Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gnaganą

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

Alternative forms

• *knaganą

Etymology

Probably onomatopoeic; or from Proto-Indo-European *gʰnēgʰ- (“to gnaw, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰen- (“to gnaw, grate, scrate, whit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɣnɑ.ɣɑ.nɑ̃/

Verb

*gnaganą

1. to gnaw

Inflection

Conjugation of *gnaganą (strong class 6)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*gnagō	*gnagaų	—	*gnagai	?
2nd singular	*gnagizi	*gnagaiz	*gnag	*gnagazai	*gnagaizau
3rd singular	*gnagidi	*gnagai	*gnagadau	*gnagadai	*gnagaidau
1st dual	*gnagōz	*gnagaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*gnagadiz	*gnagaidiz	*gnagadiz	—	—
1st plural	*gnagamaz	*gnagaim	—	*gnagandai	*gnagaindau
2nd plural	*gnagid	*gnagaid	*gnagid	*gnagandai	*gnagaindau
3rd plural	*gnagandi	*gnagain	*gnagandau	*gnagandai	*gnagaindau
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*gnōg	*gnōgį̄
2nd singular	*gnōht	*gnōgīz
3rd singular	*gnōg	*gnōgī
1st dual	*gnōgū	*gnōgīw
2nd dual	*gnōgudiz	*gnōgīdiz
1st plural	*gnōgum	*gnōgīm
2nd plural	*gnōgud	*gnōgīd
3rd plural	*gnōgun	*gnōgīn
	present	past
participles	*gnagandz	*gnaganaz

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *gnagan, *knagan
  • Old English: gnagan, *cnagan
    • Middle English: gnaȝen, gnawen, knawen
      • Scots: gnaw, knaw
      • English: gnaw, knaw
  • Old Frisian: *gnaga
    • Saterland Frisian: gnaue; gnauje; gnauelje
    • West Frisian: gnauwe
  • Old Saxon: knagan, gnagan
    • Middle Low German: gnāgen, knāgen
      • German Low German: gnagen, gnauen
      • Plautdietsch: gnoagen
  • Old Dutch: *gnagan, *cnagan
    • Middle Dutch: cnagen
      • Dutch: knagen, knauwen (possibly a contamination of knagen and kauwen)
  • Old High German: gnagan, knagan, nagan
    • Middle High German: nagen
      • German: nagen
• Old Norse: gnaga, naga
  • Icelandic: naga
  • Faroese: gnaga, naga
  • Norn: nava (borrowed?)
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: gnaga, knaga, naga; (dialectal) gnågå
    • → Danish: gnage
      • Norwegian Bokmål: gnage
    • → Scots: nag, knag, kneggum
  • Old Swedish: gnagha
    • Swedish: gnaga
  • Danish: gnave, nage
    • Norwegian Bokmål: gnave
  • Elfdalian: gnågå
  • Gutnish: gnage
  • → Middle English: *gnagen, *gnaggen, *naggen
    • → English: gnag, knag (dialectal), nag