𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽

Forms

𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽 (niun), a cardinal numeral, indeclinable except for the genitive 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽𐌴 (niune) at Luke 15:7.^[1][2] The ordinal is 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰 (niunda) "ninth".^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *newun (“nine”),^[4][5][6] with the cognates Old Norse níu, Old English nigon, Old Frisian nigun, Old Saxon nigun and Old High German niun.^[6] It continues Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥,^[4][5] as do Ancient Greek ἐννέα (ennéa), Latin novem, Old Irish noí, Lithuanian devynì and Tocharian B ñu.^[6][5] Lehmann discusses why Germanic has final -n here rather than -m.^[2] Uhlenbeck, after Streitberg, considers a link with Proto-Indo-European *newo- (“new”) (Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐍃 (niujis)), "nine" being "a new one" after the old dual 𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌰𐌿 (ahtau, “eight”);^[7] Holthausen too asks whether it belongs with niujis.^[8]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts four tokens: Luke 15:4, 15:7 and 17:17 in manuscript CA and Nehemiah 7:39 in D.^[9] It renders Ancient Greek ἐννέα (ennéa), and niuntehund jah niun "ninety and nine" at Luke 15:4 renders ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα.^[10][11] Köbler gives Latin nōngentī as the Latin equivalent of niun hunda "nine hundred" at Nehemiah 7:39.^[11][12] Luke 17:17 reads niu taihun þai gahrainidai waurþun iþ þai niun ƕar, "were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?".^[13]

Meanings

1. nine; for ἐννέα.^[14][11][10]

Word family

• 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰 (niunda, “ninth”)
• 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌴𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌳 (niuntēhund, “ninety”)

Usage notes

Busbecq's Crimean Gothic word list has nyne for "nine".^[7][3] The genitive niuntehundis jah niune at Luke 15:7 is also the only place where -tehund takes an ending.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 117
2. ^ 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. niun
3. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. niun
4. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽
5. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 389
6. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 285
7. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 117
8. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 76
9. ^ 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
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. niun
12. ^ 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. Neh 7:39
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 17:17
14. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. niun