𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂

Forms

𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂 (undar), a preposition governing the accusative of direction.^[1][2][3] It is also used as a prefix.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *under (“under, among”),^[6][7][8] like Old Norse undir, Old English under, Old Frisian under, Old Saxon undar and Old High German untar.^[9][8][10] Feist and Orel trace it to a comparative formation Proto-Indo-European *n̥dʰero-, Orel adding that it is the comparative of the word seen in und.^[9][8] Lehmann likewise sets up a PIE adverb Proto-Indo-European *n̥dʰos (“under”) with a comparative suffix, while Kroonen leaves the choice open between two possible preforms.^[11][7] The cognates outside Germanic are Sanskrit and Avestan words for "lower" and "below" and Latin īnferus (“lower”), with the superlative īnfimus (“lowest”) and the adverb īnfrā (“below”).^[9][8][10]

Attestation

As a preposition it occurs once, at Mark 4:21 in manuscript CA, according to both the Wulfila project and Köbler, where it renders Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó).^[12][2][13] The verse reads ibai lukarn qimiþ duþe ei uf melan satjaidau aiþþau undar ligr, "is a lamp brought to be put under a bushel or under a bed?"^[14]

Meanings

1. under, underneath, of movement to a place below something, with the accusative, for Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó).^[1][2][3]

Word family

• 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂𐍉 (undarō, “under”)
• 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (undarists, “lowest”)
• 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌾𐌰 (undarleija, “least”)

Usage notes

The superlative is transmitted as 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍉 (undaraisto) at Ephesians 4:9 in manuscript A, which Lehmann, Regan and Lambdin read as a mistake for undaristo.^[11][3][15] The related undarō, which takes the dative, renders Ancient Greek ὑποκάτω (hupokátō) at Mark 6:11.^[11][16]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. undar
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. undar
3. ^ a b c Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 166
4. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 300
5. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 200, 3
6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌰𐍂
7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 559
8. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 434
9. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. undar
10. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 157
11. ^ 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. undar
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
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. Mk 4:21
15. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 185
16. ^ Diefenbach, Lorenz (1851), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gothischen Sprache, 2 vols, Frankfurt am Main: Baer, p. 113