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Gothic atta and, fadar: A Semantic Analysis
SusH¡nRR Kurvran Sn¡r
Gothic occupies a unique position within the Indo-European language family.
thic corpus which has come down to us is ascribed to a single individual Bishop
-
Wulfila, who wa,s born in 311 A. D. and died in 383 (or 384) A. D. Viewed from this
point Gothic linguistic meteria,l is truly synchronic in character a,nd a,s such stends
in sharp contra,st wiúh languages like Hitúite, Sanskrit and Greek, languages which
offer materials of diachronic nature. This feature of the language in addition to the
extreme paucity of available data makes Gothic a dubious material in any theori-
zing about the speech habit of the early Indo-Europeens. In this connection it must
also be borne in mind that even if the question of spatial difference separating the
early Indo-Europeens from the ancestors of the Gothic is ignored, the temporal dif-
ference between proto-Indo-Europea,n and Gothic is enormous. And during the in-
tervening millenia radical cha,nges in linguistic physiognomy characterised the in-
dividual members after the break-up of the Proúo-Speech. Therefore, anything
which is exclusively peculia,r to Gothic should be treated with due care before label-
ling the phenomenon a,s either an archaism or a,n innova,tion. With these prelimina-
ry remerks let us now turn our attention to the topic under discussion.
In the Gothic Bible Wulfila, uses the word attain the sense of '(divine) father',
even though the word fødar was not unknown to him. Both atta and fad,ar belong
to the common Indo-European voca,bula,ry. atta,, however, enjoys a, wider renge of
circulation, being attested even in non-Indo-European languages like Turkish ¿üø
(cf. Kemal-a,ta-Türlc), Basque a,tta, ebc. It is, however, common knowledge that the
na,me of the great Hun leader Atti,lo is etymologically connected with øúúø. Since
both these words were current in Gothic this peculiar Wulfilan usage seems intri-
guing. Why does Wulfila prefer a,tta, to fad,ar'? This is a, question worth pondering
over. To my mind there are three possible answers to this question. These are:
(i) atta,was a, more recurrent term in the Germanic group,
(ii) Wulfila was following his original closely, and
(iii) this choice of atta on the part of Wulfila was deliberate.
A cursory glance through a,ny etymological dictionary will disprove the first
solution. The derivatives of Indo-European *patér are attested in Gothic fad,ar, Old
Norse /øàdr, Old English fæd,er, Old Frisian fader, Old. Saxon fød,ar, and. Old High
German fa,ter. The derivatives of Indo-Europea,n atta, o\ the other hand are atte-
sted in Gothic attq Old High Germar q,tto, Old tr'risian aththa. The derivatives of
*pater arc found. in six languages, while those of * atta are attesüed in only three.
Curiously enough in these three languages the derivatives of both the Indo-
256 SusgAona Kuuan SnN
European words survived, while in the other three only one Indo-European word
survived, namely the derivative of *patêr. So on the face of this distribution pat-
tern one ca,nnot, logically claim that o,tta was a, more recurrent or more frequently
used term within the Germanic periphery.
Let us now examine the second suggested solution and see for ourselves
whether or not Wulfila's choice was dictated by the Greek original. Here are a few
random examples:
(a) atta unsar þu'i,n hi,m'inam oOur F ather thou (art) in heaven' Matthew VI, 9.
(b) jøh weitwod,eiþ bi mik sclei sand,id,a mi,lc atta, oand the Father who sent me bears
witness of me'John \4II, 8.
(c) ja,h afletand,ans attan seinanø oand leaving their father' Mark, I, 20.
(d) bi,þe qimi,þ i,n uru,lþu seinømma jøh attins ow}l.er' he comes in his glory and in
tr'ather's'Luke IX, 26.
(e) insand,ida guþ ahman sunaus seini,s in ha'irtona izwara hrop'ja,nd,an: abba, fad,ar,
'God (has) sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying, oAbba,
Father" Galatians fV, 6.
In the Greek version of the New Testament we find different case forms of
patór for citations o&', ob', oc', and 'd'. F or citation oe' the Greek version lnas abbø ho
pater. So it is evident that Wulfila translates patór by attø except, in the pessege
quoted from the Galatians. As a matter of fact fødar is a hapaæ legomenon in the
Gothic Bible. This fact also proves beyond doubt that the word/øda,rw&s known to
Wulfila. It is equally evident that he preferred atta to failar. So it cannot be
claimed that Wulfila was guided in his choice of words because of his devout
faithfulness to the original.
If Wulfila was not following his Greek original faithfully he must have delibera-
tely used the word attcl in place of fad,ar. What I mean to say is that it was an act of
conscious selection and not an accidental choice. The question is, can this supposi-
tion be substantiated? Let us closely exa,mine some of the typical occurences of the
wotd o,tta in the Gothic Bible and see for ourselves if any insight can be gained.
the passages once ere taken at random:
(a) frauja, augei, unsß þa,na attan ol,ord, show us the father'John fV, 8.
(b) laun ni habaiþ frøm øttin 'i,zwaramma,'(you) (will) have no reward from your
Father'Matthew W, 1.
(c) all m'is atgiban i,st fram atti,n meinømmø oeverything is given to me from my
tr'ather' L'uke X,22.
(d) frøuja uslaubi mi,s frumist gølei,þan jøh gafi,lhan atta,n meinøn ol,ord permit me
first to go and bury my father' Matthew VIII, 21.
(e) jah frah þønø øttan 'and (Jesus) asked the father (of the child)' Mark IX, 21.
(Ð jøh þanø attøn izos maujos jah ai,þein uand the father and the mother of the
maid'Luke VIII, 51.
(g) øttøns unsara'i ma,nna matid,ed,u,m oour fathers ate manna] John V, 31.
(h) ak us a,tta,nx obut from fathers'John VII, 22.
(i) attø unsar Abra,ham i,stoAbra,ham is our father' John VIII, 39
Gothic atta and fadar: A Semantic Anaþsis 257
These nine ciúaúions cover the enüire range of meaning which q,tta came to
acquire in the Gothic Bible. In the first three citations the word conceptualises
oGod,
the divine tr'ather'. In the next three citations the word, on the other hand,
signifies the human father concepú symbolizing the immediate procreator. In the
last three citations the word refers neither to the divine F'ather nor to any indivi-
dual human father. In these instances the word refers to fathers in general con-
veying vaguely the idea of forefathers. It should also be noted that in citations og'
(øttans) and oh' (attøm) the word is used in the plural. In citation 'i' the word, it is
true, is used in the singular, but in this context it is construed with the personal
name Abraham, who despite his historicity is a quasimythical figure. In the last
three citations the word atta does not refer to any individual father but to the
ancestors in general. Thus it can be tentatively suggested that the semantic con-
tent of the word atta could be modified by shifting the number of the word. In the
singular the word meant ofather' or'(divine) father', whereas in the plural it meant
'forefather'. Such shifüing of meaning by varying either the number or the gender
of a word is not a rare phenomenon in Gothic. Compare hími,ns usky, he&ven',
þiud,ø'people, non-Christians', gøf 'Chrisúian or pa,gen god' etc. This is not rem-
arkably peculiar to Gothic eiúher. One recalls similar usa,ges in Sanskrit and
Homeric Greek. Thus in Sanskrit the word oytra. in masculine singular is a per-
sonal name. Vytraincidentally was a great demon who was killed by a stratagem of
Indra. In neuter plural the word mea,ns oeneü{, foe, hostile host' etc. Another such
interesting word in Sanskrit is aß'tlra,-. In Sanskrit the word has a wide range of
meaning, beginning from 'spirit, good spirit, evil spirit, demon' etc. All these
meanings are attested in the older texts like RV and AV. In the plural the word
also stands for the name of a fighting tribe (Par,rini V 3f 17). In the Homeric epic
hfutpos in the singular mea,ns uhorse' but in the plural and dual the word mea,ns
'horse and chariot taken together'. One ca,n a,lso compa,re Gr. hérsë, (singular) 'rain,
dew2 but in plural hérsai'young animal'.
Once the meaning of the plural form of Gothic øúüø is established, an attempt
should be made to determine the exact meaning of the singular. In the first six
citations the meaning of øtta is equally divided between odivine father' and
uhuman father'. The question then is what is the
exact, meaning of the word?
Before making an attempt in this direction let us consider another word:
Jøilrein, a derivative of fad,ør. The word occurs in such contexts as jøh usge'í,sno-
oand her parents were astonished' Luke
d,ed,un fad,rein i,zos VIII, 56, and, and,hof
Jesus nih sø frawaurhta nih fød,rein'is oJesus answered, neither the man sinned nor
his parents'John IX,3.
It is apparent ttrat failrein is used to indicate a direct relationship of parentage.
Since the word is derived from fad,ar it may be concluded tlolat Jad"ar implied blood
relationship. Indirect evidence for this assumption is found in the Galatians. Since
by no stretch of imagination can one claim direct blood relationship with the
divine Father, Ltre hapør legomenon, fadør in Galatians fV,6, is preceded by
another høpaæ legomenon, abba. as if to reinforce the semantic content of the word
in the Shakespeareen vein of omost unkindest'.
Now the question is, if fad,ar wa,s characterised by an implied blood rela-
tionship, what then was the meaning of the word atta? It can be tentatively sugge-
258 Susuanna Kulran Snr.r Gothic atta und fadar: A Semantic Analysis 259

sted that Jad,ar and atta indicated relations of different order. Wheras fødar indi- F rom what has been said above it can be suggested with a fair degree of proba-
cated intimate direct relationship involving the process of procreation, atta bility that Indo-European *pater and xatta were not interchangeable synonymous
implied an intimate relationship founded primarily on respect and admiration. terms. While the first term simply implied'fatherhood', the other might have
This is why the meaning of øtta in the plural is oancestors, forefathers'. So it was meant, ostatus of a father' ) 'grandfather' > ovenerable old man'. Such subtle dis-
na,turel on Wulfila's part to prefer attøto failarin the sense of 'divine Father'. At, tinction of meaning need not, be condemned as extremely fortuitous. Years ago it
this point \ile must consider those citations where atta does signify the human was suggested by an eminent Indo-Europeanist that Latin i,gnis was a word of
father concept. Since in the Bible references to the divine Father are understand- religious nature, thereby implying that the other Indo-European word for ofire'
ably much more numerous than references to the human father, the numerically did not convey any such sense. In conclusion it may be stated that the Wulfilan
superior form succeeded in driving the numerically inferior form out of circula- use of atta, and føila,r reflects an Indo-Europeen feature.
tion. This solution should not be considered as oversimplification. Lack of attested
forms showing the operation of Verner's law in Gothic does neither falsify the law
propounded by Karl Verner nor does it prove that, the law operated only in North
and West Germanic. Verner's law was marginally reflected in Gothic. Cf. aih :
ai,gum, wairþan : fra-ward,jan etc. Analogy indeed, does play a crucial role in the
development of a language.
The question that remains to be answered is, can the semantic differentiation
reflected by Gothic be taken as a Indo-European legacy? Or it is a purely Gothic
innovation
- a remarkable tour de force on the part of Wulfila? Before settling
this question a quick look may be taken into the situation prevailing in some of
the more archaic and well documented historical Indo-European languages.
In Hittite the word for father is either øttas or the Akkadogram ABU. Hittite
does not preserve the derivative ofthe Indo-European word *patër. Naturally any
semantic difference which might have existed between * atta arrd * patár c;allrre to be
expressed in Hittite
- if at all - by atta"s. The word. attqß in Hittite mea,ns either
procreator or adoptive father.
Greek, on the other hand, retains both the Indo-European words *pater and.
*attø.The word a,tta in Greek is glossed as (i)'father', (ii) 'a venerable man'. One
can cite such Homeric expressions as ó,ttq, geraiè'old. sire' Iliad IX,607.
In Sanskrit we have a feminine nolon atta meaning omother'. Without assigning
a,ny reeson Monier-Williams considered the word to be of Dravidian origin. It is
perhaps more logical to consider it as an Indo-European word. Sir Ralph Turner
in his comparative dictionary of the modern Indo-Aryan languages &ssumes &
hypothetical Middle Indic form *attato account for such words as Modern Assa-
mese dtd, ua term of address to a respectable old gentleman', Modern Gfiarati añji
'grandfather' and Modern Sindhi atã,'grandfalher'. To this list should be added
Middle Bengali adjective d,td;i,'great'. Turner's reconstructed form not only streng-
thens the supposition that the Sanskrit feminine noun attd, has an Indo-European
connection, but also justifies the assumption that in Sanskrit there was a semantic
difference between p'i,tar- ønd * atta whic}n dovetails with the difference reflected
by Gothic fad,ar and attø.l

I An interesting parallel, though not identical in all respects, is offered by ai,þei, lhe
Gothic word for 'moüher'. IE *má,t¿r which should be *moþar is not attested in Gothic.
The words atto, and aíþei, whic}; have supplanled. fad,ar (nearly totally) and. *moþør
(apparently totally) in normal use &re, according to many scholars, on the same (origi-
nally lower or affectionate) level. Compare also lrish athai,r, md,thaír but Welsh tad,, mam.