𐍆𐌰𐌳𐌰𐍂

Forms

𐍆𐌰𐌳𐌰𐍂 (fadar), a masculine noun of the r-stem class.^[1][2][3] Only one form is recorded, the vocative singular 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐌰𐍂 (fadar).^[2][4] Regan and Skeat give a genitive singular 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐍂𐍃 (fadrs), which is not among the recorded forms.^[5][6][2] Lambdin groups it with 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (brōþar), 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐍂 (swistar) and 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌰𐍂 (dauhtar), the r-stems that Gothic kept.^[7]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *fadēr (“father”),^[8][9] from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”).^[8][9] Miller explains the d by Verner's law, the accent having followed the consonant in the Indo-European word, and takes the vocative as the source of the Germanic nominative.^[10] The word is Old Norse faðir in Old Norse, Old English fæder in Old English, Old Frisian fader in Old Frisian, Old Saxon fadar in Old Saxon and Old High German fatar in Old High German.^[11][12][9] Outside Germanic it corresponds to Ancient Greek πατήρ (patḗr), Latin pater and Old Irish athir in Old Irish.^[12][13][14] Lehmann reviews the debate on the root syllable: some have taken the word from a root meaning "protect", while Feist preferred an origin in a nursery word.^[11]

Attestation

The word occurs once, at Galatians 4:6 in manuscript A.^[15][2][5] It stands in abba fadar, which renders Greek ἀββα ὁ πατήρ.^[11][16] PROIEL aligns it with Ancient Greek ἀββά (abbá).^[11][17][16] Galatians 4:6 reads 𐌷𐍂𐍉𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 𐌰𐌱𐌱𐌰 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐌰𐍂 (hropjandan abba fadar), "crying, Abba, father".^[18]

Meanings

1. father, said of God in the vocative abba fadar.^[5][1][2]

Word family

• 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌽 (fadrein, “parents, lineage”)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (fadreins, “lineage, kin”)

Usage notes

The ordinary Gothic word for "father", translating πατήρ, is 𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰 (atta).^[4][16] Fadar appears only in this verse.^[4][16][11] Falluomini suggests that Wulfila chose it for the sound, to avoid the sequence *abba atta, and reports the view of some scholars that fadar belonged to the pre-Christian religious vocabulary of the Goths.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. fadar
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. fadar
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 274
4. ^ a b c Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 61
5. ^ a b c Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 57
6. ^ 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. 61
7. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 22
8. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐌰𐍂
9. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 121
10. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 30
11. ^ a b c d e 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. fadar
12. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. fadar
13. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 39
14. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 25
15. ^ 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
16. ^ a b c d e Falluomini, Carla (2015), The Gothic Version of the Gospels and Pauline Epistles: Cultural Background, Transmission and Character, Arbeiten zur neutestamentlichen Textforschung 46, Berlin / Boston: de Gruyter, p. 84
17. ^ 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
18. ^ 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. Gal 4:6