𐌼𐌴𐌻

Forms

𐌼𐌴𐌻 (mēl), a neuter a-stem noun.^[1][2] The Wulfila project counts the forms 𐌼𐌴𐌻 (mel, 29 times), 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰 (mela, 29 times), 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰𐌼 (melam, six times), 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌹𐍃 (melis, four times) and 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌴 (mele, twice).^[3] In the sense "writing" only the plural is recorded: 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰 (mela) at Luke 4:21 and Mark 12:24, and 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰𐌼 (melam) at John 5:47.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *mēlą,^[5][6][7] with the cognates Old Norse mál, Old English mǣl, Old Frisian mēl and Old High German māl, which mean "time" and "meal" as well as "mark".^[6][8][9] The origin is disputed.^[6] Orel and Lehmann derive the word for "time" from Proto-Indo-European *mē- (“to measure”),^[7][9] and Casaretto calls this the usual view, the noun having no Germanic base word.^[10] Kroonen leaves open whether it is the same word as the Proto-Germanic noun for "measure" or starts from a meaning "spot, point".^[6] Uhlenbeck also takes "mark, point" as the basic meaning.^[11] The plural "writings" is separated by Lehmann and most scholars, who connect it with Germanic words for "mark, sign" and with colour words such as Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black”) and Lithuanian mėlynas (“blue”).^[12][10][13] Orel takes the two Germanic nouns to be historically one, with Loewe and Grienberger.^[7] Feist links the plural with 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (mēljan, “to write”), originally "to apply dark colour".^[8]

Attestation

Köbler counts 54 records in the sense "time" and three in the sense "writing", in the Bible and the Skeireins.^[2][4] The Wulfila project counts 70 tokens, 30 of them ambiguous, in Matthew, John, Luke and Mark, in nearly all the Epistles and in the Skeireins, in manuscripts CA, A, B, E and Lat5750.^[3] Its first reference is Matthew 8:29, in CA.^[3] In PROIEL's count it renders Ancient Greek καιρός (kairós) 34 times, Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos) ten times, Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ) twice and Ancient Greek γράμμα (grámma) once.^[14] Matthew 8:29 reads qamt her faur mel balwjan unsis, "have you come here before the time to torment us?"^[15]

Meanings

1. time, an hour or season, for καιρός, χρόνος and ὥρα^[2][1][5]
2. a fixed or appointed point in time^[5][6]
3. in the plural, writings, the Scriptures, for γραφή and γράμματα^[4][1][16]

Phrases: mel gabaurþais "birthday" (for γενέσια), us þamma mela "from that time on", mela lagga "for a long time" and manag mel "many a time".^[17][2]

Word family

• 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (mēljan, “to write”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (gamēleins, “scripture”)
• 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌹 (ufarmēli, “inscription”)
• 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (ufarmēleins, “inscription”)

Related words

• 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰 (mēla, “bushel”)

Usage notes

Köbler keeps two headwords, mēl 1 "time" and mēl 2 "writing", while Streitberg and Wiktionary give one neuter noun with both senses.^[2][4][1][5] Lehmann likewise has two entries and treats their etymologies separately.^[9][12] Miller indexes them as two words too.^[18]

References

1. ^ a b c d Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. mel
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mēl 1
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mēl 2
5. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌼𐌴𐌻
6. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 362
7. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 269
8. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. mel
9. ^ 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. 1. mel
10. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 109
12. ^ 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. 2. *mel
13. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 70
14. ^ 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
15. ^ 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 8:29
16. ^ 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. 160
17. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 180
18. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 543