niman

Gothic

Romanization

niman

1. romanization of 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽

Karao

Adverb

niman

1. now; today

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *neman, from Proto-Germanic *nemaną, from Proto-Indo-European *nem-.

Germanic cognates include Old Frisian nima, Old Saxon niman, Old Dutch neman, Old High German neman, Old Norse nema, Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (niman). The Indo-European root was also the source of Old Irish nem (“present”), Latvian ņemt (“to take”), Albanian nëm (“to take, curse”), Ancient Greek νέμω (némō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈni.mɑn/
• Rhymes: -i.mɑn

Verb

niman

1. (transitive) [with accusative] to take
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     ⁊ hæfdon ġeleornad mā cræfta hū hīe þā elpendas beswīcan mehton, mid þǣm þæt hīe nāmon trēowu, ⁊ slōgon on oþerne ende moniġe sċearpe īsene næġlas, ⁊ hīe mid flexe bewundon, ⁊ onbǣrndon hit, ⁊ beþyddan hit þonne on þone elpend hindan...

     And they had learned more tricks through which they could ensnare the elephants; they took stakes and drove into the other end many sharp iron nails, and wrapped them in flax, and set them on fire, and then thrust them into the elephant from behind...

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Mark 2:10-11

     Hē cwæð tō þām laman, þē iċ seċġe, arīs, nim ðīn bed, and gā tō þīnum hūse.

     He said to the lame man, "I say to you, arise, take your bed, and go to your house."

Conjugation

Conjugation of niman (strong, class IV)

infinitive	niman	nimenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	nime	nam, nōm
second person singular	nimest, nimst	nōme, nāme
third person singular	nimeþ, nimþ	nam, nōm
plural	nimaþ	nōmon, nāmon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	nime	nōme, nāme
plural	nimen	nōmen, nāmen
imperative
singular	nim
plural	nimaþ
participle	present	past
	nimende	(ġe)numen

Notes on Conjugation

• The variation in stem-vowels in the past tense is explained here. See cuman for a similar discussion.
  • The first-and-third-person singular forms in the past indicative ought to have been nam / nom. (See discussion of Proto-West-Germanic *a before nasal consonants.)
    • nam was the expected form in Late West Saxon and in Kentish. It appears in Early West Saxon, too.
    • nom was the expected form in Mercian and Northumbrian. It appears in Early West Saxon, too.
    • However, a form nōm existed in West Saxon, Mercian, and Northumbrian (if not also in Kentish). This form derived from the analogical transfer of the vowel /oː/ from the second-person singular form and the plural form into the first-and-third-person singular forms.
  • The second-person singular form and the plural form ought to have had ⟨nōm-⟩ as the stem. This results from the rounding and raising of Proto-West-Germanic *ā before nasal consonants before the written Old English period. Compare this with Old English mōna.
    • Aside from one occurrence in Mercian of a plural form indicating ⟨nām-⟩ (naamun /ˈnɑː.mun/ in the Épinal Glossary), both Mercian and Northumbrian used ⟨nōm-⟩ in all past-tense forms.
    • ⟨nām-⟩ appears in West Saxon alongside ⟨nōm-⟩ due to analogical processes.

Derived terms

• āniman
• beniman
• dǣlniman
• forniman
• ġeniman
• *numa
• numol
• oferniman
• underniman

Descendants

• Middle English: nimen, nymen
  • English: nim; numb (from past participle)
  • Scots: nim

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “niman”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• neman

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *neman.

Verb

niman

1. to take

Conjugation

Conjugation of niman (strong class 4)

infinitive	niman
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	nimu	nam
2nd person singular	nimis	nāmi
3rd person singular	nimid	nam
plural	nimad	nāmun
subjunctive	present	past
1st person singular	nime	nāmi
2nd person singular	nimes	nāmis
3rd person singular	nime	nāmi
plural	nimen	nāmin
imperative	present
singular	nim
plural	nimad
participle	present	past
	nimandi	ginuman, numan

Descendants

• Middle Low German: nēmen
  • Low German: nähmen, nöhmen, nehmen; (Westphalian) niämmen, niëmen, nüemen