Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/Masō
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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 edit
Etymology edit
From a Celtic language, presumably Proto-Celtic *Mosā. Despite the obvious similarities, the name is not derived from Latin Mosa. It shows evidence of the change from of o to a; this is known to have occurred before the first contact of Germanic people with the Romans, but probably after first contact with the Celts. Most likely, Latin and Germanic both borrowed the name from Celtic independently.
Albrecht Greule writes that its ultimate origin is unclear, but could perhaps be Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-, whence Latin madeō (“I am wet”) and Ancient Greek μεστός (mestós, “full”).[1] Or, from Proto-Indo-European *mā- (“to stupefy”) in the sense of the river's tortuousness, cognate with Proto-Germanic *masōną (“to confound, be weary, dream”) (modern English maze), Welsh mydu (“to vault, arch”), Old Norse meis (“curvatura”).[2]
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
*Masō f
- the river Meuse
Inflection edit
| ō-stemDeclension of *Masō (ō-stem) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | *Masō | *Masôz | |
| vocative | *Masō | *Masôz | |
| accusative | *Masǭ | *Masōz | |
| genitive | *Masōz | *Masǫ̂ | |
| dative | *Masōi | *Masōmaz | |
| instrumental | *Masō | *Masōmiz | |
Descendants edit
- Proto-West Germanic: *Masu
References edit
- ^ Greule, Albrecht (2014) “Maas”, in Deutsches Gewässernamenbuch: Etymologie der Gewässernamen und der dazugehörigen Gebiets-, Siedlungs- und Flurnamen, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 333b
- ^ Ferguson, Robert (1862): The River-names of Europe, p. 142