opinn

Forms

opinn adj (neuter opit)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”),^[2][3] the source also of Old English open, Old Frisian epen, Old Saxon opan and Old High German offan.^[2][4] Orel takes it as made with the suffix of the strong past participle from the adverb Proto-Germanic *uppa (“up”),^[2] and Wiktionary as the participle of a verb that is not on record.^[5]

The first meaning was “turned upwards”: Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon and Torp compare Latin supīnus (“lying on the back”), and relate the word to upp and op (“opening”).^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

IcePaHC has opnum in its text of the First Grammatical Treatise, which it dates to 1150, in the phonetic phrase opnum munni “with open mouth”.^[8][9] The first dated manuscript record is in the Icelandic Homily Book of about 1200: vas þa leiþet opet en líc hans vas a bráuto “the grave was then open, and his body was gone”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

ONP puts “lying on one's back” first: falla opinn “to fall backwards” and liggja opinn “to lie on one's back”.^[9] From a shield seen from behind came koma í opna skjǫldu “to attack in the rear”.^[10][11] The sense “open, not closed” gave opit bréf “letters patent” in the charters, “not frozen” of rivers, and in law, of land, “unfenced”.^[9][12] Figuratively it meant “undecided” of a case and “evident” in the Edda.^[13][14]

It continues as Icelandic opinn, Faroese opin, Norwegian Nynorsk open, Swedish öppen and Danish åben.^[6][3]

Timeline

• 1200 – opet “open” in the Icelandic Homily Book.^[9]
• 1225 – í opinni vǫk “in an open hole in the ice” in Ágrip.^[9]
• 1237 – fell hann openn “he fell on his back”.^[9]
• 1250 – buþir sinar opnar “their booths open” in Grágás.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. lying on one's back, face upward.^[9][13]
2. turned with the inside out;^[9][10] koma í opna skjǫldu to take in the rear.^[9][10]
3. open, not closed;^[9][12] opit bréf an open letter, letters patent.^[9][12]
4. of water, not frozen.^[9][15]
5. undecided; evident, clear.^[13][15]

Word family

• opna
• frostopinn

Descendants

• Icelandic opinn^[6]
• Faroese opin^[6]
• Norwegian Nynorsk open^[6]
• Swedish öppen^[6]
• Danish åben^[3]

Related words

• upp
• op

References

1. ^ Faulkes, Anthony (2011), A New Introduction to Old Norse III: Glossary and Index of Names, 4th ed., London: Viking Society for Northern Research, p. s.v. opinn
2. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 435
3. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 419
4. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 341
5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
6. ^ a b c d e f Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. opinn
7. ^ Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 31
8. ^ Wallenberg, Joel C.; Ingason, Anton Karl; Sigurðsson, Einar Freyr; Rögnvaldsson, Eiríkur, Icelandic Parsed Historical Corpus, version 0.9
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. opinn
10. ^ a b c Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. opinn
11. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 466
12. ^ a b c Hertzberg, Ebbe (1895), Glossarium, in Norges gamle Love indtil 1387, vol. 5, Christiania, p. 488
13. ^ a b c Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. opinn
14. ^ Gering, Hugo (1915), Glossar zu den Liedern der Edda, 4th ed., Paderborn, p. 138
15. ^ a b Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 468