standa

Forms

standa (strong)^[1] Viking Age runic spellings: infinitive stanta, stonta, present stanr, stainr, stetr.^[2] On the Norwegian stone N 2 the present is stotR.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”),^[1][4] a present with an inserted nasal, which shows in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan), Old English standan, Old Saxon standan, Old Frisian standa and Old High German stantan and is missing from the past ⟨stóð⟩.^[5][6] Beside it West and North Germanic had a verb without the dental, Proto-Germanic *stāną, the source of Old High German stān, Swedish stå and Danish stå.^[7][8] Kroonen discusses how that verb can be derived from the root.^[7]

Both go back to Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”),^[1] the root of Latin stō (“to stand”), Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to make stand”) and Proto-Slavic *stati (“to stand, become”).^[8][6] Wiktionary explains the Germanic past as built on an extended root *steh₂-t-, and the nasal present as made from that past.^[1]

Some senses of the verb may come from compounds whose prefix was lost: “to endure” from a verb with *ga-, “to blow from (a quarter)” from one with *and-, and “to rise (of flames)” from one with *uz-.^[6] Seebold explains them the same way.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded on the Swedish Rök stone, dated by Rundata to the 800s: Ept Vámóð standa rúnar þær “in memory of Vámóðr stand these runes”.^[10][2] The Norwegian stone N 2, dated around 900, has steinn stendr “the stone stands”.^[3] In Menota the word is first found on the Norwegian runestone N 413, of 1100–1150, with er steinn sá stendr “where this stone stands”.^[11][12]

Semantic evolution

From “to stand upright” the verb spread to things that are placed or situated, to standing still and staying, to lasting (hafði lengi staðit bardaginn “the battle had lasted long”), and to befitting.^[13][14] It also meant “to weigh” with the weight in the accusative.^[15] In the laws it was used of what remains valid or in force.^[16][17]

The verb continues as Icelandic standa, and as Swedish stånda, while the common Swedish and Danish verb is stå, from the shorter Germanic verb.^[6][18]

Timeline

• 800s – standa on the Rök runestone.^[10]
• c. 900 – stendr on the Norwegian stone N 2.^[3]
• 1100–1150 – stendr on the runestone N 413.^[11]
• 1150–1250 – standa, standandi in the fragment NRA norr fragm 81 B.^[19]
• 1184 – stóð on the runic inscription N 527.^[20]
• 1200–1225 – stendr, stóð, standask in AM 677 4to.^[21]

Meanings

Verb

1. to stand upright.^[13][22]
2. to stand, stick fast.^[13]
3. to be situated, to stand (of buildings, places).^[13][14]
4. to stand still, stop, pause.^[13]
5. to last, go on.^[13]
6. to befit, become.^[13]
7. to weigh.^[15]
8. (law) to remain valid.^[16][17]

Word family

• staða
• stæða

Descendants

• Icelandic standa^[1]
• Faroese standa^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk standa^[1]
• Swedish stånda^[1]
• Danish stande^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål stande^[1]

Related words

• staðr
• stǫð
• stóð
• stund

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Peterson, Lena (2006), Svenskt runordsregister, 3rd rev. ed., Runrön 2, Uppsala: Institutionen för nordiska språk
3. ^ a b c Samnordisk runtextdatabas (Rundata 3.1), Uppsala universitet (inscriptions by signum), p. N 2
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 371
5. ^ Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 477
6. ^ a b c d Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. standa
7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 477
8. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 377
9. ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton, p. 460
10. ^ a b Samnordisk runtextdatabas (Rundata 3.1), Uppsala universitet (inscriptions by signum), p. Ög 136
11. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. N 413
12. ^ Samnordisk runtextdatabas (Rundata 3.1), Uppsala universitet (inscriptions by signum), p. N 413
13. ^ a b c d e f g Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. standa
14. ^ a b Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 597
15. ^ a b Foote, P. G.; Quirk, R., eds. (1957), Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, London: Nelson / Viking Society (glossary), p. 117
16. ^ a b A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law, Digital Humanities Institute, University of Sheffield, p. s.v. standa
17. ^ a b Hertzberg, Ebbe (1895), Glossarium, in Norges gamle Love indtil 1387, vol. 5, Christiania, p. 603
18. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 543
19. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. NRA norr fragm 81 B
20. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. N 527
21. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 677 4to
22. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 587