𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂

Forms

𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂 (tagr), a neuter noun of the a-stem class.^[1][2][3] Only plural forms are recorded: the accusative 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂𐌰 (tagra), the dative 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂𐌰𐌼 (tagram) and the genitive 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂𐌴 (tagre).^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *tahrą (“tear”),^[5] which Kroonen gives as *tagra- and Orel as *taʒran.^[6][7] The alternation of h and g in the Germanic forms, due to Verner's law, has been levelled in Gothic.^[5] The cognates are Old Norse tár in Old Norse, Old English tēar, teagor and tæhher in Old English, Old Frisian tār in Old Frisian and Old High German zahar in Old High German, beside the forms with -r- after the initial consonant, Old Saxon trahan in Old Saxon and trahan in Old High German.^[6][8] The word continues Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru- (“tear”),^[5][3] seen in Ancient Greek δάκρυ (dákru), Latin lacrima and its older form dacruma, and Old Irish dér in Old Irish.^[9][10] Casaretto notes that the outside forms point to a u-stem, so the Germanic a-stem is probably secondary.^[4] Uhlenbeck and Feist compare the forms without initial d-, such as Lithuanian aszarà in Lithuanian.^[9] Feist thinks the initial d may have been lost there.^[9][8] Feist reports Bugge's view that the Old Saxon and Old High German forms with -r- and an Armenian plural for "tears" come from a dissimilated *drakru-.^[8]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts six tokens: in Luke (twice) and Mark, from manuscript CA, and in 2 Corinthians (manuscripts A and B) and 2 Timothy (A); Köbler counts five records.^[11][3] The first in canonical order is the dative tagram at Luke 7:38.^[11] It renders Ancient Greek δάκρυ (dákru) or Ancient Greek δάκρυον (dákruon).^[3][12] Luke 7:38 reads dugann natjan fotuns is tagram, "she began to wet his feet with tears".^[13]

Meanings

1. a tear, teardrop, for δάκρυον^[1][2][12]

Word family

• 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (tagrjan, “to shed tears”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. tagr
2. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 149
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. tagr*
4. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂
6. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 504
7. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 398
8. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. tagr
9. ^ a b c Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 145
10. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 105
11. ^ a b 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
12. ^ 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
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 7:38