Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mēlą
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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
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Indo-European *meHlom; in regards to the further root, Kroonen etymologically sifts out the senses, which appear to have been conflated in descendants, as follows:
- For the "point in time, meal" sense, from the same origin as either the "measurement" or "spot" senses below.[1]
- For the "spot, mark" sense, from the root *melh₂- (“dark”), whence also Ancient Greek μέλᾱς (mélās, “dark”), Lithuanian mė́las (“blue”).[2]
- For the "measurement" sense, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).[3]
Compare also Latin semel (“once”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
edit*mēlą n
Inflection
edit| neuter a-stemDeclension of *mēlą (neuter a-stem) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | *mēlą | *mēlō | |
| vocative | *mēlą | *mēlō | |
| accusative | *mēlą | *mēlō | |
| genitive | *mēlas, *mēlis | *mēlǫ̂ | |
| dative | *mēlai | *mēlamaz | |
| instrumental | *mēlō | *mēlamiz | |
Derived terms
editDescendants
edit- Proto-West Germanic: *māl
- Old Norse: mál
- Gothic: 𐌼𐌴𐌻 (mēl), 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰 (mēla)
References
edit- ^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*mēla- 1 n. 'point in time'”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 362
- ^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*mēla- 2 n. 'spot, mark'”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 362
- ^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*mēla- 3 n. 'measure, amount'”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)[3], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 362