geispa

Forms

geispa (past geispaði)^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *gaipsōn, with ⟨-sp-⟩ from older ⟨-ps-⟩ by metathesis, formed beside the verb that gave geipa (“to talk nonsense”).^[4][5][6] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon also thinks a metathesis of ⟨*geipsa⟩ more likely than a formation in ⟨-p-⟩ to the stem of Norwegian Nynorsk geisa (“to spread oneself”);^[7] de Vries leaves both open.^[8] Torp places that verb and this one in a family of words for gaping, beside Old English gipian (“to gasp”).^[4] The UT IE Lexicon files it under Pokorny's root Proto-Indo-European *ĝhē- (“to gape, yawn”).^[9]

The English verb gasp may come from it: the Middle English Dictionary derives it from Norse,^[10] Etymonline calls the origin uncertain, perhaps this verb,^[11] and Falk and Torp allow a link with German gapsen instead.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's earliest dated record is the Reykjabók manuscript of Njáls saga, dated 1312, where Svanr yawns as he feels his enemies' fetches: Nú tók Svanr til orða ok geispaði mjǫk: Nú sœkja at fylgjur Ósvífrs “Then Svanr spoke, yawning hard: Now Ósvífr's fetches are attacking.”^[3]

Semantic evolution

The sense is the same throughout: to open the mouth wide, to yawn from weariness or sleepiness.^[12][3] In Njáls saga the yawn foretells an attack, the fetches of the enemy drawing near.^[3] The verb is rare, six citations in ONP, mostly in sagas.^[3] It continues in Icelandic geispa and Faroese geispa, and in Swedish gäspa and Danish gispe, where the Danish verb now means “to gasp”.^[8][6] Icelandic also has the noun geispi “a yawn”.^[7]

Timeline

• 1312 – geispaði in Njáls saga, Reykjabók.^[3]
• 1391 – geispade in two texts ONP dates 1391.^[3][3]
• late 14th century – Middle English gaspen, English gasp.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. to yawn, gape.^[3][1][13]

Word family

• geispi

Descendants

• Icelandic geispa^[14]
• Faroese geispa^[14]
• Norwegian Nynorsk geispe^[14]
• Swedish gäspa^[14]
• Danish gispe^[14]
• Middle English gaspen^[10]

Related words

• geipa
• gapa

References

1. ^ a b Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. geispa
2. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 196
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. geispa
4. ^ a b Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 134
5. ^ Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. gäspa
6. ^ a b c Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1910–1911), Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg, p. s.v. gispe
7. ^ a b Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. geispa
8. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 162
9. ^ Slocum, Jonathan, ed., Indo-European Lexicon (after Pokorny), Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, p. s.v. geispa
10. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. geispa
13. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 190
14. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org