Talk:-icus

I disagree (without reference to do so) with the categorization as ancient Greek derivation : adjectival suffix -ik exists in Roman, Celtic, Germanic and Slavic languages.

i.e. better from proto indo european.

--Diligent 15:24, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

User:Ivan Štambuk is our best PIE editor, and would be the person to ask about this. --EncycloPetey 02:19, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

-icus is inherited from PIE *-ikos, composed of *-i- (i-stem) suffix, *-ko- suffix and nominative singular marker *-s. PIE *-ko- (and its variant form *-ḱo-, which were merged in centum languages such as Latin) have several functions, most notably to form relative adjectives (those with 'of or pertaining to' meaning). It is thus not derived from Ancient Greek -ικος, but it was nevertheless greatly influenced by it due to a large number of Ancient Greek borrowings in -(τ)ικος and which were adopted with Latin suffix -(t)icus. The Germanic suffixes from which English -ish and -y developed are unrelated. --Ivan Štambuk 23:38, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! --EncycloPetey 05:51, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks too! --Diligent 10:08, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, English -y is from OE. -iġ, which is the same as Old Norse -igr, which the Icelandic Etymological Dictionary says is from P.Gmc. -iga- < PIE -i-ko-. – Krun 14:14, 5 April 2010 (UTC)