Indo-European Lexicon
PIE Etymon and IE Reflexes
Below we display: a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymon adapted from Pokorny, with our own English gloss; our Semantic Field assignment(s) for the etymon, linked to information about the field(s); an optional Comment; and Reflexes (derived words) in various Indo-European languages, organized by family/group in west-to-east order where Germanic is split into West/North/East families and English, our language of primary emphasis, is artificially separated from West Germanic. IE Reflexes appear most often as single words with any optional letter(s) enclosed in parentheses; but alternative full spellings are separated by '/' and "principal parts" appear in a standard order (e.g. masculine, feminine, and neuter forms) separated by commas.
Reflexes are annotated with: Part-of-Speech and/or other Grammatical feature(s); a short Gloss which, especially for modern English reflexes, may be confined to the oldest sense; and some Source citation(s) with 'LRC' always understood as editor. Keys to PoS/Gram feature abbreviations and Source codes appear below the reflexes; at the end are links to the previous/next etyma [in Pokorny's alphabetic order] that have reflexes.
All reflex pages are currently under active construction; as time goes on, corrections may be made and/or more etyma & reflexes may be added.
Pokorny Etymon: aiu̯-, ai̯u- 'vitality, life force'
Semantic Field(s): to Live; Living; Life
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | ā | adv | aye | GED |
| ǣ, ǣw(e) | n.str.fem | law, marriage | ASD/GED | |
| ǣfre, ǣfer | adv | ever | ASD/W7 | |
| ēce, ǣce | adj | eternal | ASD/GED | |
| nā | adv | never | GED | |
| nǣfre | adv | never | W7 | |
| ō | adv | aye | GED | |
| Middle English: | age | n | age | W7 |
| ay(e), ai, ei | adv | aye | CDC/W7 | |
| eternal | adj | eternal | W7 | |
| eterne | adj | eterne | W7 | |
| eternite | n | eternity | W7 | |
| ever | adv | ever | W7 | |
| nay | adv | nay | W7 | |
| never | adv | never | W7 | |
| sempiternal | adv | sempiternal | W7 | |
| English: | (a)eon | n | age, long period of time | AHD/W7 |
| age | n | lifetime, stage/period of life | AHD/W7 | |
| ay(e) | adv | yes, indeed; ever, always, forever | AHD/CDC/W7 | |
| coetaneous | adj | coeval | AHD/W7 | |
| coeval | adj | of equal age | AHD/W7 | |
| eternal | adj | undying, everlasting | AHD/W7 | |
| eterne | adj | eternal | AHD/W7 | |
| eternity | n | endlessness of time | AHD/W7 | |
| ever | adv | always, forever | AHD/W7 | |
| Evermind | prop.n | Rohan (grave) flower in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| hygiene | n | personal cleanliness | AHD/W7 | |
| longevity | n | lifespan, (long) time to live | AHD/W7 | |
| medieval | adj | re: the Middle Ages | AHD/W7 | |
| nay | adv | no, lit. not ay(e) | AHD/W7 | |
| never | adv | lit. not ever | AHD/W7 | |
| primeval | adj | earliest, original, most ancient | AHD/W7 | |
| sempiternal | adj | eternal | AHD/W7 | |
| utopia | n | ideal/imaginary place | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | ā | n | law | CDC |
| ē | n.str.masc | law | GED | |
| ēwa | n.fem | law | ASD | |
| ēwe | n.wk.fem | law | GED | |
| ēwīg, ewch, iowich, iowigh | adj | eternal | ASD/GED | |
| Dutch: | eeuwig | adj | eternal | ASD |
| Old Saxon: | ēo, ēu | n.str.masc | law | GED |
| ēo, (g)io | adv | aye | CDC | |
| ēwan | adj | eternal | GED | |
| ēwīg | adj | eternal | GED | |
| ēwitha | n.str.fem | eternity | GED | |
| Old High German: | ē(h)a | n.fem | law, custom, marriage | ASD |
| ēwa | n.fem | law, marriage, religious decree | GED | |
| ēwī | n.fem | law, marriage, religious decree | GED | |
| ēwida | n.str.fem | eternity | GED | |
| ēwīg | adj | eternal | GED | |
| ēwīn | n.str.fem | eternity | GED | |
| io, ēo | adv | aye, always | CDC/GED | |
| neo, nio | adv | nay, never | GED | |
| Middle High German: | ē(we) | n.fem | law, custom, marriage | ASD |
| ēwic, ēwec | adj | eternal | ASD | |
| ie, je | adv | aye | CDC | |
| German: | Ehe | n.fem | marriage | ASD |
| ewig | adj | eternal | LRC | |
| Hygiene | n.fem | hygiene | LRC | |
| ja | adv | aye: yes | LRC | |
| je | adv | aye: ever | CDC | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | ei | adv | aye: ever | W7 |
| eigi | adv | not | LRC | |
| nei | adv | nay | W7 | |
| samr | adj | same | W7 | |
| æ | adv | aye: ever | LRC | |
| Old Icelandic: | ei | adv | aye | GED |
| lang-ǣr | adj | long-lived | GED | |
| æ | adv | aye: ever | GED | |
| æfi | n.str.fem | age, life | GED | |
| ævi | n.str.fem | age, life | GED | |
| Icelandic: | ei, ey | n | aye | CDC |
| Danish: | evig | adj | eternal | ASD |
| Swedish: | evig | adj | eternal | ASD |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | aiw | adv | aye | CDC |
| *aiws | n.str.masc | aeon, lifetime, eternity | GED | |
| *ajukduþs | n.fem | eternity (as a feature of existence) | GED | |
| halis-aiw | adv | hardly ever | GED | |
| Italic | ||||
| Old Latin: | aeuom, aevom | n.neut | aeon | CDC/GED |
| Latin: | aetās, aetātis | n.fem | age, period | W7 |
| aeternitās, aeternitātis | n.fem | eternity | W7 | |
| aeternus | adj | eternal | GED | |
| aevum | n.neut | aeon | GED/IEW | |
| aevus | n.masc | aeon | GED/IEW | |
| coaevus | adj | coeval | W7 | |
| longaevus | adj | long-lived | GED | |
| primaevus | adj | primeval | W7 | |
| sempiternus | adj | eternal | W7 | |
| vivus | adj | living | W7 | |
| Vulgar Latin: | aetaticum | adj | re: age | W7 |
| Late Latin: | aeternalis | adj | eternal | W7 |
| longaevitas | n.fem | longevity | W7 | |
| sempiternalis | adj | sempiternal | W7 | |
| Old French: | aage | n.masc | age | W7 |
| Middle French: | eternal | adj | eternal | W7 |
| eterne | adj | eternal | W7 | |
| eternité | n.fem | eternity | W7 | |
| French: | hygiène | n.fem | cleanliness, healthy living | W7 |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Homeric Greek: | οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ | adv | no, not | W7 |
| Greek: | ἀεί | adv | aye: ever | LRC |
| αἰεί | adv | aye: ever | LRC | |
| αἰέν | adv | always | GED | |
| αἰών | n.masc | aeon, life(time) | GED | |
| αἰ[Ϝ]ές | adv | always | GED | |
| δηναι(Ϝ)ός | adj | long-lived | GED | |
| hygieinos | adj | healthful | W7 | |
| hygiēs | adj | healthy | W7 | |
| Indic | ||||
| Vedic: | āyunā | n.loc | life | GED |
| ā́yuni | n.inst | life | GED | |
| Sanskrit: | ā́yu- | n | life, life force | GED |
| eva | n.masc | course, manner | ASD | |
| Tocharian | ||||
| Tocharian A: | ăym- | n | life, spirit | GED |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| adv | = | adverb(ial) |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| inst | = | instrumental (case) |
| loc | = | locative (case) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| prop | = | proper |
| str | = | strong (inflection) |
| wk | = | weak (inflection) |
Key to information Source codes (always with 'LRC' as editor):
| Code | Citation | |
|---|---|---|
| AHD | = | Calvert Watkins: The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed. (2000) |
| ASD | = | Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898) |
| CDC | = | W.D. Whitney and B.E. Smith: The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1889-1911) |
| GED | = | Winfred P. Lehmann: A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986) |
| IEW | = | Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
