𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban), a weak verb of the third class.^[1][2][3] The third person singular past is 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰 (libaida).^[4] The commonest forms in the Wulfila project's count are 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌸 (libaiþ, 12 times), 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban, 10), libandins (8), libam (7) and liba (6); the past appears in libaideduþ (twice).^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live”);^[6] Kroonen reconstructs a stative *libēn- (“to be left; to live”).^[7] The cognates are Old Norse lifa, Old English libban, Old Frisian libba, Old Saxon libbian and Old High German lebēn.^[8][9][7] Feist and Uhlenbeck relate it to the root of 𐌱𐌹𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (bileiban, “to remain”), Proto-Indo-European *leyp-, with a basic meaning "to be left over".^[10][8] Kroonen agrees that "to live" developed from "to remain".^[7] Old Norse lifa still means "to be left" as well as "to live".^[8][7] Collitz compared instead Latin caelebs (“unmarried”), explained as "living alone", and Holthausen gives the same comparison.^[11][9] Lehmann notes that Collitz admitted the evidence was weak, but that Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny accepted his etymology.^[11]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 69 tokens and Köbler 60; most are in John (13) and 2 Corinthians (18), with others in Matthew, Luke, Mark, Romans, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy and the Skeireins.^[5][12] The manuscripts are CA, A, B, Car and E.^[5] The first in canonical order is Matthew 9:18.^[5] PROIEL aligns 52 of its 56 tokens with Ancient Greek ζάω (záō, “to live”).^[13] Matthew 9:18 reads atlagei handu þeina ana ija jah libaiþ, "lay your hand on her and she will live".^[14]

Meanings

1. to live, be alive, for ζῆν.^[1][12]
2. liban bi with the accusative, to live on something.^[15][16]
3. liban taujan or liban gataujan, to make alive, for ζωοποιεῖν.^[12][17]
4. samana liban, to live together, for συζῆν.^[12][17]

Word family

• 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (libains, “life”)
• 𐌼𐌹𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (miþliban, “to live with”)

Related words

• 𐌱𐌹𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (bileiban, “to remain”)
• 𐌱𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bilaibjan, “to leave behind”)
• 𐌰𐍆𐌻𐌹𐍆𐌽𐌰𐌽 (aflifnan, “to remain”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. liban
2. ^ Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 102
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 287
4. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽
7. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 336
8. ^ a b c Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 102
9. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 63
10. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. liban
11. ^ a b 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. liban
12. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. liban
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 9:18
15. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 179
16. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 248
17. ^ a b 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. 155