Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/péh₂wr̥

This Proto-Indo-European entry contains reconstructed words 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-Indo-European

Etymology

Often considered to contain the suffix *-wr̥.

Noun

*péh₂wr̥ n

1. fire
2. spelt

Usage notes

• Two main terms for “fire” are reconstructible for Proto-Indo-European: *h₁n̥gʷnis and *péh₂wr̥. They are usually considered in semantic opposition. The first term is usually masculine and refers to fire as something animate and active (compare Agni, the most prominent Old Indic deity), whereas the second term is neuter and refers to fire as something inanimate and passive, i.e. as a substance.

Inflection

Athematic, proterokinetic
	singular	collective
nominative	*péh₂wr̥	*péh₂wōr
genitive	*ph₂wéns	*ph₂unés
	singular	dual	plural	collective
nominative	*péh₂wr̥	—	—	*péh₂wōr
vocative	*péh₂wr̥	—	—	*péh₂wōr
accusative	*péh₂wr̥	—	—	*péh₂wōr
genitive	*ph₂wéns	—	—	*ph₂unés
ablative	*ph₂wéns	—	—	*ph₂unés
dative	*ph₂wéney	—	—	*ph₂unéy
locative	*ph₂wén, *ph₂wéni	—	—	*ph₂wén, *ph₂wéni
instrumental	*ph₂wénh₁	—	—	*ph₂unéh₁

Synonyms

• *h₁n̥gʷnís

Descendants

• Proto-Anatolian: *páHʷr̥ (see there for further descendants)
• Armenian:
  • Old Armenian: հուր (hur) (< *puh₂r-)
  • Old Armenian: հն-ոց (hn-ocʿ, “furnace”) (< *ph₂wéns + -ոց (-ocʿ))
• Proto-Balto-Slavic:
  • Latvian: pūrs (“winter wheat”) but more often pūr̨i in analogy to kvieši, rudzi, mieži
  • Lithuanian: pū̃ras (“one corn of winter-wheat; used in the plural for winter-wheat”)
  • Old Prussian: panno (“fire”), pure (“bromegrass”)
  • Proto-Slavic: *pyrь (“cinder; couch grass; spelt”) (see there for further descendants)
• Proto-Germanic: *fōr (from *ph₂wṓr < *péh₂wōr) (see there for further descendants)
  • ⇒ Old English: fyrs, fyres (“furze, gorse”)
    • Middle English: firse, fyrs, furs, ferse, forse, fyrrys, vors, virs
      • English: furze
• Proto-Hellenic: *pāwər?
  • Ancient Greek: πῦρ (pûr), πῠρᾰ́ (purá)
  • Ancient Greek: πῡρός (pūrós, “wheat”)
    • →? Arabic: بُرّ‎ (burr, “wheat”)
    • → Old Georgian: პური (ṗuri)
      • Georgian: პური (ṗuri, “wheat; bread”)
        • → Armenian: պուրի (puri)
    • Sicilian: puru puru (“"repeated interjection to recall the hens, now disconnected from the meaning of "wheat"”)
    • ⇒ Ancient Greek: πύρνον (púrnon, “wheaten bread; food, meat”) (compare the Arabic طَعَام‎ (ṭaʿām) for the semantics)
• Proto-Italic: *pur (see there for further descendants)
• Tocharian:
  • Tocharian A: por
  • Tocharian B: puwar

Further reading

• Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q., editors (1997) Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 202