LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 05.OCT.1999 (05)

[Lowlands-L Administrator]

 =========================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 05.OCT.1999 (05) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/~sassisch/rhahn//lowlands/>
 User's Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 =========================================================================
 A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic
 =========================================================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 =========================================================================

From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Little words

Ian wrote: >>I do wonder about the origins of HG "stehen" (which in MHG is
"standan")<<, and Henno cites the same two forms.

Duden Herkunftswoerterbuch says the MHG infinitive was "stan" or "sten"
(long vowel in each
case), with "stand-" being the past tense root. It says that NHG "stehen"
came about by analogy with "gehen", but doesn't explain why this itself
developed from "gen", "gan" (long vowels again). Wright's Historical German
Grammar (Para 181 in my edition) says that the later form is modelled on the
norm of polysyllabic verbs and cites four others which changed similarly.
("Tun" and "sein" are the only remaining monosyllables.)

Henno asked about pairs such as gaan/ging in Dutch. An answer is that the
different parts of the later verb derive from different original verbs. So
"ging" comes from a verb *gangan (* in this case meaning I haven't looked up
the precise form). English "went" is, similarly, the past tense of "wend"
(OE "wendan"), "was" comes from OE "wesan", etc.

I was surprised to find that E. "stay" comes to us via Anglo-French
"estaier" from Old French "ester", meaning "stand", some parts of which have
come to make up some parts of the modern verb "{e^}tre": same idea again.

John Feather
johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

==================================END======================================
 * Please submit contributions to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Contributions will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
   to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
 =========================================================================