West Germanic temporal halflines
PWG *langā hwīlā & *uʀlaghwīlu
by C Ryan Moniz
original research· spring 2013 - harvest 2021
updated & published· spring 2022
Mjǫðr Óðins· Reconstructing Germanic verse formulae
These two formulae specific to West Germanic involve reflexes of Proto-West-Germanic *hwīlu ‘while, period of time.’ The first is an adverbial phrase *langā hwīlā ‘for a long while.’ The other is a compound *uʀlaghwīlu ‘time of battle.’
PWG *langā hwīlā
Old Saxon
langa hwîla
• Hêliand 470a, 487a; 1028a; 1122a
langa hwîla | lange hwîla | lange hwîle
• Hêliand 170a; 1106b; 5691a; 5802a
lengron hwîla | lengeron hwîle | lengerun hwîla | langerun hwîl
• Hêliand 1243a; 1624b
langaru hwîlu | languru hwîlu
Old English
lange hwíle
• Béowulf 16a, 2159b, 2780a; The Dream of the Rood 24b; Daniel 660a
lange hwíle
In Old English, there is a variant which replaces hwíle with þráge ‘season, time, while’ (with no known cognates)
• Béowulf 114a, 1257b; The Capture of the Five Boroughs 11a; Meters of Boethius 26 103b
lange þráge
• Wídsíþ 88b; Gúþlác 1184b
ealle þráge
PWG *uʀlaghwīlu
Old Saxon
orlaghwîl
• Hêliand 3355b
orlaghwîle
Old English
orleghwíl
• Béowulf 2002a; 2427a; 2911a
orleghwíl | orleghwíla | orleghwíle
Mjǫðr Óðins· Reconstructing Germanic verse formulae