𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þahān), a weak verb of the third class.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are the imperative 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹 (þahai), the third person singular preterite 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰 (þahaida), the third person plural preterite 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌳𐌿𐌽 (þahaidedun, twice), the subjunctive 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌳𐌹 (þahaidedi) and the present participle 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (þahands).^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *þagjaną (“to be silent”),^[5] continued by Old Norse þegja, Old Saxon thagian and Old High German dagēn.^[6][7][8] Gothic has h where the other languages have g, an alternation by grammatical change that Holthausen and Casaretto point out.^[9][10] Kroonen reconstructs Proto-Germanic *þagēn- as an old stative formation in Proto-Indo-European *tHk-éh₁-, identical with Latin taceō (“to be silent”).^[7] Lehmann gives the root as Proto-Indo-European *tak-, found only in Germanic and Italic, with Latin taceō and an Umbrian participle meaning "silent".^[6][5] A link with Old Irish tachtaid (“suffocates”), proposed by Prellwitz, and with Ancient Greek τήκω (tḗkō, “to melt”) is rejected on grounds of meaning, as Lehmann reports after Feist;^[6] Orel accepts the Greek word.^[11]

Attestation

The word occurs six times, three each in Luke and Mark, all in manuscript CA.^[4][3] In canonical order the first is Luke 1:20, the participle þahands.^[4] It renders Ancient Greek σιωπάω (siōpáō, “to be silent”) three times, σιγάω (sigáō, “to keep silent”) twice and φιμόω (phimóō, “to muzzle”) once.^[12] Luke 1:20 reads 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐍃𐌰𐌹 𐍃𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌹𐍃 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌽𐌹 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 𐍂𐍉𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (jah sai sijais þahands jah ni magands rodjan), "and behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak".^[13]

Meanings

1. to be silent, keep quiet, hold one's peace (for σιωπάω, σιγάω)^[3][14][12]
2. to keep (something) secret^[3][6]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gaþahan, “to fall silent”)
• 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (þahains, “silence”)

Usage notes

The simple verb means "to be or remain silent" and the compound gaþahan "to fall silent", as in gaþahaidedun at Luke 20:26.^[15][16] Krause and Slocum compare the pair with Latin tacēre and conticēre.^[17]

References

1. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. þahan
2. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 298
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. þahan
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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌸𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽
6. ^ 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. þahan
7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 531
8. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 148
9. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 109
10. ^ Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *þaxēnan
12. ^ a b 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 1:20
14. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. þahan
15. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 31
16. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 205
17. ^ Bucsko, Ferenc (2008), Preverbs in Gothic, PhD thesis, University of Georgia