Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fōr
Proto-Germanic
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ ~ *ph₂wéns (“fire”).[1]
Pronunciation
editNoun
edit*fōr n
Inflection
editThe original heteroclitic alternation of r/n is preserved.
Simms posits several stages of development of this word. Since no single paradigm can be asserted for Proto-Germanic at any given point in time, the developments are detailed below.
Paradigm 1: The original paradigm as inherited from PIE.
singular | |
---|---|
nominative | *fōr |
vocative | *fōr |
accusative | *fōr |
genitive | *funiz |
dative | *funi |
instrumental | *funē |
Paradigm 2: An alternative paradigm was later formed based on the stem *fu- and regular n-stem endings. The two formations coexisted side by side for a period.
singular | |
---|---|
nominative | *fōr |
vocative | *fōr |
accusative | *fōr |
genitive | *fuiniz |
dative | *fuini |
instrumental | *fuinē |
Paradigm 3: At a certain point in time, the two paradigms above were blended, attaching n-stem endings to the stem *fun-. Paradigm 1 was lost after that, paradigms 2 and 3 continued to exist side by side.
singular | |
---|---|
nominative | *fōr |
vocative | *fōr |
accusative | *fōr |
genitive | *funiniz |
dative | *funini |
instrumental | *funinē |
After the above stages, paradigms 2 and 3 finally split. In paradigm 2 the -r- was generalised to all forms, creating *fōr, *fuïr-, which is found in North and West Germanic. In paradigm 3, the -n- was generalised to the nominative, creating *fōn, *funin- as found in Gothic and in the Old Norse form funi.
Descendants
edit- Proto-West Germanic: *fuir
- Old English: fȳr
- Old Frisian: fiūr, fiōr
- Old Saxon: fiur
- Old Dutch: fuïr
- Old High German: fuïr (early), fiur
- Old Norse: fúrr, fýr, fýrir, funi
- Gothic: 𐍆𐍉𐌽 (fōn)
- → Portuguese: fona
References
editFurther reading
edit- Ringe, Donald (2006) From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1)[2], Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
- Douglas P.A. Simms - The Words for "Fire" in Germanic, 2009