Reconstruction talk:Proto-Indo-European/h₂weh₁-

Etymology

This root seems like it might be onomatopoeic in origin, doesn't it? The zero grade of this root probably would have been pronounced in a similar way to blowing air with the mouth. Jackwolfroven (talk) 23:46, 9 March 2014 (UTC)

• Jackwolfroven: In principle, you are right. It sounds onomatopoeic. On the other hand, though, the PIE root is comparable with the non-onomatopoeic Semitic root *ḥ-w-ʔ (“air, atmosphere”) /that gave Arabic ه و ي (h-w-y), for example/. This complicates the picture. If the two are indeed related, then a borrowing or a grammatical origin is more likely. Notice that *h₂weh₁- technically fits the formula of the Caland *éh₁-stative/durative extension. On this basis, *h₂weh₁- may have originated as a Narten formation from an earlier . Personally, I don't see a direct semantic relation between the two terms, however, this does not mean that it is impossible. Bezimenen (talk) 19:28, 23 April 2019 (UTC)