𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌰

From Proto-Germanic *uhsô, from Proto-Indo-European *uksḗn (“bull”), akin to English ox, German Ochse, and Icelandic oxi, and Sanskrit उक्षन् (ukṣan). A variant u-stem lemma *auhsus was once thought to underlie the forms auhsau and *auhsum (superseded reading, see below), but this view is no longer current among scholars.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔh.sa/

𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌰 • (auhsa) m

1. ox, neat (adult bovine specimen)
   • 4th Century, Wulfila (tr.), Gothic Bible: Book of Daniel (Gothica Bononiensia, folio 2 verso) 4.33, (quoted within the Bologna sermon):

     […] 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌳𐌰 𐌷𐌰𐍅𐌹 𐍃𐍅𐌴 [𐌰]𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌰, 𐌾‹𐌰›𐌷 […]

     […] jah matida hawi swē [a]uhsa, j‹a›h […]

     […] and he ate grass as an ox, and […] (Brenton Septuagint Translation).

   • 4th Century, Wulfila (tr.), Gothic Bible: Gospel of Luke (Codex Argenteus) 14.19:[1]

     𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂 𐌵𐌰𐌸: 𐌾𐌿𐌺𐌰 𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌽𐌴 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌰 𐍆𐌹𐌼𐍆 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰 𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 𐌸𐌰𐌽𐍃; 𐌱𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰 𐌸𐌿𐌺, 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹 𐌼𐌹𐌺 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌽𐌰.

     jah anþar qaþ: juka auhsnē usbauhta fimf jah gagga kausjan þans; bidja þuk, habai mik faurqiþanana.

     And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. (KJV).

   • 4th Century, Wulfila (tr.), Gothic Bible: First Epistle to Timothy (Codex Ambrosianus A) 5.18:[2]

     𐌵𐌰𐌸 𐌰𐌿𐌺 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃: 𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌰𐌿 𐌸𐍂𐌹𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌽 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸 𐌽𐌹 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌹𐍃; 𐌾𐌰𐌷: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐍃 𐍃𐌰 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅𐌰 𐌼𐌹𐌶𐌳𐍉𐌽𐍃 𐌹𐍃𐍄.

     qaþ auk gamēleins: auhsau þriskandin munþ ni faurwaipjais; jah: wairþs sa waurstwa mizdōns ist.

     For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. (KJV).

Irregular inflection preserving zero-grade forms. Attested only in the nominative singular, accusative singular, dative singular and genitive plural. The rest of the forms below are conjectural, based mostly on the u-stems. The u-stem forms in the singular presumably came about from the regular dative plural *𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌿𐌼, which was identical to dative plural of the u-stems (Lühr 1988). The second appearance of the words in 1 Corinthians 9:9 was read by Streitberg as 𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌿𐌼 (dative plural), but Ebbinghaus' (1972) reading as 𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃𐌽𐌿𐌽𐍃 (auhsnuns) (accusative plural) is today the usual reading (see ex. Kroonen 2011, Ringe 2017). For discussion of the various forms and variant readings of the dative and accusative singular, see Miller (2017) and Bammesberger (1990) with references.

• 𐌺𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍉 (kalbō, “heifer”)
• 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌿𐍂 (stiur, “male calf”)

• 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍃 (gaits, “goat”)
• 𐌻𐌰𐌼𐌱 (lamb, “sheep, lamb”)
• 𐌿𐌻𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃 (ulbandus, “camel”)
• 𐍃𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽 (swein, “pig”)

• Bammesberger, Alfred (1990). Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens. Heidelberg: Winter, p. 170.
• Falluomini, Carla (2016). "Textausgabe des gotischen Codex Bononiensis" in: Auer, Anite & Michiel de Vaan. Le palimpseste gotique de Bologne Études philologiques et linguistiques / The Gothic Palimpsest from Bologna Philological and Linguistic Studies (Cahiers de l’ILSL, no 50), p. 11-20.
• Lühr, Rosemarie (1988). Expressivität und Lautgesetz im Germanischen. Heidelberg, p. 200.
• Miller, D. Gary (2019) The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 62.
• Kroonen, Guus (2011) The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A study in diachronic morphophonology, Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 63

• Ringe, Donald (2017) From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1). Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 307.

• Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), “A229. *auhsa”, in A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the 3rd ed. of Feist’s dictionary, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 40
• Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910). Die gotische Bibel. Zweiter Teil: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter’s Universitätsbuchhandlung, p. 14