𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (fāhan), a reduplicating strong verb of the third reduplicating class (class VII).^[1][2][3] Its principal parts are 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (fāhan), preterite 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌷 (faifāh), past participle fahan-.^[4] Only two forms are recorded, the infinitive 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (fāhan) and the third person singular preterite 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌷 (faifāh).^[5][6] The long ā, written a, goes back to a nasal vowel before h from older *-anh-, and is rare in Gothic.^[7][8][9]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną (“to take, capture”),^[10][11][12] with the cognates Old Norse fá, Old English fōn, Old Frisian fā, Old Saxon fāhan and Old High German fāhan, all meaning "to catch".^[11] The traditional explanation takes it as a present with a nasal infix from the root Proto-Indo-European *pāǵ- (“to make fast”),^[5][13][14] and relates Latin pangō (“to fix, fasten”), pāx (“peace”) and Ancient Greek πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to fix, stick in”).^[12][13] Kroonen instead analyses it as a univerbation of the adverb Proto-Indo-European *h₂po with the root Proto-Indo-European *h₁enk- (“to obtain”), a formation like *bringaną (“to bring”).^[11] Uhlenbeck and Lehmann connect it with 𐍆𐌰𐌲𐍂𐍃 (fagrs, “fitting”).^[15][13]

Attestation

The simple verb occurs twice, both times in John in manuscript CA, at John 7:44 and 8:20; the Wulfila project and PROIEL give the same count.^[6][16][5] Both records render a form of Ancient Greek πιάζω (piázō, “to seize, arrest”).^[16][5] John 7:44 reads sumaih þan ize wildedun fahan ina, "and some of them wanted to seize him".^[17] The compound 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gafāhan) is much more frequent, with the senses "to take, overtake, apprehend, comprehend".^[18]

Meanings

1. to seize, catch, lay hands on (a person), for πιάζω^[1][5][19]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gafāhan, “to catch, seize”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷 (gafāh, “catch (of fish)”)

Usage notes

Kroonen reconstructs a separate, unattested Gothic stative verb *fahan "to be glad", from Proto-Germanic *fagāną, behind the noun 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌴𐌸𐍃 (fahēþs, "joy").^[20]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. fāhan
2. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. fāhan
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 275
4. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 173
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. fāhan
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1920), Gotisches Elementarbuch, 5th–6th ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. § 58
8. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 33
9. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 57
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽
11. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 128
12. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 92
13. ^ a b c 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. fahan
14. ^ Kieckers, Ernst (1928), Handbuch der vergleichenden gotischen Grammatik, München: Hueber
15. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 39
16. ^ 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
17. ^ 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. Jn 7:44
18. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 82
19. ^ 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
20. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 122