The Sun: a female word...

[llama_nom]

There are two words for "sun" attested in Gothic, both ultimately
derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root.

(1) 'sauil' (Mk 1:32, Mk 13:24), both times in this form of the word.
In neither instance are there any modifiers to confirm its gender, but
the form of the word is consistent with its being neuter, and would be
unusual if it wasn't neuter; it is listed as neuter in Streitberg's
dictionary. In both examples, the word appears as the subject of a
verb, 'gasigqan' "to sink" and 'riqizjan' "to grow dark" respectively.
The former is attested elsewhere with a nominative subject. Cognates
appear in Old Norse 'sol' (long o, feminine), and Old English 'sigel'
(neuter).

(2) 'sunno' (L 4:40, Eph 4:26, Neh 7:3 - Mt 5:45 - Mk 4:4, Mk, 16:2).
In the first three instances cited here, the word is nominative and
ends in -o, which can be either feminine or neuter. In Mt 5:45, the
accusative 'sunnon seina' "his sun" is unambiguously feminine. In the
remaining two instances, it appears in the dative form 'sunnin', the
-in ending being normal for a neuter or masculine noun of this type.
(The corresponding feminine dative ending was -on.) Cognates are
ubiquitous in Germanic, usually feminine: OE. sunne, OFris. sunne,
sonne (WFris. sinne, sonne, son, NFris. sen), OS. sunna (MLG., LG.
sunne), MDu. zonne (Du. zon), OHG. sunno (long o) (MHG. sunne, sun,
MG. sonne, son, G. sonne), ON. sunna (poet.), Goth. sunno.  But
masculine forms are also found: OE. sunna, = OFris. sonna, OS. sunno,
OHG. sunna, Goth. sunna. This list is based on that in the Oxford
English Dictionary entry "sun".

I'll have leave it to someone more knowledgeable to follow up on the
cognates outside of Germanic and their genders. The root occurs in
Celtic, Latin, Greek, Baltic, Indo-Iranian and Albanian.

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