<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The development of <italic>dare</italic> in the history of English has played an important role in the literature on grammatical change and (de)grammaticalization. This paper aims to clarify two issues regarding the syntax and semantics of <italic>dare</italic> in earlier English: when it is first attested with <italic>to</italic>-infinitives, and to what extent it can be said to have been semantically ‘bleached’ in a number of Old English attestations. The conclusions are, firstly, that <italic>dare</italic> is not attested with <italic>to</italic>-infinitives in Old English (<italic>pace</italic><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_stap-2017-0012_ref_036_w2aab3b7b2b1b6b1ab1ab2c21Aa">Tomaszewska 2014</xref>), and that a number of Middle English attestations that have been suggested in the literature are not convincing (<italic>pace</italic><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_stap-2017-0012_ref_038_w2aab3b7b2b1b6b1ab1ab2c23Aa">Visser 1963–73</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_stap-2017-0012_ref_016_w2aab3b7b2b1b6b1ab1ab2b1Aa">Beths 1999</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_stap-2017-0012_ref_029_w2aab3b7b2b1b6b1ab1ab2c14Aa">Molencki 2005</xref>). Secondly, it is argued that the co-occurrence of <italic>dare</italic> and verbs like <italic>gedyrstlæcan</italic> ‘venture, be bold, presume’ in Old English is not an indication of semantic ‘bleaching’ of <italic>dare</italic>, and that the verb was not more ‘auxiliarized’ in Old English than it is today.</p></abstract>

The development of dare in the history of English has played an important role in the literature on grammatical change and (de)grammaticalization. This paper aims to clarify two issues regarding the syntax and semantics of dare in earlier English: when it is first attested with to-infinitives, and to what extent it can be said to have been semantically ‘bleached’ in a number of Old English attestations. The conclusions are, firstly, that dare is not attested with to-infinitives in Old English (paceTomaszewska 2014), and that a number of Middle English attestations that have been suggested in the literature are not convincing (paceVisser 1963–73; Beths 1999; Molencki 2005). Secondly, it is argued that the co-occurrence of dare and verbs like gedyrstlæcan ‘venture, be bold, presume’ in Old English is not an indication of semantic ‘bleaching’ of dare, and that the verb was not more ‘auxiliarized’ in Old English than it is today.

The Status of Old English <italic>Dare</italic> Revisited

Studia Anglica Posnaniensia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":{"italic":"Dare","content":["The Status of Old English","Revisited"]}}

The development of dare in the history of English has played an important role in the literature on grammatical change and (de)grammaticalization. This paper...

The Status of Old English Dare Revisited

Published Online: Mar 01, 2018

Page range: 325 - 343

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/stap-2017-0012

Keywords
Old English, Middle English, semantics, grammaticalization, auxiliaries,

© 2017 Sune Gregersen, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The Status of Old English Dare Revisited

Published Online: Mar 01, 2018

Page range: 325 - 343

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/stap-2017-0012

KeywordsOld English, Middle English, semantics, grammaticalization, auxiliaries,

© 2017 Sune Gregersen, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Old English, Middle English, semantics, grammaticalization, auxiliaries,