Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūraz

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 reconstructions

• *uzrô
• *ūrô; (later) *ūruz

Etymology

Uncertain; hypotheses include:

• Cognate with Sanskrit उष्ट्र (úṣṭra, “buffalo”), Persian اشتر (oštor), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)us-r-(en-) (“(red) bull, aurochs”), from *h₂ews-r- (“dawn”) after its reddish color. (See *austraz.)
• From Proto-Indo-European *(u)rs-én- (“male animal”). Kroonen assumes that the an-stem form is original and was replaced dialectally by a u-stem, to which he finds a parallel development in *arô (“eagle”).
• From Proto-Indo-European *awǝ-, *ewǝ- (“flowing water”), analogous to the derivation of *uhsô. If so, then related to Old Norse úr (“dampness, fine rain, drizzle”), Old English ēar (“sea, ocean”). (See *auraz, *ūrą.) (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Noun

*ūraz m

1. aurochs

Inflection

masculine a-stemDeclension of *ūraz (masculine a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*ūraz	*ūrōz, *ūrōs
vocative	*ūr	*ūrōz, *ūrōs
accusative	*ūrą	*ūranz
genitive	*ūras, *ūris	*ūrǫ̂
dative	*ūrai	*ūramaz
instrumental	*ūrō	*ūramiz

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *ūr
  • Old English: ūr
    • Middle English: oure
  • Old Saxon: *ūr
    • Middle Low German: ûr
      • German Low German: Ur
      • ⇒ Middle Low German: ūrosse
        • → Swedish: uroxe
  • Old Dutch: *ūr, uor
    • Middle Dutch: *uur
      • ⇒ Dutch: uuros (the historical form, attested once) (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
  • Old High German: ūro
    • Middle High German: ūr
      • German: Ur
    • ⇒ Old High German: ūrohso
      • Middle High German: ūrochse
        • German: Auerochse
          • → English: aurochs
        • → Middle Dutch: oeros
          • Dutch: oeros
• Old Norse: úrr
• Gothic: 𐌿𐍂𐍃 (urs)
• →? Latin: urus
  • → Ancient Greek: οὖρος (oûros)
  • Catalan: ur
  • → English: ure, urus
  • French: ure
  • Italian: uro
  • Portuguese: uro
  • Spanish: uro
• →? Proto-Finnic: *uros (see there for further descendants)
• →? Proto-Samic: *orēs (see there for further descendants)