*SET-U

CANONICAL LANGUAGE GRAPH

TRACE A WORD ↗
NODE / 0293reconstructedProto-Germanic

*leubīn

love; affection as an abstract noun

DATE
Proto-Germanic reconstruction
SENSE
love abstract
FAMILY
Indo-European / Germanic
CANONICAL KEY
node:5:leubin:reconstructed:sense:love-abstract

The EWA article reconstructs Germanic *leubī- and *leubīn behind Old High German liubî.

*

This form is reconstructed by comparison. It is not directly attested in this exact written form.

01

ANCESTRAL EDGES

ROOT OF THIS ROOT

1
GO DEEPERderivationprobable
Proto-Indo-European · c. 4500–2500 BCE

*lewbʰ-

to love, desire, care for

SOUND
Germanic *leubīn is an abstract-noun formation within the *lewbʰ- desire-and-care family.
MEANING
A broad root meaning care for, desire, or love yields a noun for affection and pleasure.
CHRONOLOGY
Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic prehistory.
SCHOLAR
Rosemarie Lühr · Guus Kroonen · University of Texas LRC
CONFIDENCE
probable — The morphological comparison is published, but the parent root is reconstructed rather than attested.
Indo-European Lexicon: *leubh-contextPokorny etymon leubh- and Indo-European reflex table

Publishes the reconstructed cross-branch root and semantic field.

ORIGINAL ↗
liuben; giliuben; liubi; liubî — Etymologisches Wörterbuch des AlthochdeutschensupportsBand V, Spalte 1387, liubî: deadjectival abstract formation and Indo-European *leubh- comparison

Connects the Germanic abstract noun to the deeper desire-and-care family.

ORIGINAL ↗
OPEN CANONICAL EDGE 285 ↗
02

DIRECT DESCENDANT EDGES

THE NEXT HISTORICAL STEP

1
DESCENDANTinheritanceprobable
Old High German · Old High German, attested from the tenth century · love abstract

liubī

love, affection, esteem, pleasure, favor

SOUND
Old High German liubī reflects the reconstructed Germanic feminine abstract formation *leubīn, with inherited diphthong and later High German reshaping.
MEANING
The abstract meaning remains love, affection, esteem, or pleasure.
CHRONOLOGY
Proto-Germanic prehistory to Old High German records from the tenth century.
SCHOLAR
Rosemarie Lühr
CONFIDENCE
probable — The Old High German form is attested; the Germanic parent is reconstructed from comparative morphology.
Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germaniccontexts.v. Germanic love family

Provides independent comparative Germanic context for the love family.

ORIGINAL ↗
liuben; giliuben; liubi; liubî — Etymologisches Wörterbuch des AlthochdeutschensupportsBand V, Spalte 1387, liubî: Etymologie germ. *leubī-, *leubīn

Supplies the attested Old High German noun and its reconstructed Germanic abstract formation.

ORIGINAL ↗
OPEN CANONICAL EDGE 284 ↗
03

TRANSITIVE DESCENDANT CLOSURE

EVERY REVIEWED BRANCH FROM HERE

3

This is the complete downstream closure currently supported by the canonical graph. Every displayed step is a real reviewed edge with its own sound claim, meaning claim, scholar, confidence, and citations.

UNIQUE DESCENDANT NODES
3
REVIEWED EDGES
3
DEEPEST PATH
3
MODERN DOSSIERS REACHED
1
Liebe3 connected nodes
HISTORICAL STEP 011 EDGE
STEP 01inheritanceprobable
Proto-Germanic*leubīn→Old High German · Old High German, attested from the tenth centuryliubīlove, affection, esteem, pleasure, favor
SOUND
Old High German liubī reflects the reconstructed Germanic feminine abstract formation *leubīn, with inherited diphthong and later High German reshaping.
MEANING
The abstract meaning remains love, affection, esteem, or pleasure.
Rosemarie Lühr2 CITATIONSEDGE 284 ↗
Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic · s.v. Germanic love family ↗liuben; giliuben; liubi; liubî — Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen · Band V, Spalte 1387, liubî: Etymologie germ. *leubī-, *leubīn ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 021 EDGE
STEP 02inheritanceestablished
Old High Germanliubī→Middle High German · Middle High Germanliebefavor, affection, love
SOUND
Old High German liubī develops into Middle High German liebe through regular High German vowel and ending development.
MEANING
Love, favor, pleasure, and affection remain overlapping parts of the semantic field.
Dudenredaktion · Rosemarie Lühr2 CITATIONSEDGE 283 ↗
Liebe — Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft · Herkunft: mittelhochdeutsch liebe, althochdeutsch liubī ↗liuben; giliuben; liubi; liubî — Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen · Band V, Spalte 1387, liubî paragraph ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 031 EDGE
STEP 03historical continuationestablished
Middle High Germanliebe→German · Present-day GermanLiebelove; strong affection; a beloved person
SOUND
Middle High German liebe continues into modern German Liebe with capitalization of the noun and standardization of spelling and pronunciation.
MEANING
The inherited abstract noun remains centered on affection while broadening across personal, religious, and object-directed uses.
Dudenredaktion1 CITATIONEDGE 282 ↗
Liebe — Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft · Herkunft: mittelhochdeutsch liebe; modern noun senses ↗

“Every” means every descendant in the reviewed SET-U graph. It does not convert missing scholarship or missing ingestion into a claim of historical completeness. The coverage ledger remains the honest denominator.

04

RECORDED EVIDENCE

ATTESTATIONS / FIRST KNOWN USE

0
NO RECORDED WITNESS ATTACHED.

That is expected for a reconstructed form: the node is inferred from comparison, not quoted from a surviving occurrence.

05

EDITORIAL REUSE

WORD DOSSIERS USING THIS NODE

1
04Liebe*leubīn · established