Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-iz
Proto-Germanic
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Suffix
edit*-iz (adjective *-izô)
- -er. Forms the comparative of certain adverbs.
Usage notes
editThis was the normal comparative suffix for all i-, u- and ja-stem adverbs. The regular a-stem adverbs sometimes used this suffix, and sometimes the related suffix *-ōz without any predictable rule.
Derived terms
editDescendants
editMost of these descendants eventually replaced the suffix with the equivalent from the adjectives, because the older adverbial suffix was no longer distinctive after the loss of final *-iz.
- Old English: -
- English: -er
- Old Frisian: -
- West Frisian: -er
- Old Saxon: -
- Old Dutch: -
- Middle Dutch: -
- Dutch: -er
- Middle Dutch: -
- Old High German: -
- German: -er
- Old Norse: -r
- Gothic: -𐌹𐍃 (-is)
Etymology 2
editSuffix
edit*-iz
- Forms vṛddhi gerundives from verbal roots.