𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (waldan), a strong verb of class VII (reduplicating), construed with the dative.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are the infinitive waldan and the second person plural present subjunctive 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌸 (waldaiþ).^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”),^[6][4] continued by Old Norse valda, Old English wealdan, Old Frisian walda, Old Saxon waldan and Old High German waltan.^[7][8][9] The Old Norse preterite points to a pre-Germanic t after the l, as Feist and Uhlenbeck note.^[7][10] Kroonen takes the present as an o-grade formation probably made afresh from the preterite.^[9] The root is that of Old Irish flaith (“sovereignty, ruler”), Tocharian B walo (“king”) and Latin valeō (“to be strong”), which Kroonen sets up as Proto-Indo-European *h₂ulh₁- and Lehmann as a root "to be strong" with and without an extension.^[9][11][7] Whether Lithuanian valdýti (“to rule”) and Proto-Slavic *volděti (“to possess, to rule”) are cognates is disputed: Feist and Uhlenbeck (in 1905) took them as loans from Germanic, while Lehmann and Kroonen treat them as related.^{[7][12][11][9]} Finnish valta (“might”) is a Germanic loan, according to Lehmann after Thomsen.^[11]

Attestation

The verb occurs twice: waldaiþ at Luke 3:14 in manuscript CA, and garda waldan at 1 Timothy 5:14 in manuscript A.^[5][4] Köbler gives Ancient Greek ἀρκέω (arkéō, “to suffice”) and οἰκοδεσποτέω (oikodespotéō, “to rule a household”) as the Greek words it renders.^[4][11] Luke 3:14 ends 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌸 𐌰𐌽𐌽𐍉𐌼 𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌼 (jah waldaiþ annom izwaraim), "and be content with your wages".^[13]

Meanings

1. to rule, govern, garda waldan, to manage a household (for οἰκοδεσποτέω)^[4][2][14]
2. to be content with, make do with (for ἀρκέω)^[14][15][6]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽 (gawaldan, “to have authority over”)
• 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌿𐍆𐌽𐌹 (waldufni, “power, authority”)
• 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (allwaldands, “almighty”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (gardawaldands, “master of the house”)

Related words

• 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐌸𐌿𐍃 (wulþus, “glory”)

Usage notes

PROIEL aligns waldaiþ at Luke 3:14 with συκοφαντέω (sukophantéō), while Köbler and Lehmann give ἀρκέω.^[16][4]

References

1. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. waldan
2. ^ a b Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. waldan
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 302
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. waldan
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌽
7. ^ a b c d Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. waldan
8. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *walđanan
9. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 569
10. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 166
11. ^ 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. waldan
12. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1905), Bemerkungen zum gotischen Wortschatz, Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 30, 252ff.
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 3:14
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. 525
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. 263
16. ^ 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