𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (rahnjan), a weak verb of the first class.^[1][2][3] The Wulfila project records the preterite 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌹𐌳𐌰 (rahnida) five times, 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (rahnjands), 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌸 (rahnjaiþ) and 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰 (rahnjaina) twice each, and 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌸 (rahneiþ), 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌹𐌸𐍃 (rahniþs), 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌹 (rahnidai), 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰 (rahnjanda), 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌿 (rahnjaidau), 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌴𐌹 (rahnei) and 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌳𐌿𐌽 (rahnidedun) once each.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *rahnijaną (“to decide”).^[5] The other Germanic languages have only forms with k: Old English recenian, Old Frisian rekenia and Old High German rehhanōn.^[6][7][8] Lehmann explains the difference by an alternation of k and g in the root Proto-Indo-European *reg- (“to stretch, direct”), and compares Slavic and Tocharian words for "to say", with the same link between telling and counting as in English tell.^[7] Kroonen sets it with Proto-Germanic *rahna- (“booty”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hrók-no-, the source of Old Norse rán (“robbery, booty”) and Old High German rahan: the verbs ræna (“to rob”) and birahanen (“to loot”) go back to a verb formally identical with the Gothic one, the meaning having shifted from "to decide" to "to lead" and then to "to raid".^[9] Uhlenbeck and Grienberger relate it to 𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌽 (ragin, “counsel, decision”).^[8][10]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 18 tokens, in Luke, Mark, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Philemon and the Skeireins.^[4] Köbler counts 14.^[11] Three are in manuscript CA, eight in A, six in B and one in Lat5750.^[4] The first in canonical order is Luke 7:7.^[4] PROIEL aligns it with Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι (hēgéomai, “to consider”) five times and λογίζομαι (logízomai, “to reckon”) four times, and once each with ψηφίζω (psēphízō, “to calculate”), ἐλλογέω (ellogéō, “to charge to an account”) and ἀξιόω (axióō, “to deem worthy”).^[12][11] Luke 14:28 reads niu frumist gasitands rahneiþ manwiþo, "does he not first sit down and reckon the cost?".^[13]

Meanings

1. to reckon, calculate, count up, for ψηφίζω^[1][14][2]
2. to consider as, count among, for ἡγέομαι and λογίζομαι, and in wairþana rahnjan, to deem worthy, for ἀξιόω^[1][11][15]
3. to put to someone's account, impute, for ἐλλογέω^[1][14][11]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (garahnjan, “to value”)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (faurarahnjan, “to esteem more highly”)

Related words

• 𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌽 (ragin, “counsel, decision”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌷𐍃𐌽𐍃 (garehsns, “decision”)

References

1. ^ a b c d Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. rahnjan
2. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 124
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 291
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍂𐌰𐌷𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽
6. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. rahnjan
7. ^ 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. rahnjan
8. ^ a b Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 121
9. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 402
10. ^ Grienberger, Theodor von (1900), Untersuchungen zur gotischen Wortkunde, Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, phil.-hist. Classe 142, Wien, p. s.v. rahnjan
11. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. rahnjan*
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. Lk 14:28
14. ^ a b Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 312
15. ^ 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. 185