7. PHRASAL VERBS USED AS NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
8.3 Meanings of prefixes in OE and ME
8.3.1 Prefixes in OE
Verbal prefixes in Germanic show a wide range of meanings from concrete to abstract, sometimes quite opaque, or meaningless, much like the post-verbal particles in Modern English. Streitberg (1891) recognises the
‘perfectivizing function’, (often referred to as ‘perfective’, ‘intensive’ or
‘completive’ meaning of Germanic prefixes, while Lindemann (1970: 9) suggests that the Germanic prefixes express a ‘terminative’ or ‘telic’
Aktionsart:
... a preverb may modify the action of the verb in such a manner as to indicate that the action tends towards a local goal, or even that it reaches such a goal and thereby completes the action per se, e.g.
overdo, undergo, bequeath, bypass, or uphold. Such completion, however, is inherent in the semantic substance of the word, part of its essential meaning; completion is here not syntactic but lexical. What we have here is not aspect but ‘manner of action’, Aktionsart in its true sense.
Now let us see what verbal prefixes existed in OE and what kind of meanings they had.
A standard grammar of Old English lists the following prefixes:
OE prefix Meaning Modern German cognate
a) å- away, out er-
be-, bi- about, around be-,bei-
for- forth, away ver-
full- full voll-
ge- together ge-
of- off, away ab-
to- apart, away zer-
þurh- through durch-
b) forð- towards fort-
ofer- over über-
up- up, away auf-
ût- out, away aus-
ymb- around um-
The prefixes in a) express ‘perfective’, ‘intensive’ or ‘completive senses (Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 109-19), while the ones in b) are said to have only
‘adverbial’ or ‘concrete’ senses. Although Quirk and Wrenn list ût-, and up- as prefixes, Brinton (1988: 280) notes that they are extremely rare as verbal prefixes in Old English. Brinton (1988: 22) argues that “when not purely spatial in meaning, all these prefixes may, like the post-verbal particles in Modern English indicate the goal of action. Thus, they are better analysed as expressions of telic Aktionsart than of perfective or intensive aspect.” For an understanding of the development of Aktionsart meaning in these forms, it is important to note that in their concrete sense, the above prefixes except ge- (together) and full- (full) all have a directional meaning of movement from or to.
þurh- (through) is a verbal prefix which according to Quirk and Wrenn (1957: 118) modifies verbs with the sense of ‘through, completely’, e.g.
a. þurhirnan ‘to run through’ where the prefix is primarily directional in meaning and occurs with a verb of motion.
b. þurhclænsian ‘to cleanse thoroughly’ where the prefix may have both meanings ‘to clean through’ (directional) and ‘to clean to the end, completely, thoroughly (telic) according to Brinton (1988:
205).
c. þurhtêon ‘to carry through or out, to an end, to accomplish’ where the root of the verb undergoes a metaphorical shift from the physical to the mental domain, bringing the prefix along.
d. þurhlæran ‘to persuade’ where the meaning of the prefix is restricted to the meaning of non-spatial goal or endpoint.
of- (off, away) ‘usually gives perfective aspect’ (cf. Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 114) or normally occurs with an intensive value’ (cf. de la Cruz 1975:
56). Brinton (1988: 208), however, refers to the following meanings:
a. ofgifan ‘to give up, leave, abandon’, which is primarily telic but retains some directional meaning.
b. ofsettan ‘to beset, press hard, oppress’ in which a metaphorical shift from the physical to the mental domain has affected the root, and the prefix marks the endpoint of psychological pressure, namely oppression.
tõ- (apart, away) is a prefix in the case of which the directional meaning of ‘apart’ ‘asunder’ often combines with the intensive value (cf. de la Cruz 1975:70). ‘With many verbs, especially verbs of force it gives ‘perfective aspect’ or denotes ‘separation’ (cf. Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 114 and Brinton 1988: 206) interprets its meanings like this:
a. tõberstan ‘to burst asunder’ (directional + the notion of goal)
b. tõcwisan ‘to shatter, to break to pieces’ (with the notion of goal, literal)
tõsyndrian ‘to separate, Fig. ‘to distinguish’ (with the notion of goal, literal & figurative) in which the root has both a literal and a figurative meaning i.e. the physical action of dividing and the mental action of dividing.
c. tõcnawan ‘to discern, distinguish’; with non-concrete verbs with purely telic meaning
for- (forth, away)‘intensifies, often with a shift to perfective aspect’ (cf.
Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 110). De la Cruz (1975: 51) suggests that it may have developed the connotation of “wrongness” or “the contrary with a negative connotation.” Brinton (1988: 208) points out that the adverbial
endpoint of an activity, which may result in intensification, or destruction, e.g.
a. forwisnian ‘to wither away’ (telic)
b. forrotian ‘to become wholly rotten’ (the prefix intensifies the endpoint)
c. forswerian ‘ to forswear’ (negative connotation esp. with verbs of speaking)
Although Quirk and Wrenn (1957: 114) say that ofer- (over)‘has straightforward adverbial sense’ with verbs and indicates ‘superiority in degree or quality’, Brinton (1988: 208) states that it frequently denotes telicity with verbs as well, e.g.
a. oferseglian ‘to cross by sailing’ (notion of crossing) b. oferseolfrian ‘to cover with silver’ (notion of covering) c. oferdrincan ‘to overdrink’ (excessiveness)
d. oferhogian ‘to despise, condemn’ (negative connotation) e. oferirnan ‘to run over a subject’ (figurative meaning, very rare) The semantics of the prefix be- (about, around) are quite complex.
Frequently, be- seems to have a transitivizing function in OE or sometimes has an Aktionsart meaning (cf. de la Cruz 1975: 64) or it may add the sense
‘round, over’, often with only intensifying or perfective effect (cf. Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 110). According to Brinton (1988: 209), the concept of goal can be understood to follow from the directional meaning of surrounding or encompassing, e.g.
a. bewindan ‘to wind round’ in which be- has directional and telic meaning.
b. bestandan ‘to stand by, surround’, in which and intransitive verb is made transitive by the prefix be-, with the object indicating the endpoint of the action.
Brinton (1988: 210) states that the prefix ymb- (around), with a concrete meaning similar to that of be-, acquires Aktionsart meaning in much the same way, e.g. ymbhlennan ‘to crowd about, surround’ in which directional and telic meaning coexist.
Though forð- (towards), too, is considered by Quirk and Wrenn (1957:
116) to modify verbs only with a concrete meaning of ‘motion forwards’, it may assume telic meaning according to Brinton, e.g.
a. forðfaran ‘to forth, depart, die’
b. forðberan ‘to bear or carry forth, bring forth, produce‘ with verbs of carrying, pulling where the verbal root has undergone a metaphorical shift.
Neither ã- (away, out) nor ge- (together) provides clear evidence for the semantic shift from directional to telic, since back in OE their meanings are widely extended. Both Quirk and Wrenn (1957: 119) and de la Cruz (1975:
73) point out that ã- has a mere intensifying meaning changing the aspect from durative to perfective. Nonetheless, Brinton (1988: 210) lists examples in which directional and telic meanings co-exist in OE, e.g.
ãfyllan ‘to fill up’
ãsceacan ‘to shake off‘
ãwrîtan ‘to write out, down’
OE ful- (ful) is also said to have perfective meaning (cf. Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 16) or denotes the “fullness, completeness or perfection” of the meaning of the word with which it is joined (cf. Bosworth and Toller 1973: 8), but Brinton (1988: 11) points out that its origin and subsequent history differ from those of the above -mentioned verbal prefixes. Ful- is clearly adjectival rather than adverbial in origin. As a verbal prefix, it is fairly productive in OE, e.g.
fulbrecan ‘to break entirely’
fulgangan ‘to fulfil, accomplish, finish’
It is not at all productive in ME. Instead, ful- becomes a very frequent intensifier, especially with adjectives, adverbs and verb phrases.
No prefixes in OE are said to mark continuation or iteration, as on- does in Modern English. OE on- often indicates the inception of an action (cf.
Quirk and Wrenn 1957: 111-12), e.g.
ontendan ‘to set fire to, to kindle’
onslæpan ‘to fall asleep’
As might be evident from the above examples, in the majority of cases, OE prefixes are primarily directional in meaning. In some of them a shift from directional to telic meanings can be observed, while some others have purely telic meaning. There are also some prefixed verbs which have both literal and figurative meanings. The purely figurative meanings, however, are not very common in the OE period.
8.3.2 Prefixes in Middle English
During the ME period some of the OE verbal prefixes continue to be productive as Aktionsart markers. However, the meanings of a-, ge-, and on- are seriously over-extended, and as these prefixes become semantically unclear or empty, they cease to be productive derivational forms.
New formations with the prefixes bi-, for-, forth-, of-, out(e)-,and over-, as well as with to- and thurh-, are attested with directional, telic, and various extended meanings. In fact, of-, out(e)- and over- are deemed very productive in the ME period and have telic (a) and extended meanings, especially of ‘superiority and ‘excess’ (b).
a. outbãken ‘ to bake thoroughly’
ofernen‘ to overtake; flee; run /a horse/ to exhaustion’
overbrennen ‘to destroy with fire’
b. outrennen‘ to outrun’
ofrîden ‘ to outride’
overchaufen ‘to overheat’
The prefix bi- continues to have both transitivizing and Aktionsart functions in ME, e.g. bicasten ‘to surround or cover’.
For- is likewise productive in ME, especially with negative connotations (of failure, opposite results) with goal interpretations, e.g.
forlêten ‘to forsake, give up’
forwerpen ‘to cast out, banish’
The prefix to- continues to have directional and telic force in ME, e.g.
toreaven ‘to take completely away’
The values of the prefixes forth- and thurh- remain in ME much the same as in OE, though neither prefix is highly productive, e.g.
forthcasten ‘to cast out, reject’
thurhcostnen ‘to provide completely’