Proto-Norse

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Etymology

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

Suffix

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-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

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  • 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

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