𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃

Forms

𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃 (sineigs), an adjective of the a-stems, with the variant spelling 𐍃𐌴𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃 (seneigs) at 1 Timothy 5:1 in manuscript B.^[1][2][3] Its superlative is the weak 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰 (sinista), "the eldest; the elders"; no comparative is recorded.^[1][4][5] The forms counted by the Wulfila project are 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌼 (sinistam, seven times), 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐍃 (sinistans, five), 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌴 (sinistanē), 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃 (sineigs) and 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍉𐍃 (sineigōs), once each.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *senīga- (“old, senior”),^[6][7][8] formed with a secondary suffix on the adjective Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”).^[7][9][6] Kroonen finds the suffix close to, though not identical with, that of Latin senex (“old man”).^[7] The superlative 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰 (sinista) is formed directly on the base, without that suffix.^[10][5] The cognates outside Germanic include Sanskrit सन (sána), Avestan hana-, Ancient Greek ἕνος (hénos), Old Armenian հին (hin), Old Irish sen and Latvian sęns (“earlier, previous”).^[6][7] As an adjective the word survives only in Gothic.^[10] The base also lives on in Medieval Latin seniscalcus (“oldest of the servants”) and its descendant French sénéchal.^[10]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts fifteen tokens and PROIEL sixteen, in Matthew, Luke, Mark and 1 Timothy, all in manuscript CA except those in 1 Timothy 5, which are in B.^[5][11] PROIEL aligns fifteen of them with Ancient Greek πρέσβυς (présbus) and one with πρεσβύτης (presbútēs, “old man”).^[11] The positive occurs only at Luke 1:18 and 1 Timothy 5:1–2; the other records are the superlative.^[12][5] The first in canonical order is Matthew 27:1, which reads runa nemun allai gudjans jah þai sinistans manageins bi Iesu, "all the priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus".^[13]

Meanings

1. old, aged, for πρεσβύτης (Luke 1:18)^[1][12]
2. elder, an older man, for πρεσβύτερος (1 Timothy 5:1)^[12][4]
3. superlative sinista: the eldest; an elder of the Jews or of the congregation; in the plural at Mark 7:3 and 7:5, the ancestors^[1][4]

Related words

• 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (sinteins, “daily”)

Usage notes

Lehmann and Orel cite the Old Frankish personal name Sinigus, and Lehmann the Burgundian title sinistus "highest priest of all", which Ammianus Marcellinus records.^[10][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. sineigs
2. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 154, 2
3. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 357
4. ^ a b c Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 135
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃
7. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 433
8. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 324
9. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. sineigs
10. ^ a b c d 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. sineigs
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b c 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. 465
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 27:1