𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿

Forms

𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 (faihu), a neuter noun of the u-declension.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 (faihu), 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌿 (faihau) and, once, 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉 (faiho) at Mark 10:23.^[4][5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“livestock”),^[7][8] an inherited u-stem with no Germanic base, continued by Old Norse fé, Old English feoh, Old Frisian fiā, Old Saxon fehu and Old High German fihu, which mean "cattle" as well as "property" and "money".^[3][8][9] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *péḱu (“livestock”),^[7] with cognates in Avestan pasu- (“cattle”), Latin pecū (“flock, herd”) and Lithuanian pēkus (“cattle”).^[8][10] Feist and Uhlenbeck point to the same shift from "cattle" to "wealth, money" in pecūnia (“money”) and pecūlium (“property”).^[10][11] Kroonen derives it from a root Proto-Indo-European *pek- (“to pluck wool”), which suggests to him that the first livestock of the Indo-Europeans were sheep.^[8]

Attestation

The Wulfila project counts five tokens: Luke 18:24, Mark 10:22, 10:24 and 14:11 in manuscript CA, and 1 Thessalonians 4:6 in B.^[4] PROIEL, which also counts faiho at Mark 10:23, has six.^[5] It renders Ancient Greek χρῆμα (khrêma, “wealth”) twice and Ancient Greek κτῆμα (ktêma, “possession”), Ancient Greek ἀργύριον (argúrion, “silver, money”) and Ancient Greek πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “matter”) once each.^[5] Mark 10:22 reads gaurs was auk habands faihu manag, "for he was sad, having much property".^[12]

Meanings

1. property, possessions, wealth, for Ancient Greek χρῆμα (khrêma) and Ancient Greek κτῆμα (ktêma).^{[1][13][5][7]}
2. money, for Ancient Greek ἀργύριον (argúrion) (Mark 14:11).^[13][14][5]

Word family

• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍃 (faihugairns)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹 (faihugairnei)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌺𐌹 (faihugawaurki)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌴𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (faihugeigan)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌴𐌹𐍂𐍉 (faihugeirō)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌸𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰 (faihuþraihna)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌰 (faihuskula)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃 (faihufriks)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌴𐌹 (faihufrikei)

Related words

• 𐌱𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽 (bifaihōn)
• 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽 (gafaihōn)

Usage notes

Faihu is also the name of the Gothic letter for f, and of the F-rune.^[13][7] The Salzburg-Vienna Alcuin manuscript gives the letter name as fe.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. faihu
2. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 275
3. ^ a b Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ Stamm, Friedrich Ludwig; Heyne, Moriz (1920), Ulfilas oder die uns erhaltenen Denkmäler der gotischen Sprache: Text, Wörterbuch und Grammatik, 13th–14th ed. by Ferdinand Wrede, Paderborn: Schöningh, p. 418
7. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿
8. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 134
9. ^ 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. faihu
10. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. faihu
11. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 40
12. ^ 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. Mk 10:22
13. ^ a b c d Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 57
14. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 84