental suffix, from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”), seen in Ancient Greek κέλλω (kéllō, “to drive (a ship to land)”) and Latin celer (“swift”), with a shift of meaning from driving cattle to pasturing them.^[5] Uhlenbeck, after Zupitza, takes the t as a present suffix, makes the same comparison and adds βουκόλος (boukólos, “cowherd”).^[10] Orel relates the Germanic verb to Latin praecellō (“to surpass”) and celsus (“high”) from a stem Proto-Indo-European *keld-.^[11] Köbler likewise sets it under Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”).^[3]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts ten tokens, one of them doubtful, in Matthew, Luke, Mark, 1 Corinthians and the Skeireins.^[4] Köbler lists nine records.^[4][3] Eight are in manuscript CA, 1 Corinthians 9:7 is in A and the Skeireins passage in Lat5750.^[4] The first in canonical order is haldana at Matthew 8:30.^[4] In PROIEL's alignment it renders Ancient Greek βόσκω (bóskō) seven times and ποιμαίνω (poimaínō) twice.^[13] Matthew 8:30 reads wasuh þan fairra im hairda sweine managaize haldana, "now far from them a herd of many swine was feeding".^[14]

Meanings

1. To tend or herd animals, to keep them at pasture (for βόσκω, ποιμαίνω); the present participle is used of the herdsmen (Matthew 8:33).^[1][3]
2. To hold, take care of.^[9][15]

Related words

• 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌹𐍃 (haldis, “more”)

Usage notes

The Wulfila project counts haldis in the Skeireins phrase ni þe haldis as a doubtful form of this verb; it is generally taken as a comparative adverb "more", but Ramat reads it as a verb.^[4][16]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. haldan
2. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 281
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. haldan
4. ^ a b c d e f 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 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. haldan
6. ^ Jellinek, Max Hermann (1926), Geschichte der gotischen Sprache, Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 1,1, Berlin / Leipzig: de Gruyter
7. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 177
8. ^ 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. 119
9. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽
10. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 71
11. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 155
12. ^ Grienberger, Theodor von (1900), Untersuchungen zur gotischen Wortkunde, Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, phil.-hist. Classe 142, Wien, p. s.v. haldan
13. ^ 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 8:30
15. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. haldan
16. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 64