sjá

sjá¹ this, that

Etymology tree of sjá¹

inherited borrowed derived

Old Norse sá

Old Norse sjá

Forms

sjá (neuter þetta)^[1]

Etymology

The word for “this, that” is formed from Old Norse sá + -si, the demonstrative with an enclitic particle; the Viking Age runic forms such as nominative masculine “sasi” and feminine “susi” still show the two parts.^[2][1] De Vries explains it the same way, as the article with a suffix “-si” or “-se”, and compares the Proto-Norse form “susih” of the Noleby stone.^[3] It belongs with the paradigm of þessi, whose forms Menota lemmatises under this word.^[4][3]

The West Germanic demonstratives were built in the same way: Holthausen derives Old English þes from the article and a suffix “-se”, and compares Old Frisian this, Old Saxon these and Old High German dese.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest form Noreen and de Vries connect with the word is susih on the Noleby stone, which Rundata dates to 375/400–560/570 after Imer.^[3][2][7] In the Viking Age the Danish Flemløse stone has stAin sAsi, normalised steinn þessi “this stone”.^[8] The first dated record in Menota is the accusative þenna on Norwegian runestones of 980–1015: Arnsteinn reisti stein þenna eptir Bjór, son sinn “Arnsteinn raised this stone in memory of Bjór, his son”.^[4][9]

Semantic evolution

Beside the simple demonstrative sá, sjá and þessi are the pointing, emphatic pronoun “this”;^[10] Cleasby and Vigfússon note that sjá itself is often used with this pointed sense.^[11] It is common in the Eddic poems, as in the second strophe of Hávamál: gestr's inn kominn, hvar skal sitja sjá? “a guest has come in: where shall this one sit?”.^[12] Finnur Jónsson notes that the form is not rare in the rímur either.^[13]

In the mainland languages the pronoun was rebuilt on other cases: Falk and Torp derive Norwegian Bokmål denne from the accusative þenna and dette from the neuter þetta.^[14]

Timeline

• 375/400–560/570 – Proto-Norse susih on the Noleby stone, by Imer's dating.^[7][3]
• 980–1015 – reisti stein þenna “raised this stone” on the Norwegian runestone N 184.^[4]
• 1200–1225 – þessir, þessa and þetta in Menota's Old Norse texts, such as AM 619 4to.^[15]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. (demonstrative) this, that, of persons and things; the same as þessi.^[16][17][18]

Descendants

• Icelandic þessi^[1]
• Faroese hesin^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk denne^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål denne^[1]
• Swedish denna^[1]
• Danish denne^[1]

sjá² to see

Forms

sjá (singular past indicative sá, plural past indicative ságu, sá, past participle sénn) (irregular strong)^[1]

Etymology

The verb for “to see” is inherited from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”),^[19][1] with the older Old Norse form séa.^[20][21] Its cognates are Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍈𐌰𐌽 (saíƕan), Old English sēon, Old Frisian siā, Old Saxon sehan and Old High German sehan.^[19][20] The Germanic verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to see, notice”);^[19][1] de Vries compares Old Irish rosc (“eye”).^[20]

The same root has been connected with segja “to say”, through a supposed first meaning “to notice, track”, which Uhlenbeck rejected; others have connected it with the root meaning “to follow”, as if “to see” came from “to follow with the eyes”.^[20][19]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is dated first in Menota's runic texts from Bergen, of 1175–1248: the riddle Hvat sá sá, er í sá sá? Sik sá sá, er í sá sá “What did he see, who looked into the tub? He saw himself, who looked into the tub.”^[22][23] Among the manuscripts it appears in the Old Icelandic AM 677 4to (1200–1225) with sjá and sá,^[24] and Larsson lists it from the oldest Icelandic manuscripts.^[25]

Semantic evolution

From physical seeing the verb came to mean “look”, “look after, examine” and “understand”.^[16][17] With prepositions it forms many phrases, such as sjá við “to beware of”.^[26][18] The reflexive sjásk means “to fear”, mostly in verse: fátt hygg ek yðr sjásk “I think you fear little”.^[26]

The poems keep the older two-syllable séa, which the metre needs where the manuscripts write sjá.^[21][27] The verb lives on as Icelandic sjá, Faroese síggja and Swedish se.^[20]

Timeline

• 1175–1248 – sá in a runic riddle from Bryggen in Bergen.^[22]
• 1200–1225 – sjá and sá in the Icelandic manuscript AM 677 4to.^[24]
• 1250–1300 – sér and sá in Vǫluspá in the Codex Regius, GKS 2365 4to.^[28]

Meanings

Verb

1. to see, to catch sight of.^[16][17]
2. to look (at, towards, out).^[16][18]
3. to examine, look after.^[16]
4. to understand, realise.^[16][18]
5. (reflexive, sjásk) to fear, be wary of.^[26][1]

Word family

• sjón
• sjándi
• sýn

Descendants

• Icelandic sjá^[1]
• Faroese síggja^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk sjå^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål se^[1]
• Swedish se^[1]
• Danish se^[20]