Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gāną

This Proto-Germanic 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.

Proto-Germanic

Alternative forms

• *gēną

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to go, reach”). The suppletive past tense is from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”), although all modern Germanic languages have eliminated this stem by further suppletion or innovation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɣɑː.nɑ̃/

Verb

*gāną

1. to go, walk

   Synonyms: *ganganą, *līþaną

Inflection

Irregular; the present is similar to verbs of weak class 3-ā. The past is suppletive and is formed with a stem *ijj-.

Conjugation of *gāną (irregular, suppletive)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*gō	?	—	—	—
2nd singular	*gaisi	?	*gai	—	—
3rd singular	*gaiþi	?	*gāþau	—	—
1st dual	*gōs	?	—	—	—
2nd dual	*gāþiz	?	*gāþiz	—	—
1st plural	*gāmaz	?	—	—	—
2nd plural	*gaiþ	?	*gaiþ	—	—
3rd plural	*gānþi	?	*gānþau	—	—
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*ijjǭ	*ijjēdį̄
2nd singular	*ijjēz	*ijjēdīz
3rd singular	*ijjē	*ijjēdī
1st dual	*ijjēdū	*ijjēdīw
2nd dual	*ijjēdudiz	*ijjēdīdiz
1st plural	*ijjēdum	*ijjēdīm
2nd plural	*ijjēdud	*ijjēdīd
3rd plural	*ijjēdun	*ijjēdīn
	present	past
participles	*gāndz	*gānaz

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *gān
  • Old English: gān
    • Middle English: gon, gan, ga, goo, goon, go
      • English: go
      • Geordie English: gan
      • Middle Scots: go, goe, gone
        • Scots: gan, gae, ga, gang
      • Yola: goe, gow, go, goeth (influnced by Irish silent -th)
  • Old Frisian: gān
    • Saterland Frisian: geen (simple past, past participle of gunge)
    • West Frisian: gean
  • Old Saxon: gān
    • Middle Low German: gân
      • Dutch Low Saxon: gan, gaon
      • German Low German: gahn
      • Plautdietsch: gone
  • Old Dutch: gān
    • Middle Dutch: gâen
      • Dutch: gaan
        • Afrikaans: gaan
        • Javindo: ha, haat
        • Jersey Dutch: xân, xâne
        • Petjo: gaan, haan
      • Limburgish: gaon
  • Old High German: gān, gēn
    • Middle High German: gān, gēn, kēn
      • Alemannic German: gaa, gan, ge, gi, goo, gu

        Swabian: gau, geha

      • Bavarian: geh, gea, gean, gian

        Cimbrian: gian, ghéenan (Sette Comuni)

        Northern Bavarian: [ɡ̊ɛi]

      • Central Franconian: giehn, gohn (northeastern Moselle Franconian), john, jonn (Ripuarian)

        Hunsrik: gehn, keen

        Luxembourgish: goen

      • East Central German: gii, giin (Erzgebirgisch)

        Upper Saxon German:

        Vilamovian: gejn

      • East Franconian:
      • German: gehen
      • Rhine Franconian: geh, gehe, gäh, gähe, gäj, gäje, gih, gihe, gej, geje

        Frankfurterisch: [g̥ε̃ː]

        Pennsylvania German: geh

      • Yiddish: גיין (geyn)
• Old Norse: gá
  • Icelandic: gá
  • Faroese: gá
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: gå
  • Elfdalian: gą̊
  • Old Swedish: gā
    • Swedish: gå
  • Danish: gå
    • Norwegian Bokmål: gå
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (gaggan) (only the past tense forms, e.g. 𐌹𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰 (iddja))
• Crimean Gothic: geen (infinitive only)