𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂

Forms

𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur), an indeclinable preposition governing the accusative, also used as an adverb.^[1][2][3] The Wulfila project records only the form 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur).^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *furi (“before, for”),^[5][6] cognate with Old Norse fyr, Old English for and fore, Old Saxon for and fora, and Old High German furi.^[6] Kroonen and Wiktionary derive the Germanic word from a pre-Germanic *pr̥h₂-i, which Wiktionary traces to Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before, in front”);^[5] Kroonen compares Ancient Greek πάρ (pár), παρά (pará) and παραί (paraí).^[6][5] Lehmann sees in it the zero grade of *per- (“across, forward”), also found in Latin por-, as in portendō and porrigō.^[7] Feist holds that several older preforms have merged in the Germanic words, and compares πάρος (páros, “before”), Avestan parō (“before”) and Old Irish ar (“before, at”).^[8][9] Köbler gives the Proto-Indo-European adverb as *perā̆.^[3]

Attestation

Köbler gives his count as 79=78, in the Gospels, the Pauline epistles and the Skeireins.^[3] The Wulfila project has two lemmas for the word: the preposition with 104 tokens and the adverb with 94, all 94 of them marked as ambiguous between the two.^[4] Of the 104, 38 are in 2 Corinthians and six in the Skeireins; by manuscript, 37 are in B, 36 in A, 23 in CA, four in Lat5750, two in E and one each in C and Car.^[4] In canonical order the first is Matthew 8:29 in CA.^[4][3] PROIEL tags 70 tokens as a preposition, aligned with Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér) 48 times, πρό (pró) seven times, παρά (pará) four times, περί (perí) twice and εἰς (eis) and ἀντί (antí) once each; two adverb tokens begin at Mark 8:6.^[10] Matthew 8:29 has qamt her faur mel balwjan unsis, "have you come here to torment us before the time?"^[11]

Meanings

1. as an adverb, ahead, forward, as in biþragjands faur "running ahead" (Luke 19:4, for ἔμπροσθεν (émprosthen)) and atlagjan faur "to set before" (Mark 8:6)^[1][12]
2. of space: along, by, beside (for παρά); sa faur marein renders παράλιος (parálios) "by the sea"^[1][3][12]
3. of time: before (for πρό), as in faur hanins hruk "before the cock crows"^[1][13]
4. figuratively: for, on behalf of, for the sake of, concerning (for ὑπέρ)^[1][2][10]

Word family

• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂- (faur-, “before, forth; for-”)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (faurbiudan, “to forbid”)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (faurgaggan, “to pass by, go before”)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (faurlagjan, “to set before”)
• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌷𐌰𐌷 (faurhāh, “curtain, veil”)

Related words

• 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰 (faura, “before”)

Usage notes

In compounds it is the prefix 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂- (faur-), which Wiktionary treats as a separate word, with the senses "before, forth, forward" and a privative "for-".^[14] Lambdin sets it beside 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰 (faura), a preposition with the dative of the same spatial and temporal range but with less sense of motion.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. faur
2. ^ a b 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 c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. faúr
4. ^ a b c d 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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂
6. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 161
7. ^ 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. faur
8. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. faur
9. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 42
10. ^ 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
11. ^ 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. Mt 8:29
12. ^ 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. 90
13. ^ Schulze, Ernst (1867), Gothisches Wörterbuch nebst Flexionslehre, Züllichau: Darnmann, p. 50
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂-
15. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 23