Sievers Eduard. Grammar of Old English

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THE

VOWELS.

wiodu

(rare

and

old)

;

widuwe,

weoduwe

;

sweotol

;

wice,

weoce

;

cwicu,

cwic

;

betwih, betweoh,

etc. So

swiira for

swiora,

neck.

NOTE

Occasionally

wo is found in

LWS.

swotol,

wolcread,

for

swiotol,

wiolocread.

More usual in the later

WS.

texts is

wy:

wyduwe,

etc.

NOTE

The

WS. wio

experiences

1-umlaut

any

other

io:

wierffe, worth; wiersa, worse;

wler(re)sta,

worst,

etc.

72.

The combination

weo from

Germ,

(breaking

u-umlaut,

79 ff.

; 106)

generally

retains its

form

;

yet

frequently

find

worold, world, worUJlg,

street

;

and

occasionally

LWS.

swolotf,

heat

;

geswosterna,

sisters; wore,

geworc,

work;

worpan, throw;

hworfan,

turn,

frequently

substituted

for

this

LWS.:

swurd,

wurftan,

wurflfian,

swuster,

instead

swcord,

sword;

weorffan,

become;

weorarian,

estimate,

prize;

sweoster,

sister.

NOTE.

Subsequently

the u is

replaced

by y

swyrd,

etc. It would

appear

that the later

Mss.

employ

wur and

wyr

almost indiscrimi-

nately

;

thus u is found

for

stable

wurmas,

\vurd-,

wurt-,

and

for

unstable

wurste,

EWS. wierste

;

weor

even found for

wur,

wyr

weormum,

ymbhweorft, geoweorja,

for

wyrmum, ymb-

hwyrft,

Lat.

Jugurtha.

73.

The combinations

and

originally gener-

ated

between the vowel and the

;

the

auw

and

euw

thus

formed then

passed

regularly

into

6aw,

e"ow:

fawe,

few,

Goth,

awai

;

cn^owes,

tr^owes,

ff^owes,

etc.,

gen.

sing,

cne"o, knee,

tre"o, tree,

2F6o,

servant

(137),

OHG.

knewes,

etc. On the other

hand,

the

preserved

in the

part,

gesewen,

seen

(391. 2).

NOTE

1. Germ,

awl

becomes OE. ow in

mfcowle,

girl (Goth.

mawilo)

; 6owu, eive,

beside

6owde,

herd, feowestre,

sheepfold (Prim.

Germ,

awi,

cf. Goth.

aw6J>i,

awistr)

;

and

streowian,

pret.

strfeow-

PHONOLOGY.

ede

(Goth,

straujan,

strawida).

This

seems

indicate

that

the

introduction

the

u took

place

after

the

appearance

the

I-umlaut,

so that meowle

stands

for

mewilo,

etc.

Simple

is not

infrequently

retained

ewu,

and

especially

strewian,

strewede.

In a

similar

manner,

the

combination

resulted

iuw,

which in OE. was

regularly

converted

into fow.

But

since

Germ,

(as

representing

older

ew)

almost

invariably

followed

scarcely

encounter

this

fow,

except

in those dialects

which

umlaut

unknown

(100;

159.

4).

The

i-umlaut

takes

place,

however,

WS.,

the normal

form

few

being

ancient

and

rare,

while

is usual

nfewe,

nfwe,

new

(Goth.

niujis)

; hfew,

hfw,

appearance

(Goth,

hiwi)

;

sfw(i)an,

sew

(Goth,

siu

jan.

pret.

*siwida);

spfw(i)an,

spew,

etc.,

besides

the unumlauted

nfowe,

hfow,

sfow(i)an,

spfow(i)an.

NOTE 2.

Older Iw

retained

only

in the

past participles

the

verbs

spiwan,

spew

(382),

seon,

sift

(383),

which

occur

sptwen,

glwen

(siowen).

Whether there has

simply

been a

preservation

older

iw,

as of

gesewen

(73. 1),

whether

we should

postu-

late iw as

the umlaut of

iow,

is a

matter of

doubt.

PALATAL

INFLUENCE.

74.

The

palatal

semi-vowel

(175),

when

beginning

word,

unites

with

the

vowels

(se)

and

to form

gea,

geo

(gio)

g6a,

yea

;

g6ar,

year

; gioc,

geoc,

yoke

;

g^omor,

grief

;

likewise in

the

pronoun

geoii,

that

(338. 4),

and

its

derivatives,

geond,

through,

begeondan,

be-

yond

(for jan,

JQH,

;

cf.

WS.

giend,

gind,

Kent.

gend,

North,

gind,

begienda,

with

i-umlaut).

The com-

bination

sometimes

remains

unchanged

iu,

formerly;

iucian,

yoke;

iung,

gung,

young

;

iuguO

gugucJ

youth

(cf.

Goth,

ju,

juggs).

But

its

place

usually

taken

THE

VOWELS. 39

geo,

gio: ge"o;

geong,

giong;

geoguff, gioguflF.

(For

giocifra,

etc.,

see 100.

a.)

NOTE 1.

The source of the

(y,

22)

gfet,

gieta,

yet,

not

yet

determined.

The

same

is true of

gen,

gien,

and

the more common

gc'riii, giena,

still.

There

is no doubt that

we have an

older

in the

pers.

pron.

g<j,

side

with

occasional

gie

(332).

NOTE

For forms like

ger

for

gfear,

see

102.

75.

The

palatals

g, c,

and sc

(206)

have

similar

effect.

These

change

the

primary palatals

se,

sfe

Germ.

57.

2),

and

into ea

(i-umlaut

ie),

(i-umlaut

fe),

and

ie:

se to

ea :

geaf

gave

;

-geat,

obtained

;

geat,

gate

geatwe,

trappings;

ceaf,

chaff;

ceaflas,

jaws

;

ceaster,

town

;

sceal,

shall

;

sceaf

shaft

;

sceat,

treasure

;

sceabb,

scab;

scear,

sing,

pret.,

cut;

for

*gsef,

*gaet,

etc.

(cf.

Gotli.

gaf,

gat,

Lat.

castra,

etc.).

Similarly,

with i-umlaut

(98)

giest

(gyst,

gist),

guest;

ciefes,

concubine

;

ciele,

coolness

;

cietel,

kettle

;

scieppan,

create; sciell, shell;

(a)scilian,

shell;

from

*geasti,

*ceafis, *sceappjan,

for

*gsesti,

*csefis, *scaeppjan

(cf.

Goth,

gasts,

skapjan,

etc.).

sfe to 6a:

g^afon,

gave;

g^aglas,

jaws

;

-gaton,

obtained;

sc^ap,

sheep;

sc^aron,

cut;

for

*gjfefon,

*gaeglas,

*gaeton.

*scrf'p

(cf.

Goth,

g^bum,

gtum,

etc.).

Witli

umlaut:

cfese, c^se,

cheese,

for *c6asi

from

*caesi,

from

Lat.

caseus.

to ie

(i,

giefan,

give

;

giefn,

gift

;

-gietan,

obtain;

gield,

offering

;

gielclau,

yield;

giellan,

yell;

gielp,

boasting

; gielpan,

boast

; gied,

song

;

scieran,

cut;

scield,

shield

;

besides

gifan, gyfan,

etc.

NOTE

Contrary

to the

rule,

se maintains itself

gaedeling,

kins-

man,

caefian,

embroider,

aetgPCflere, t6gaedere,

together (50.

note

3),

and

certain

Latin words

received into

LWS.,

such as

ctefcster,

halter,

PHONOLOGY.

caeppe,

cap,

from

Lat.

capistrum, cappa;

of course also

gaers,

grass,

caerse,

cress,

for

graes,

etc.

(179).

Forms like

gaest,

scaed,

shade,

scaer,

scaferon

(instead

giest,

scead, scear,

scearon),

are

unknown

WS.

prose,

but occur

poetry.

The

imp.

scaef

(beside

scaf),

for the

normal sceaf

(369),

late formation.

NOTE

The

holds its

ground

in words like

geldan,

gelp,

sceran,

etc.,

to about

the same extent as it is substituted

for

general

;

this

e, however,

cannot be

regarded

genuine

WS.

Nevertheless,

WS.

always

has

sce^Fffan (392. 4),

and ./Elfric

regularly

writes

gesthiis

(otherwise

exceptional

form), just

Mod.

Eng.

has a

guttural g

guest.

the case of

g^sthus

there

probably

borrowing

from

the Norse.

NOTE

.3.

When

the

palatal

diphthongization

in conflict with

breaking

(79

ft'.),

the latter has the

preference;

hence, ceorfan, carve,

ceorl,

man,

georn,

eager,

sceorfan,

gnaw;

not

cierfan,

etc. Under

similar

circumstances the

u-,

o-umlaut

(103 ft".),

likewise has the

pref-

erence

over

palatal

influence :

geolo,

yellow,

geoloca, yolk,

ceole,

throat,

oeorlan, lament;

yet genuine

WS.

always

has

giefu,

after the

model

of the

gen.

dat. ace.

giefe,

though

outside of

the limits of strict

WS. one

finds a

nom.

geofu.

76.

Other

vowels

undergo

change

after

and

this is true not

only

the

guttural

vowels

Q, o, u,

galan,

sing,

calan,

cold, gongan,

go,

comp,

camp,

battle,

gast,

spirit,

c^sere,

emperor,

God,

Crod,

g6d,good,

corn,

guma, man,

cuman,

come,

giifr,

battle,

crio*,

known,

but also

the

secondary palatals

e",

y, y"

(7.

note),

gtfest

(beside gdst),

spirit,

gffed, lack,

gffelsa,

luxury,

cgfeg,

key

(cf. 90), c^mes,

shirt,

cejnban,

comb, ce.mpa,

warrior,

caiman,

beget,

Cejnt, Kent,

-g^nga,

goer

(cf.

89.

2),

c^llendre, coriander,

ce"ne,

bold,

c^lan, cool,

ce"pan,

observe, gs,

geese (cf.

ff.),

cyme\

coming,

cynn, kin,

cyssaii,

kiss,

cyst,

choice,

gylden,

golden,

cy'fran,

announce

(cf.

ff.).

NOTE 1.

exception

that

gasne

frequently

found for

and

beside

gtesne,

g6sne,

barren

(OHG.

geisiui).

THE

VOWELS. 41

Instead

sea,

sco

there is a

frequent

occurrence

scea,

sceo

sceacan,

scoc,

sceacen,

shake

(392)

and

scacan, scoc,

scacen

;

seadau and

scadan,

separate

;

scamu,

scomu,

and

sceamu,

sceomu,

shame; scop

and

sceop,

poet;

scoli

and

sce"oh,

shoe.

This

variation

extremely

irregular

one,

not

only

regard

to the

spelling

single

words,

but also

the

usage

in the

different texts.

most cases

scu

remains unaffected:

scua,

shadow

;

scucca,

demon

;

scrifan,

shove

;

sculdor,

shoulder

;

sciir,

shower.

Not till LWS.

we encounter

single

instances

sceu,

sceucca, sc^ufan,

and

somewhat more

frequently

sceocca,

sc^ofan,

sce"or.

change

experienced

scy:

scyld,

guilt;

scyndan,

hasten;

scyte,

shot,

etc.

NOTE 2. Even in

EWS.,

sceo

is a

frequent

substitute for

scu

the verb

sceolan,

shall,

beside sculan

(423)

;

plur.

sceolun,

beside

sculun.

The

preterit

sceolde

for scolde

is likewise of

surprisingly

frequent

occurrence.

NOTE

3. The

umlaut-^

derived from

(89.

remains

unchanged

sce_nc,

goblet,

sce,ncean, pour

out,

but is

nearly always

diphthongized

sciendan

(scindan, scyndan), disgrace,

as is

the umlaut

(94),

gescy,

shoes

(for

gescie,

Ps. North,

gescoe).

NOTE 4.

LWS.,

is even

occasionally

inserted between sc and

and

in a final

syllable:

me,nnescea,

human

being,

Egiptiscea,

Ebreisceo, Wyliscea,

etc.

NOTE

5. On

account of

the

confusion which

prevails among

the

phenomena

described

76.

they

are not to

classed,

without

further

question,

with those of 75

(and 74),

which

are

consistently

carried out

WS.

It is not at

all

impossible that,

to some

extent,

the

may

have been inserted between

and

one of the

guttural

vowels,

to indicate

that

had

the

pronunciation

(German sell).

Indeed,

some scholars

assign

the same

explanation

the

ea,

75,

other words assert

that

they

merely

indicate the

palatal

pronun-

ciation of the

(cf

206-

;

and,

consequently,

that

merely

PHONOLOGY.

abbreviated

mode

writing

eae.

But this

opinion

can

hardly

maintained,

in view of the

fact that

the

and

are

treated

exactly

like the other ea's

and

ie's,

which are

indisputably

true

diphthongs

;

that

is,

that

ea,

undergo

palatal

umlaut to

(101 ff.),

and

that

Ie,

ie are

converted

to unstable

and

y. Accordingly,

the

(eo)

and

must

regarded

genuine

diph-

thongs

(cf

Beitr. IX.

204

ff.).

THE BREAKINGS.

77.

Breaking, according

Grimm,

may

be defined

the

change

of a

short

eo,

and

that of a short

a to

ea.

propose

frame

more accurate defini-

tion

by restricting

the name

such of the

changes

take

place solely through

the

influence

following

consonants

(for

ea,

eo,

u- and

o-umlauts,

see

103 ff.

;

for

ea,

eo from

palatal

o, u,

see

ff.).

78.

Breaking

older than

palatal

diphthongization

(75.

note

and

u-umlaut,

since it

already prevails

the

Epinal

glosses,

which

exhibit

but few traces of

u-umlaut. That it is

likewise

older

than the i-umlaut

rendered

probable by

the fact that

the

broken

ea,

undergo regular

umlaut to

ie, i,

(97

ff.).

The

varieties

breaking

WS.

are the

following

Before

consonant.

79.

Before

-f-

consonant

West Germ,

passes

into

eo, io;

and

Germ,

under the

same

circumstances,

into ea :

steorra,

star

;

heorte,

heart

;

eor<JFe,

earth

;

weor-

pan,

throw

Goth,

stairra,

hairtd,

air>a, wairpan,

OS.

sterro,

herta,

ertha,

werpan,

etc.

WS.

earm,

arm;

wearp, threw;

wearff, became,

Goth,

arms,

warp,

warp.

THE

VOWELS.

NOTE 1.

The

breaking

remains,

even

when

the second

consonant

is lost :

feorh,

life

; ffweorh,

across

; mearh,

horse

;

gen.

feores,

ffweores,

meares

(218)

For

warff,

-worff,

see

43. 2.

NOTE

On the

other

hand,

breaking

does

not occur in

the

umlaut

forms

aernan,

run, baernan, burn,

nor

berstan

burst,

fferscan,

thresh,

fersc,

fresh,

caerse,

cress,

gaers,

grass,

baerst,

burst,

aern,

house,

ha-rn,

wave,

because

these cases the

consonant is

the result

metathesis

(179).

Why

there should be

absence

breaking

haerfest,

harvest

(but

50.

note

2),

and

brerd,

margin

(unless

the

latter

word

there be

i-umlaut of

93),

not

evident. For

arn

(ojrn),

barn

(bQrn),

see

65. note

386. note

But,

notwithstanding

the

metathesis,

we have

beornan

(byrnan),

burn,

and

ieruan

(yrnan),

run

Goth,

brinnan,

riniian

(see

under 2

below).

NOTE 3.

Breaking

rare occurrence

foreign

words

;

thus,

have

arce-

beside

aerce-,

arch

(in

such

words as

arcebiscop,

arch'

bishop'),

martrian,

martyr

;

and,

LWS.,

usually

arc, ark,

carcern,

prison,

where EWS.

commonly prefers

earc,

ccarcern.

West

Germ,

was likewise broken to

io,

;

but

as West Germ,

only

appears

before

consonant

cases where

formerly

followed this combination

(45.2),

WS.

io,

eo is

umlauted,

in hierde

(Goth, hairdeis),

etc.

(see

lOO,

but

also note

above).

Before

consonant.

80. West

Germ, a before

-+-

consonant

usually

changed

ea,

but

a is

often

retained,

especially

the

older

documents

feallan,

fall,

eald,

old, healf,

half,

along

with

fallan, aid,

half

(perhaps

precisely

fallan, aid,

half,

according

124.

see also

note

3),

Goth,

fallan,

etc.

NOTE

For forms like

Wealh

Wfeales, Welshman,

see

79.

note

242

;

for their

i-umlaut,

98.

NOTE

Breaking

takes

place

before

only

when the latter

Germanic

origin,

as in

feallan,

fall,

call, all,

weallan,

boil;

with

i-umlaut, fiell,

fyll,

fall,

etc.

(98).

Before

the 11 from Germanic

(228),

on the

other

hand,

we have

always e,,

i.e. the i-umlaut of

the

PHONOLOGY.

unchanged

h$ll,

hell,

ixjllan,

tell;

the

only

exception

siellan,

syllan

(CP.

only

sejlan,

North,

sealla),

give (for

*sealljan),

Goth.

sal

Jan.

NOTE

Breaking

is not found

foreign

words borrowed

LWS. :

pa'll,

pallium.

NOTE

Even

in LWS. there

is no

sign

breaking

certain

words,

such

balca, beam, dale, brooch,

laid,

fold.

the oldest

form

of this word

in OE.

falud,

falaed,

is not

improbable

that

there

has been

syncopation

rowel

following

the 1

the other

words

of this

kind

(cf.

also

haelfter,

50. note

2).

81. West

Germ, e

undergoes

breaking

eo,

io,

only

before

Ih,

Ic:

seolh,

gen.

stoles,

seal;

eolh,

elk;

sceolh,

squinting

;

f4olan,

command

(from

feolhan,

see

218)

;

aseolcan,

languish;

meolcan,

milk

(387);

heolca

(?),

hoar-frost;

exceptionally

heolfor,

gore,

and

seolf,

self

(dialectic,

Ps.),

beside

sielf,

sylf

(with

palatal

umlaut,

101. note

2),

and

unchanged

self

(this

form

exclusively

found in

CP.).

other

cases,

before

consonant

retained

swellan,

swell;

helm,

helmet;

helpan,

help;

sweltan, die,

etc.

NOTE

Whether

the eo's

reduplicated preterits

weoll,

In-old,

etc.

(396),

are to be

regarded

the results of

breaking,

or as

originally long,

remains uncertain.

NOTE

Breaking

might

likewise

be assumed

before

Iw in

geolo,

yellow,

gen. geolowes,

etc.

(from

the stem

gelwo-)

;

but this

may

a case

u-umlaut,

such

as we have

its

derivative

geol(o)ca, yolk

(106.1),

and

heolstor,

concealment

(helustr, Ep.);

the

latter

word,

however,

also

occurs

the

form

heolhstor,

which

clearly

instance of

breaking.

Before

82.

Before

consonant

hs,

221.

2),

and

before

the

which

terminates a

syllable,

Germanic a is

broken

ea:

geneahhe,

abundant;

eahta,

eight;

meahte,

THE VOWELS. 45

could; meaht,

might;

neaht,

night;

feax,

hair;

weaxan,

grow;

also

hliehhan,

hlyhhan,

laugh

(with

i-umlaut,

98);

cf. Goth,

ahtau, mahta,

mahts,

nahts,

fahs,

wahsjan,

hlahjan ;

WS.

gefeah,

seah,

pret.

sing,

gefon,

rejoice,

s6on,

see

(391. 2).

NOTE. For

inilit

niht, etc.,

instead of

meaht, neaht,

see

98. note.

breaking

appears

laehte

(from

laeccean,

407),

or in the

foreign

trahtiaii, consider,

and its derivatives.

83.

Under the

same conditions

the

foregoing

paragraph,

Germ,

was

originally

broken to

eo,

though

but few

forms have

been

preserved

with an

invariable

eo :

teoh,

order

;

teohhiaii,

arrange

;

eohtan,

imp.

gefeoh,

seoh

(367

;

391.

;

probably

feoh,

cattle,

eoh,

horse.

other words older

quite

rare

e.g.

seox,

six; reoht,

right;

cneoht,

boy.

The result

usually disguised

by palatal

umlaut

(101).

84. Even

Germ,

subject

this

breaking

io,

eo,

and then to

palatal

umlaut,

which leads

back to

i :

miox, meox,

ordure

(Goth,

maikstus)

;

Piohtas,

Peoh-

tas,

Picts

;

Wioht,

the Isle

of Wight;

and

proper

names like

Wiohthtin, Wiohtgdr,

etc.,

besides occasional

Pihtas, Wiht,

etc.

NOTE

1. So

also

leoht,

easy,

with

previous shortening

of i

the

contrary,

the WS.

imperatives

teoh,

ffeoh, wre"oh,

from

the con-

tract verbs

teon, ff6on,

wreon

(383),

probably

owe their

to the

analogy

of the contract

forms

(Ps.

North,

tih,

etc.).

NOTE

Breaking

is sometimes even caused

the x

arising

from

metathesis

betweox, between,

but sometimes betwix.

NOTE 3.

There

are likewise isolated

occurrences

of other

breakings,

com,

aw,

Goth.

(427),

and

heoin,

dat.

plur.

of the

pro-

noun

(334).

These

cases

admit, however,

of another

explanation

(Paul,

Beitr.

VI.

ff.).

PHONOLOGY.

THE

UMLAUTS.

85.

Umlaut,

in Germanic

grammar,

denotes those

mutations

a stressed

vowel which are caused

vowel

semi-vowel

(j,

of the

following

syllable.

There

is,

therefore,

division into

a-umlaut,

i-umlaut,

u-umlaut,

etc.,

according

to the sound

which

the

umlaut

produced.

Moreover,

the

palatal

consonants

of OE.

exercise

a similar

influence

upon

the accented

vowels

which

precede

them

that

which

produced

therefore

add to the

number of

umlauts

already

mentioned

the

palatal

umlaut,

which

peculiar

to OE.

86.

The

mutations

of a

basic vowel

umlaut

are

two

kinds

OE.

They

consist either

in a

partial

assimilation

of the

basic

vowel

to the

following

sound,

or in

the

development

the

basic vowel into

diph-

thong.

The former is the

case

with the

i-umlaut,

e.g.

he.re,

army,

older

h^ri,

from

hari,

and

likewise

with

the

palatal

umlaut

(101)

;

the latter

the case

with

the

and

o-umlaut,

ealu, ale,

from

*alu,

eofur,

boar,

from *efur.

NOTE. Grimm

regarded

the second kind

of umlaut

as a subordinate

species

breaking

;

but it

seems better to confine

the

term

breaking

to the

phenomena

comprised

under

77,

and to

speak

of u-

and

o-umlaut

well as of

i-umlaut.

87.

regards

the

relative

age

of the various

umlauts,

probable

that

the

i-umlaut

is the

oldest

of all.

succeeds

breaking

order of

time,

but

precedes

the

u-umlaut,

since it

already prevails

in documents

which

exhibit

but

scanty

traces of

u-nmlaut

(78).

The

palatal

umlaut

seems to

the most

recent 01

the

number;

its

influence

scarcely

extends backward

beyond

historic