𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌹𐌻

Gothic

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥, and cognate to Old English sōl and Old Norse sól f, though reconstructing a Proto-Germanic form of this etymon is difficult; it may possibly have been a consonant stem Proto-Germanic *sōel (from an earlier *sōwel with unexpected full-grade, whence the Gothic form) or Proto-Germanic *sōl (from an earlier *sōwul with zero-grade, whence the Old English (remodeled as an a-stem) and Old Norse form (remodeled as an feminine ō-stem); one can see Ringe 2017 and Kroonen 2011 and 2013 for details. In the Indo-European root lies also the origin of 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 (sunnō), as well as Koine Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios), which both of the Gothic terms translate.

The term was an l-/n-stem in Proto-Indo-European, and Kroonen (2013) considers it likely that the Gothic term was too, as well as the Proto-Germanic form (which he reconstructs as a neuter heteroclitic stem *sōel), thus viewing the dative form 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌹𐌽 (sunnin) as the regular dative form of the present lemma as part of a declension similar to the one of 𐍆𐍉𐌽 (fōn). Otherwise, 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌹𐌽 (sunnin) (attested twice in Mark) has generally been seen as a dative form of a neuter an-stem whose nominative form would be identical to the nominative of 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 f (sunnō) (see e. g. Kroonen 2011, Lehmann 1986, Streitberg s. 132, and especially Ringe 2017 with ref.).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɔː.il/

Proper noun

𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌹𐌻 • (sauil) n

1. the Sun (star)

   Synonym: 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 f (sunnō)

   • 4th Century, Wulfila (tr.), Gothic Bible: Gospel of Mark (Codex Argenteus) 1.32:

     𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰 𐌸𐌰𐌽 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰, 𐌸𐌰𐌽 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌵 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌹𐌻, 𐌱𐌴𐍂𐌿𐌽 𐌳𐌿 𐌹𐌼𐌼𐌰 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐌰𐌽𐍃 𐌸𐌰𐌽𐍃 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌻 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐍃 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌿𐌽𐌷𐌿𐌻𐌸𐍉𐌽𐍃 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐍃.

     andanahtja þan waurþanamma, þan gasaggq sauil, bērun du imma allans þans ubil habandans jah unhulþōns habandans.

     And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. (KJV).

   • 4th Century, Wulfila (tr.), Gothic Bible: Gospel of Mark (Codex Argenteus) 13.24:

     𐌰𐌺𐌴𐌹 𐌹𐌽 𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌽𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌽𐍃 𐌰𐍆𐌰𐍂 𐌸𐍉 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐍉𐌽 𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌹𐌻 𐍂𐌹𐌵𐌹𐌶𐌴𐌹𐌸 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰 𐌽𐌹 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌹𐌸 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌸 𐍃𐌴𐌹𐌽.

     akei in jainans dagans afar þō aglōn jaina sauil riqizeiþ jah mēna ni gibiþ liuhaþ sein.

     But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, (KJV).

Usage notes

This word for "Sun" is only used in Mark; in Nehemiah, Matthew, Luke and Ephesians is the apparent synonym 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 f (sunnō) used.

Declension

The dative form may have been 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌹𐌽 (sunnin), which also appears only in Mark; see the etymology section.

Coordinate terms

• 𐌰𐌿𐌶𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌻 (auzandil, “the morning star”)
• 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰 (mēna, “the Moon”)
• 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō, “star”)

See also

• 𐌿𐍂𐍂𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (urrinnan, “come forth, rise”)
• 𐍃𐌹𐌲𐌵𐌰𐌽 (sigqan, “sink, set”)
• 𐍄𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌻 (tuggl)

References

• Kroonen, Guus (2011) The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A study in diachronic morphophonology, Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 323
• Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*sōel- ~ *sunnōn-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 463–464: “The heteroclisy was preserved by Germanic, and probably remained intact even in Gothic, cf. nom. sauil, dat. sunnin.”
• Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910). Die gotische Bibel. Zweiter Teil: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter’s Universitätsbuchhandlung, p. 132
• Ringe, Donald (2017) From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1). Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 309–10: " […] the ON noun: PIE *sóh₂wl̥ > *sōwul > PGmc *sō̄l (?; see 3.2.6 (i) ) >→ *sōlō (fem., see below) > ON sól. The Gothic neuter noun sauil, attested twice, seems to show leveling of the oblique suffix ablaut *-e- into the direct form in *-l, though the details are hard to recover. But all the Gmc languages also attest an n-stem noun *sunnōn- […] feminine, evidently because 'moon' is masculine […] , though a neuter dat. sg. sunnin attested twice in Gothic suggests that this word too was originally neuter (cf. Braune and Ebbinghaus 1973:73 with references)."

Further reading

• Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986) “S164. sunno”, in A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the 3rd ed. of Feist’s dictionary, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 330
• Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910). Die gotische Bibel. Zweiter Teil: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter’s Universitätsbuchhandlung, p. 118