𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽 (hilpan), a strong verb of class 3, taking the genitive of the person helped.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are the infinitive 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽 (hilpan), the second person singular imperative 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀 (hilp, twice) and the present participle 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌼 (hilpandam).^[3] The preterite is recorded only in the compound, as 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍀 (gahalp) at 2 Corinthians 6:2.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *helpaną (“to help”),^[5][6][7] with Old Norse hjalpa, Old English helpan, Old Frisian helpa, Old Saxon helpan and Old High German helfan.^[4][8] Kroonen calls it a verb without a clear etymology.^[6] The usual comparison is with Lithuanian šel̃pti (“to help, support”),^[7][6][9] beside which Lithuanian also has forms with b.^[8][7] Feist therefore sets up a root Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb- beside *ḱelp-;^[8] Lehmann thinks the verb possibly comes from the first, its b having become p before voiceless consonants as Fraenkel suggested, and finds the other proposals weak,^[4] while Orel, after Fraenkel, takes the b of the Old Lithuanian form as secondary.^[7] Kroonen considers that the Lithuanian verb may instead have been borrowed from a lost Slavic word that was itself taken from the Germanic verb, and notes that gélbėti (“to help”) cannot be reconciled with it by regular sound laws.^[6][10]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts five tokens: the infinitive at Luke 5:7 and the imperative at Mark 9:22 and 9:24, in CA, and the participle at 2 Corinthians 1:11, in both A and B.^[11] PROIEL aligns it twice with Ancient Greek βοηθέω (boēthéō), once with Ancient Greek συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō) and once with Ancient Greek συνυπουργέω (sunupourgéō).^[12] The first record in the Wulfila project's order is Luke 5:7, ei atiddjedeina hilpan ize, "that they should come and help them".^[13]

Meanings

1. to help, assist, with the genitive of the person: hilp unsara "help us" (Mark 9:22).^[1][14][15]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽 (gahilpan, “to help”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. hilpan
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 Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hilpan
4. ^ 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. hilpan
5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐍀𐌰𐌽
6. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 219
7. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 168
8. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. hilpan
9. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 77
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *helpaną
11. ^ 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
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 5:7
14. ^ Schulze, Ernst (1848), Gothisches Glossar, mit einer Vorrede von Jacob Grimm, Magdeburg: Heinrichshofen, p. 137
15. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 177