Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-teros

This Proto-Indo-European 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-Indo-European

Alternative forms

• *-eros

Suffix

*-teros

1. Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix.

Usage notes

In Proto-Indo-European, X-teros meant "one which is especially X", "one which is more X than other things", "one which is X as opposed to something else". Compare:

• Sanskrit: उद् (ud) → उत्तर (uttara, “upper”)
• Greek: δεξιός (dexiós, “right”) → δεξιτερός (dexiterós, “right”) (as opposed to "left")
• Latin: māter (“mother”) → mātertera (“maternal aunt”) (literally "the mother one").

In some daughters the suffix was grammaticalized as the marker of a comparative degree in adjectives:

• Greek: γλυκύς (glukús, “sweet”) → γλυκύτερος (glukúteros, “sweeter”)

In some daughters it attracted various pronominal adjectives (determiners), i.e. words meaning "other":

• Sanskrit: अन्यतर (anyatara)
• Latin: al-ter
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽-𐌸𐌰𐍂 (an-þar)

or possessives:

• Greek: ἡμέ-τερος (hēmé-teros)
• Latin: nos-ter (“our”)
• Old Irish: náthar (“of us two”)

Inflection

Thematic
	masculine	feminine
nominative	*-teros	*-tereh₂
genitive	*-terosyo	*-tereh₂s
masculine	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-teros	*-teroh₁	*-teroes
vocative	*-tere	*-teroh₁	*-teroes
accusative	*-terom	*-teroh₁	*-teroms
genitive	*-terosyo	*?	*-teroHom
ablative	*-teread	*?	*-teromos
dative	*-teroey	*?	*-teromos
locative	*-terey, *-teroy	*?	*-teroysu
instrumental	*-teroh₁	*?	*-terōys
feminine	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-tereh₂	*-tereh₂h₁(e)	*-tereh₂es
vocative	*-tereh₂	*-tereh₂h₁(e)	*-tereh₂es
accusative	*-terām	*-tereh₂h₁(e)	*-tereh₂m̥s
genitive	*-tereh₂s	*?	*-tereh₂oHom
ablative	*-tereh₂s	*?	*-tereh₂mos
dative	*-tereh₂ey	*?	*-tereh₂mos
locative	*-tereh₂, *-tereh₂i	*?	*-tereh₂su
instrumental	*-tereh₂h₁	*?	*-tereh₂mis
neuter	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*-terom	*-teroy(h₁)	*-tereh₂
vocative	*-terom	*-teroy(h₁)	*-tereh₂
accusative	*-terom	*-teroy(h₁)	*-tereh₂
genitive	*-terosyo	*?	*-teroHom
ablative	*-teread	*?	*-teromos
dative	*-teroey	*?	*-teromos
locative	*-terey, *-teroy	*?	*-teroysu
instrumental	*-teroh₁	*?	*-terōys

Derived terms

Proto-Indo-European terms suffixed with *-teros

Descendants

• Proto-Germanic: *-þeraz, *-drê
• Proto-Hellenic: *-teros
  • Ancient Greek: -τερος (-teros), -τερός (-terós)
    • Greek: -τερος (-teros)
• Proto-Italic: *-teros
  • Latin: -ter (perhaps), -iter (perhaps)
• Proto-Indo-Iranian: *-taras
  • Proto-Indo-Aryan: *-taras
    • Sanskrit: -तर (-tara)
  • Proto-Iranian: *-tarah
    • Avestan: -𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬀 (-tara)
    • Gurani: تەر (-tar)
    • Kurdish:
      • Central Kurdish: تر (tir)
      • Northern Kurdish: -tir
    • Middle Persian: [script needed] (-tar)
      • Persian: تر (-tar)
    • Zazaki: -yer, -êr

See also

• *-yōs

References

• Marek Majer (2012), What happened to PIE kʷotero- in Slavic?