Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-āną
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This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence. |
Proto-Germanic
Etymology
Somewhat uncertain. Reconstructed by Ringe[1] as originating from earlier *-ajaną, from Proto-Indo-European *-oyéti (factitive verb suffix). The reconstruction of this Indo-European suffix is uncertain, but it would also be the origin of the Ancient Greek -όω (-óō) contracted verbs.
Pronunciation
Verb
*-āną
- Creates factitive verbs from adjectives, later also denominatives from nouns.
Inflection
Derived terms
Category Proto-Germanic class 3 weak verbs in -ā- not found
Descendants
This suffix was no longer productive in any of the daughter languages, and in West Germanic it quickly became a relic class and mostly merged with the second weak class, except in Old High German where it was preserved longer. In Old High German and Gothic, the class of verbs formed by this suffix merged with the stative verbs in *-(i)janą, creating a single unified third weak class.
- Old High German: -en
- German: -en (merged with all other verbs)
- Old Norse: -ja (only after short stems)
- Gothic: -𐌰𐌽 (-ān)
References
- ^ Ringe, Donald (2006) From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1)[1], Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN