Ahd.uoben und as.ōvian
2020 ◽
Vol 142
(3)
◽
pp. 307-329
AbstractIn this article I examine the origin of the long vowel *ō in the West-Germanic verb *ōbi̯an. The verb is continued in OHG uoben ›to practice‹ and OS ōvian ›to celebrate‹. The current explanations are doubtful. They are: 1.) *ōbi̯a- is derived from the strong feminine *ōbō-. 2.) There is an exclusively Germanic root *ōb-. 3.) *ōbi̯a- is a causative-iterative formation to a lost strong verb PGm *afaną. Five new suggestions are introduced and ordered according to probability. The best solution seems to be the completion of a pattern in analogy to families like *bata- ›good‹, *bōtō- ›making/becoming good/better‹ and *bōt(i)i̯aną ›to make/become good/better‹.