Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-ēn

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *-āną, by extending the suffix alternant -ai- throughout all forms, analogous to the second weak class.

Suffix

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*-ēn

  1. Creates denominative verbs from nouns.
  2. Creates stative or factitive verbs from adjectives.

Inflection

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Class 3 weak
Infinitive *-ēn
1st sg. past *-?dā
Infinitive *-ēn
Genitive infin. *-ēnijas
Dative infin. *-ēnijē
Instrum. infin. *-ēniju
Indicative Present Past
1st singular *-ē *-?dā
2nd singular *-ēs *-?dēs, *-?dēs
3rd singular *-ēþ *-?dē, *-?dā
1st plural *-ēm *-?dum
2nd plural *-ēþ *-?dud
3rd plural *-ēnþ *-?dun
Subjunctive Present Past
1st singular *-ē *-?dī
2nd singular *-ēs *-?dī
3rd singular *-ē *-?dī
1st plural *-ēm *-?dīm
2nd plural *-ēþ *-?dīd
3rd plural *-ēn *-?dīn
Imperative Present
Singular *-ē
Plural *-ēþ
Present Past
Participle *-ēndī *-?d

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Remained only slightly productive in Old High German. In the others, it was replaced almost entirely with the second weak class. However, the existence of a few relic verbs in Old English shows that this class, too, underwent an innovative extension to *-ējan in the northern languages before being eliminated.

  • Old English: -ian (in a few cases; preceded by a palatalised consonant or non-backed æ)
  • Old High German: -ēn
    • Middle High German: -en