On 04-10-22 23:33, Joao wrote:
> Most of masculine Gothic names in -a, are n-themes: Attila <*Attilan,
> Wulfila < *Wulfilan
These are hypocoristic forms. The -a(n-) played a role similar to that
of Mod.Eng. -y/-ie. Wulf-il-a, like OE Wulf-a or Wuff-a (also weak
stems) could presumably stand for any dithematic name whose first part
was *wulfa- (like OE Wulfstan, Wulfhere, Wulfric, Wulfwine, etc.).
<Attila> is a diminutive of <atta> (itself a weak noun, cf. nom./acc.pl.
attans).
Piotr