𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (sōkjan), a weak verb of the first class.^[1][2][3] The preterite is 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌹𐌳𐌰 (sōkida), plural 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌳𐌿𐌽 (sōkidēdun).^[4] The commonest recorded forms are 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌴𐌹𐌸 (sōkeiþ, 28 times), 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌳𐌿𐌽 (sōkidēdun, 15), 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐍃 (sōkjandans, 8) and 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌹𐌳𐌰 (sōkida, 7); the infinitive itself occurs once.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sōkjan- (“to seek”),^[5][6] the source also of Old Norse sœkja, Old English sēcan, Old Frisian sēka, Old Saxon sōkian and Old High German suohhen.^[7][8] Kroonen derives it from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g-ie-, with Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι (hēgéomai, “to lead”) and Latin sāgiō (“to perceive”) as cognates.^[6] Orel and Feist add Old Irish saigim (“to seek out”), and Orel Hittite šak- (“to know”).^[7][9] Lehmann takes the root as "perceive acutely", perhaps with a religious sense as in sāgus (“prophetic”), perhaps as a hunting term.^[8] The verb belongs with 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 (sakan, “to quarrel”): Orel calls it a factitive of that verb, but Kroonen thinks a causative unlikely because the Greek and Latin cognates have the e-grade and the meaning is not causative.^[7][6][9]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts 77 tokens (11 of them ambiguous) and Köbler 72 records.^[4][3] Most are in the Gospels, 26 in John and 15 each in Luke and Mark, with others in Matthew, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, Nehemiah and the Skeireins; 57 are in manuscript CA, 12 in A and 5 in B.^[4] The first in canonical order is Matthew 6:32.^[4] In PROIEL's alignment it renders Ancient Greek ζητέω (zētéō) 58 times, συζητέω (suzētéō) five times, and ἐπιζητέω (epizētéō), αἰτέω (aitéō) and ἀναζητέω (anazētéō) twice each.^[10] Matthew 6:32 reads all auk þata þiudos sokjand, "for all these things the nations seek".^[11]

Meanings

1. To seek, look for, for Greek zētéō.^[5][12][10]
2. To seek to do something, to desire, long for.^[5][13]
3. To ask for, require.^[5][12]
4. To question, dispute; with miþ and the dative, "to dispute with", for suzētéō, and samana sokjan, "to reason together, discuss".^[5][3][14]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gasōkjan)
• 𐌼𐌹𐌸𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (miþsōkjan, “to argue with”)
• 𐌿𐍃𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (ussōkjan, “to examine”)
• 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (sōkeins, “investigation”)
• 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (sōkareis, “disputer”)

Related words

• 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 (sakan)
• 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌽𐍃 (sōkns, “inquiry”)

References

1. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. sokjan
2. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 295
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sōkjan
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽
6. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 464
7. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *sōkjanan
8. ^ 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. sokjan
9. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. sokjan
10. ^ 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
11. ^ 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 6:32
12. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 141
13. ^ 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. 208
14. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. sōkjan