*arjaną
Runic: ᚨᚱᛃᚨᚾᚨ Pronunciation: /ˈɑr.jɑ.nɑ̃/verb · Strong class 7 j-present
Meanings
to plow; to till (the soil)
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *h₂éryeti, an imperfective y-present of root *h₂erh₃-; root-final *h₃ was regularly lost before *y (Pinault’s Law), yielding the stem continued by Proto-Germanic *arj- (Kroonen 2013: 34; Ringe 2017: 214–15; Rix et al. 2001: 272–73; Weiss 2020: 484–85). Cognate with Old Irish airid, Lithuanian ariù, Old Church Slavonic орѭ (orjǫ), Ancient Greek ἀρόω (aróō), and Latin arō. Kloekhorst (2008: 300–301, 312–314) proposes that PIE *h₂erh₃- originally meant ‘crush’, reflected in Hittite ḫarra-/ḫarr-, with ‘plow’ developing only after the Anatolian branch had split off. Schürr (2023: 106–109) objects that ḫarra- is not attested with regard to working soil and points instead to Hittite ḫārš-, attested as 𒄯𒀸𒍣 (ḫar-aš-zi /ḫarszi/), which may be an s-extended formation of *h₂erh₃-; together with the broad distribution of the ‘plow’ family, especially the Tocharian evidence, this supports reconstructing ‘plow’ already for PIE.
Conjugation
The past tense forms are reduplicated; otherwise, Strong class 6 would be expected, based on the root. The Strong class 7 classification is based on a single attested OHG attestation, iarun (‘they plowed’), though this could be an OHG innovation. In the other daughter languages, the past is either weak or unattested.
Conjugation
Present active
| Person | Indicative | Subjunctive | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | arjō | arjaų | – |
| 2nd singular | arisi | arjais | ari |
| 3rd singular | ariþi | arjai | arjaþau |
| 1st dual | arjōs | arjaiw | – |
| 2nd dual | arjaþiz | arjaiþiz | arjaþiz |
| 1st plural | arjamaz | arjaim | – |
| 2nd plural | ariþ | arjaiþ | ariþ |
| 3rd plural | arjanþi | arjain | arjanþau |
Present passive
| Person | Indicative | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | arjai | – |
| 2nd singular | arjasai | arjaisau |
| 3rd singular | arjaþai | arjaiþau |
| 1st dual | – | – |
| 2nd dual | – | – |
| 1st plural | arjanþai | arjainþau |
| 2nd plural | arjanþai | arjainþau |
| 3rd plural | arjanþai | arjainþau |
Past
| Person | Indicative | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | ear | earį̄ |
| 2nd singular | eart | earīz |
| 3rd singular | ear | earī |
| 1st dual | earū | earīw |
| 2nd dual | earudiz | earīdiz |
| 1st plural | earum | earīm |
| 2nd plural | earud | earīd |
| 3rd plural | earun | earīn |
Non-finite Forms
| Infinitive | Present Participle | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| arjaną | arjandz | aranaz |
Descendants
-
*arjan (Proto-West Germanic)
- era, ara (Old Frisian)
- erian (Old Saxon)
-
*arjan (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*erien, *erren (Old Dutch)
- ēren, ērien, erren (Middle Dutch)
-
*erien, *erren (Old Dutch)
-
*arjan (Proto-West Germanic)
-
erian (Old English)
-
eren, eeren, ere, erie, erye, eyr, herie, herye, heryȝen, ærien, erien (Middle English)
- ear (archaic) (English)
- ear (Scots)
-
eren, eeren, ere, erie, erye, eyr, herie, herye, heryȝen, ærien, erien (Middle English)
-
erian (Old English)
-
*arjan (Proto-West Germanic)
-
erien, erren (Old High German)
- ern (Middle High German)
-
erien, erren (Old High German)
-
erja (Old Norse)
- erja (Icelandic)
-
erja (Old Norse)
-
æriæ (Old Danish)
- ærje (Danish)
-
æriæ (Old Danish)
-
erja (Old Norse)
-
æria (Old Swedish)
- ärja (Swedish)
-
æria (Old Swedish)
- 𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (arjan) (Gothic)