𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃

Forms

𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis), an adjective of the ja-stems.^[1][2][3] The stem is frija-: the masculine nominative singular 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis) is contracted from *frijis, and the other forms keep frij-.^[4] Köbler records 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis, six times), 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌹 (frijai, five), 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽𐍃 (frijans, three), 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰 (frija, twice), 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌶𐍉𐍃 (frijaizōs, twice) and 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌰 (frijana, once).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“free”),^[5][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *priHós.^[5][7] The cognates are Old English frēo, Old Frisian frī, Old Saxon frī and Old High German frī, all "free".^[7] Outside Germanic the same adjective means "dear, one's own", as in Sanskrit and Avestan;^[7][8][6] only Germanic and Celtic share the sense "free", as in Welsh rhydd (“free”).^[9][6] Uhlenbeck explains the meaning "free" as grown out of "pleased, content".^[10] Feist and Kroonen put the word with the verb 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽 (frijōn, “to love”).^[8][7]

Attestation

Köbler counts nineteen records and PROIEL eighteen, fourteen of which PROIEL aligns with Ancient Greek ἐλεύθερος (eleútheros, “free”);^[2][11] the Wulfila project's lemma has 32 tokens, twelve of them ambiguous.^[4] The records are in John, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians, in manuscripts CA, A and B.^[2] The first in canonical order is John 8:32, which reads jah so sunja frijans izwis briggiþ, "and the truth will make you free".^[12] The phrase 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌽𐍃 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (frijans briggan, literally "to bring free") renders Ancient Greek ἐλευθερόω (eleutheróō, “to set free”).^[2]

Meanings

1. free, not a slave, for ἐλεύθερος^[1][2]
2. with the genitive, free from (Romans 7:3)^[1][13]
3. in frijana briggan, to set free, make free^[13][14]

Word family

• 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍃 (freihals, “freedom”)
• 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌴𐌹 (frijei, “freedom”)

Related words

• 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽 (frijōn, “to love”)
• 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌰𐌸𐍅𐌰 (frijaþwa, “love”)

References

1. ^ a b c Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. freis
2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. freis
3. ^ Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 63
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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃
6. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 114
7. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 155
8. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. freis
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. freis
10. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 50
11. ^ 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
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. Jn 8:32
13. ^ 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. 106
14. ^ 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. 423