wesan

On this score Heidegger goes back to the etymologies of the Old German to the word wesan, which meant Währen i.e., bleiben, remain, the Sanskrit Vasati, which means to dwell, for the meaning of Anwesen as "bleibendes weilen," the "staying around for awhile" by which he translates the Greek word for being.

enowning enowning 2008

On this score Heidegger goes back to the etymologies of the Old German to the word wesan, which meant Währen i.e., bleiben, remain, the Sanskrit Vasati, which means to dwell, for the meaning of Anwesen as "bleibendes weilen," the "staying around for awhile" by which he translates the Greek word for being.

Archive 2008-01-01 enowning 2008

“Bean” (be, been, being) which implied an existential trait, and “wesan” (is, was) which referred to more passing conditions or location information (similar if you will to ser and estar in Spanish).

The Volokh Conspiracy » Some Scientists’ Openness to the Possibility of Genetic Differences in Mental Traits Among Racial and Ethnic Groups 2010

“Bean” (be, been, being) which implied an existential trait, and “wesan” (is, was) which referred to more passing conditions or location information (similar if you will to ser and estar in Spanish).

The Volokh Conspiracy » Some Scientists’ Openness to the Possibility of Genetic Differences in Mental Traits Among Racial and Ethnic Groups 2010

As an interesting aside, Modern English has mostly lost the bean/wesan distinction from Old English.

The Volokh Conspiracy » Hisself, My Son, and a Thought About Prescriptivism: 2009

"The distinction between wesan and weorðan [in passive relations] is not very clearly defined, but wesan appears to indicate a state, weorðan generally an action."

Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

See wesan. sîgan, st. v., _to descend, sink, incline_: pret.pl. sigon ät-somne

Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

See wesan. sīgan, st. v., _to descend, sink, incline_: pret.pl. sigon æt-somne

Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

"The distinction between wesan and weorðan [in passive relations] is not very clearly defined, but wesan appears to indicate a state, weorðan generally an action."

Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

nealles Hetware hrēmge þorfton (i.e. wesan) fēðe-wīges (_needed not boast of their foot-fight_), 2365. ge-þuren.

Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879