Gothic/3/Numbers
Cardinals
[edit | edit source]The numbers in Gothic are not fully attested. Some cardinals are only extant in their declined forms and some are wanting all together, but can be reconstructed based on comparative evidence. Gothic cardinals 1-10:
- ains (one)
- twai (two)
- þreis (three)
- fidwōr (four)
- fimf (five)
- saihs (six)
- sibun (seven)
- ahtau (eight)
- niun (nine)
- taihun (ten)
The first three cardinal numbers can be declined in all genders and in all cases. However, ains is always declined as strong and is declined just like the a-stem adjective blinds (blind). Cardinals 4-15 are usually uninflected, but when inflected they follow the i-declension; e.g. dative fidwōrim, genitive *fidwōrē. The following tables show the declinations of twai and þreis.
| Case | twái/twa/twōs two | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |
| Nominative | twái | twa | twōs |
| Accusative | twans | ||
| Genitive | twaddjē | *twaddjō | |
| Dative | twáim | ||
| Case | þreis/þrija/þreis three | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |
| Nominative | *þreis | þrija | *þreis |
| Accusative | þrins | þrins | |
| Genitive | þrijē | ? | |
| Dative | þrim | ||
Numbers 11-19
[edit | edit source]Numbers ainlif and twalif originally meant "ten and one left" and "ten and two left". Numbers 13-19 were formed by the ordinals plus taihun (ten). Only fidwōrtaihun and fimftaihun are extant.
- ainlif (eleven)
- twalif (twelve)
- ?
- fidwōrtaihun (fourteen)
- fimftaihun (fifteen)
- ?
- ?
- ?
- ?
20-60
[edit | edit source]Numbers 20-60 are formed with the cardinals 2-6 plus tigus (group of ten, decade), which only occurs in the plural and is declined as a u-stem.
- twai tigjus (twenty)
- þreis tigjus (thirty)
- ?
- ?
- saihs tigjus (sixty)
70-100
[edit | edit source]The formation of the number 70-100 is not well understood. The shorter word for hundred, hund, was probably used to specify that the "short" hundred (100) was meant as opposed to the "long" hundred (120) that would originally have been indicated by the term hund. This is supported by the fact that in Corinthians I, 15.6, the word taihuntēwjam, “[reckoned] by decimals”) (dat. pl.) is added as a note to indicate that the reading of hund there is that of a short (decimal) hundred, not a long hundred.
- sibuntēhund (seventy)
- ahtautēhund (eighty)
- niuntēhund (ninety)
- hund/taihuntaihund (hundred)
200-1000
[edit | edit source]The numerals 200, 300, 500, and 900 are formed with the neuter noun hund with the units digit agreeing accordingly, e.g. nominative twa hunda, dative twáim hundam "two hundred". They govern the genitive case. Multiples of "thousand" decline þūsundi (thousand) as a feminine plural -jō stem, with the units digit agreeing accordingly, e.g. nominative twōs þūsundjōs, dative *twáim þūsundjōm "two thousand".
Ordinals
[edit | edit source]The extant ordinals are as follows:
- fruma/frumist (first)
- anþar (second)
- þridja (third)
- ?
- fimfta (fifth)
- saihsta (sixth)
- ahtuda (eighth)
- niunda (ninth)
- taihunda (tenth)
- fimftataihunda (fifteenth)
Fruma is declined weak like blinda (blind) except that the feminine is declined according to the ei-stems like managei (multitude), e.g. feminine nominative frumei. Frumists is declined strong, like blinds (blind). Anþar has nominative masculine and neuter anþar (no -ata form exists), and otherwise is declined strong, like blinds. Other ordinals are declined weak like blinda.