Reconstruction:Gothic/𐌰𐌽𐍃𐌿𐍃

This Gothic 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.

From Proto-Germanic *ansuz. Cognate with Old Norse áss. The Latinized plural ansis found in Jordanes' Getica is the basis for this reconstruction; Jordanes glosses the word as semideōs (“demigods”).

While based on its cognates a Gothic u-stem noun is expected to underlie the mention in Jordanes' Latin text, Köbler relates the Latin form to a Gothic plural form *anseis, which looks like an i-stem plural and thus would deviate from the expected u-stem pattern. He therefore not only mentions the possible u-stem lemma *ansus, but additionally suggests an i-stem *ans as possibly being the underlying Gothic lemma. Lehmann also points out the disconnect between the apparent i-stem plural attestation and the u-stem cognates. (But compare also the mixed declension of e.g. 𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aggilus).)

*𐌰𐌽𐍃𐌿𐍃 • (*ansus) m

1. (Germanic paganism) god or demigod

• → Latin: Ansis (from the plural)

• Köbler, Gerhard, Gotisches Wörterbuch (4th ed., 2014)
• Lehmann, Winfred, “anses”, in A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, Leiden: Brill, 1986, page 38.