𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (saian), a strong verb of the seventh class, reduplicating with ablaut.^[1][2][3] Its principal parts are 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (saian), the preterite 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍉 (saiso), the preterite plural 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍉𐌿𐌼 (saisoum) and the past participle 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽𐍃 (saians).^[4][5] The Wulfila project counts the forms 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌾𐌹𐌸 (saijiþ, six times), 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌹𐌸 (saiiþ, five times), 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍉 (saiso), 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌳𐌰 (saiada) and 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌽𐍃 (saianans), three times each, 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (saiands) and 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (saian), twice each, and 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌳 (saiand), 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍉𐍃𐍄 (saisost) and 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (saiandan), once each.^[6] The present is spelled both with and without j before a vowel: 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌹𐌸 (saiiþ) beside 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌾𐌹𐌸 (saijiþ).^[7][8]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sēaną (“to sow”),^[9][10][11] from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow”).^[9] Kroonen reconstructs the present as *séh₁-e-, without a j-suffix, and derives the reduplicated preterite, like Old Norse sera in Old Norse, from the Proto-Indo-European perfect.^[10] The Germanic cognates are sá, Old English sāwan, Old Saxon sāian and Old High German sāen.^[10][12] Outside Germanic, the sources compare Latin serō (“to sow”) (from a reduplicated present) and sēmen (“seed”), and Lithuanian sėti (“to sow”).^[10][13][11] The Gothic diphthong goes back to a long e lowered before a vowel,^[14][15] and the verb has no Verner alternation between present and preterite, unlike the Old Norse pair.^[16] Uhlenbeck also connected Ancient Greek ἵημι (híēmi, “to throw, send”),^[17][18] a link that Lehmann calls dubious.^[13]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 27 tokens, in Matthew, Luke, Mark, 2 Corinthians and Galatians, in manuscripts CA, A and B; Köbler counts 30 records.^[6][19] The first in canonical order is Matthew 6:26.^[6] In PROIEL's alignment all 23 of its tokens render Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō).^[20] Matthew 6:26 says of the birds of the sky þei ni saiand nih sneiþand nih lisand in banstins, "that they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns".^[21]

Meanings

1. To sow seed, with or without an object, the seed in the dative (saian fraiwa) or the accusative.^[22][23][19]
2. The present participle 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (saiands) used as a noun: a sower.^[22]

Word family

• 𐌹𐌽𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (insaian, “to sow in”)
• 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌴𐌸𐍃 (manaseþs, “world, mankind”)

References

1. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. saian
2. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. saian
3. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 236
4. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1920), Gotisches Elementarbuch, 5th–6th ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. § 212
5. ^ Blažek, Václav (2023), Old Germanic Languages, Brno: Masaryk University Press
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Jellinek, Max Hermann (1926), Geschichte der gotischen Sprache, Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 1,1, Berlin / Leipzig: de Gruyter
8. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. § 4.5 n. 3
9. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽
10. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 428
11. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 327
12. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. saian
13. ^ 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. saian
14. ^ Pagliarulo, Giuseppe (2019), On the etymology of Gothic alew, Journal of Germanic Linguistics 31.2, 187–198
15. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 58
16. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 31
17. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. s.v. saian
18. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1905), Bemerkungen zum gotischen Wortschatz, Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 30, 252ff.
19. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sáian
20. ^ 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
21. ^ 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 6:26
22. ^ 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. 333
23. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1920), Gotisches Elementarbuch, 5th–6th ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 295