𐌿𐍆

Forms

𐌿𐍆 (uf), an indeclinable preposition, with the accusative for direction and with the dative for rest.^[1][2] Before the particle -uh it appears as 𐌿𐌱𐌿𐌷 (ubuh).^[1][3] It is also used as a verbal prefix.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *ub (“under”).^[6] Kroonen traces the Germanic preposition to Proto-Indo-European *h₁up-o, a petrified allative in *-o.^[7] The Germanic cognates are Old Norse of (“over, about”), Old English ufeweard (“upper”) and Old High German oba (“above, over”).^[7][8] Feist and Lehmann also connect upp, upp and up, with an emphatic geminate after Johansson.^{[7][8][9][10]} Outside Germanic the sources compare Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó, “under”), Latin sub (“under”) and Old Irish fo (“under”).^[7][9][10]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 42 tokens and Köbler 37, in Matthew, Luke and Mark, in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Colossians and 1 Timothy, and once in the Skeireins.^[2][11] The manuscripts are CA, A, B and E.^[2] In canonical order the first is at Matthew 8:8 in CA.^[2] PROIEL aligns 25 of its 34 tokens with Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó), two with ἐπί (epí) and one with ὑποκάτω (hupokátō).^[12] Matthew 8:8 reads "ni im wairþs ei uf hrot mein inngaggais", "I am not worthy that you should come under my roof".^[13]

Meanings

1. with the accusative: under, beneath (motion)^[5][14][15]
2. with the dative: under, underneath (place)^[5][15]
3. with the dative: in the time of, during the reign of, for ἐπί with the genitive^[15][5]
4. under, subject to (a power)^[5][14]

Word family

• 𐌿𐍆- (uf-)

Related words

• 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar, “over”)
• 𐌹𐌿𐍀 (iup, “up”)
• 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌻𐍃 (ubils)
• 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰 (ubizwa)
• 𐌿𐍆𐌾𐍉 (ufjō, “abundance”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. uf
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Stamm, Friedrich Ludwig; Heyne, Moriz (1920), Ulfilas oder die uns erhaltenen Denkmäler der gotischen Sprache: Text, Wörterbuch und Grammatik, 13th–14th ed. by Ferdinand Wrede, Paderborn: Schöningh, p. 477
4. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 299
5. ^ a b c d e Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 163
6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌿𐍆
7. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 556
8. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 432
9. ^ 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. uf
10. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. uf
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. uf
12. ^ 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. Mt 8:8
14. ^ a b Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 185
15. ^ a b c Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 486