𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃

Forms

𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃 (hauhs), an adjective of the a-declension, comparative 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐌶𐌰 (hauhiza), superlative 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (hauhists).^[1][2][3] The recorded forms of the adjective are the neuter accusatives 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷 (hauh) and 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌰𐍄𐌰 (hauhata), 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍉 (hauho) and the superlative genitive 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌽𐍃 (hauhistins), six times; the adverbs are 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰 (hauhaba) and the comparative 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐍃 (hauhis, "higher").^[4][5][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz (“high”),^[6][7] the adjective of Old Norse hár, Old English hēah, Old Frisian hāch, Old Saxon hōh and Old High German hōh.^[7][8][9] Kroonen reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *kóuk-o- and calls it identical to an Old Church Slavonic adjective meaning "bent".^[7] A variant with Verner's law survives in Scandinavian, and with it Kroonen compares haugr (“hill”) and Lithuanian kaūkas (“bump”).^[7] Lehmann and Feist derive it from a root Proto-Indo-European *kew- (“to bend”) extended with -k-, with Lithuanian kaukarà (“hill”) among the cognates.^[8][10][9] The same root may lie behind Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌼𐌰 (hiuhma, “heap, crowd”).^[11][8]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts twelve tokens with the adverbs, eight in Luke, two in Mark and two in Romans, in manuscripts CA (10) and A (2).^[4] Köbler counts ten.^[5] The first is Luke 1:32 in CA.^[4] PROIEL aligns it six times with Ancient Greek ὕψιστος (húpsistos, “highest”) and twice with Ancient Greek ὑψηλός (hupsēlós, “high”).^[12] Luke 1:32 reads jah sunus hauhistins haitada, "and he shall be called the son of the Highest".^[13]

Meanings

1. high, for Ancient Greek ὑψηλός (hupsēlós).^[1][5][12]
2. in the superlative, hauhista "the Highest", said of God, for Ancient Greek ὕψιστος (húpsistos).^[1][14][12]

Word family

• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰 (hauhaba)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌴𐌹 (hauhei)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐌸𐌰 (hauhiþa)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌹 (hauhisti)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hauhjan)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍃 (hauhhairts)
• 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌸𐌿𐌷𐍄𐍃 (hauhþuhts)

Related words

• 𐌷𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌼𐌰 (hiuhma)

References

1. ^ a b c d Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. háuhs
2. ^ Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 78
3. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 154
4. ^ a b c 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hauhs*
6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃
7. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 215
8. ^ a b c 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. hauhs
9. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 75
10. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. hauhs
11. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1888), Grundriss der gotischen Etymologie, Strassburg: Trübner, p. s.v. hauhs
12. ^ 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
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 1:32
14. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 163