Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/habą

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈxɑ.βɑ̃/

Etymology 1

As if from Proto-Indo-European *kap-ó-m. Derived from the root *kap- (“to seize; take up; lift”).^[1] The likely original abstract meaning “lift, lifting”—still perceivable in derivatives like Old Norse upphaf (“beginning”) and Old High German urhab (“cause, reason”)—was concretized to “sea” because of the way the sea swell lifts ships.

Noun

*habą n

sea

Inflection

Declension of *habą (neuter a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*habą	*habō
vocative	*habą	*habō
accusative	*habą	*habō
genitive	habas, habis	*habǫ̂
dative	*habai	*habamaz
instrumental	*habō	*habamiz

Synonyms

Derived terms

*habanō (“harbour”)

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *hab
- Old English: hæf, heaf
- Old Frisian: *haf, hef
  - North Frisian: haf, haft, heef
- Old Saxon: *haf
  - Middle Low German: haf
    - German Low German: Haff
      - → German: Haff (“lagoon”)
        → Dutch: haf
        → Polish: haf
- Old Dutch: haf
- Old High German: *hab
  - Middle High German: hap (genitive: habes)
Old Norse: haf
- Icelandic: haf
- Faroese: hav
- Norn: hav
- Norwegian Nynorsk: hav
- Old Swedish: haf
  - Swedish: hav
- Danish: hav
  - Norwegian Bokmål: hav
- Gutnish: hav, av
- → Scots: haaf
- → English: haaf
→ Proto-Samic: *āpē (see there for further descendants)

Etymology 2

The original sense of the above, synchronically analyzed as a nominal formation from *habjaną (“to life, heave”).^[2]

Noun

*habą n^[2]

lift, lifting, elevation

Inflection

Declension of *habą (neuter a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*habą	*habō
vocative	*habą	*habō
accusative	*habą	*habō
genitive	habas, habis	*habǫ̂
dative	*habai	*habamaz
instrumental	*habō	*habamiz

Related terms

*habjaną (“to lift, heave”)

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *hab
- Old English: *haf, *hæf
  - ⇒? Middle English: haftre (“support beam”)
- Old High German: *hab
  - ⇒ Old High German: urhab n or m (“cause, reason”)
    - Middle High German: urhap
      - German: Urhab
- ⇒ Proto-West Germanic: *habattjan
  - >? Old English: hafettan
    - ⇒? Old English: hafetian (“to applaud”)
- ⇒ Proto-West Germanic: *habu
  - >? Old English: *hafu (possibly a back-formation from the neuter plural)
    - ⇒ Old English: *āhafu
      - ⇒ Old English: ūpāhafu (“elevation”)
Old Norse: *haf
- ⇒ Old Norse: upphaf (“beginning”) (see there for further descendants)

References

^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*habanō-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 196-7: “*haba-”
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Vladimir Orel (2003), “*xaƀan II”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 147

[1] Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*habanō-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 196-7: “*haba-”

[HGE-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Vladimir Orel (2003), “*xaƀan II”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎^[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 147

[1]

[2]