-ᛃᚨᛉ

Proto-Norse

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *-jaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-yós. Cognate with Latin -ius, Ancient Greek -ιος (-ios), Sanskrit -य (-ya).

Suffix

-ᛃᚨᛉ (-jaʀ)

1. nominal suffix denoting origin or descent

   *ᚺᛟᛚᛏᚨ (*holta, “wood, Holt”) + -ᛃᚨᛉ (-jaʀ) > ᚺᛟᛚᛏᛁᛃᚨᛉ (holtijaʀ, “the one from the wood/the descendant of Holt”)

Usage notes

• Following a short stem, which consists of a short vowel followed by a single consonant, the suffix remains -ᛃᚨᛉ (-jaʀ), but following a long stem, which has either a long vowel or diphthong, or a short vowel followed by several consonants it becomes -ᛁᛃᚨᛉ (-ijaʀ). This phenomenon is called Sievers's law.

Derived terms

Proto-Norse terms suffixed with -ᛃᚨᛉ