Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/nāhwijan
Proto-West Germanic
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *nēhwijaną, equivalent to *nāhw (“near”) + *-jan. Related to Old Norse ná (“to approach”) a class 3 weak verb derived from the same root.
Verb
*nāhwijan
Inflection
| Class 1 weak | ||
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | *nāhwijan | |
| 1st sg. past | *nāhwidā | |
| Infinitive | *nāhwijan | |
| Genitive infin. | *nāhwijannjas | |
| Dative infin. | *nāhwijannjē | |
| Instrum. infin. | *nāhwijannju | |
| Indicative | Present | Past |
| 1st singular | *nāhwiju | *nāhwidā |
| 2nd singular | *nāhwisi | *nāhwidēs, *nāhwidōs |
| 3rd singular | *nāhwiþi | *nāhwidē, *nāhwidā |
| 1st plural | *nāhwijum | *nāhwidum |
| 2nd plural | *nāhwiþ | *nāhwidud |
| 3rd plural | *nāhwijanþ | *nāhwidun |
| Subjunctive | Present | Past |
| 1st singular | *nāhwijē | *nāhwidī |
| 2nd singular | *nāhwijēs | *nāhwidī |
| 3rd singular | *nāhwijē | *nāhwidī |
| 1st plural | *nāhwijēm | *nāhwidīm |
| 2nd plural | *nāhwijēþ | *nāhwidīd |
| 3rd plural | *nāhwijēn | *nāhwidīn |
| Imperative | Present | |
| Singular | *nāhwi | |
| Plural | *nāhwiþ | |
| Present | Past | |
| Participle | *nāhwijandī | *nāhwid |
Related terms
Descendants
Some of the descendants show 'g' where 'h' is expected, this is likely a Verner alternation.
- Old English: *nǣgan
- ⇒ Old English: ġenǣgan
- Old Saxon: nāhian
- Middle Low German: nēgen
- Old High German: nāhen
- Middle High German: nähen
References
- Vladimir Orel (2003) “*nēxwēnan ~ *nēxwjanan”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 286