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: bheleg- 'to shine, glisten'
Semantic Field(s): to Shine, Glisten
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | bǣl | n | flame, funeral pyre | ASD/W7 |
| blāc, blǣc | adj | bleak, white, shining | CDC/W7 | |
| blācern, blǣcern | n | lantern | RPN | |
| blæc | adj/n | black; ink | CDC/W7 | |
| blǣc(e)an | vb | to bleach | CDC/W7 | |
| *blanc, blanca | n | poetic white/gray horse | CDC | |
| blencan | vb | to blink | W7 | |
| blīcan | vb | to shine | ODE | |
| Middle English: | blak, blac | adj | black | MEV/W7 |
| blake, bloke | adj | bleak, white, shining | CDC/ODE | |
| blanch, blank | adj | blank | CDC | |
| blanke, blonke | adj | blank | CDC | |
| blanket, blonket | n | blanket | CDC/W7 | |
| bla(u)nche | adj | blanched | CDC | |
| bla(u)nchen | vb | to blanch | CDC/W7 | |
| blechen | vb | to bleach | W7 | |
| blek(e) | adj | bleak; black | CDC/W7 | |
| blenchen, blinchen | vb | to blench | CDC/W7 | |
| blenken | vb | to blink | W2I | |
| blīkan | vb | to shine | CDC | |
| enflamen | vb | to inflame | W7 | |
| flaum(b)e | n | flame | W7 | |
| fleume | n | phlegm | W7 | |
| fulgent | adj | fulgent | W7 | |
| fulminaten | vb | to fulminate | W7 | |
| English: | black | adj | extremely dark | AHD/W7 |
| blacken | vb | to darken, make black | LRC | |
| Blackroot | prop.n | vale in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| blacksmith | n | one who shapes/forges iron with hammer/anvil | AHD | |
| blanch | vb | to whiten, remove color | AHD/W7 | |
| blank | adj | white, colorless | AHD/W7 | |
| blanket | n | woven fabric used as bed covering | AHD/W7 | |
| bleach | vb | to remove color/stains | AHD/W7 | |
| bleak | adj.obs/dial | wan, pale, pallid, without color | AHD/W2I | |
| bleak | vb.obs | to bleach | W2I | |
| blench | vb.intrans | to flinch/draw back/turn aside due to lack of courage | AHD/W7 | |
| blink | vb | to deceive (obs.); twinkle; look/glance/glimpse | ODE/W2I | |
| conflagrant | adj | blazing, burning | AHD/W7 | |
| conflagration | n | fire | AHD/W7 | |
| deflagrate | vb | to burn with sudden/sparkling combustion | AHD/W7 | |
| flagrant | adj | glowing, flaming | AHD/W7 | |
| flambé | vb | to drench with liquor and ignite | AHD | |
| flambeau | n | flaming torch | AHD/W7 | |
| flamboyant | adj | having wavy curves suggesting flames | AHD/W7 | |
| flame | n | glowing gaseous part of fire | AHD/W7 | |
| flamingo | n | aquatic bird with long neck/legs | AHD/W7 | |
| flammable | adj | subject to easy ignition/rapid burning | AHD/W7 | |
| fulgent | adj | dazzlingly bright | AHD/W7 | |
| fulgurate | vb.trans | to emit (lightning) flashes | AHD/W7 | |
| fulminate | vb | to utter/send out with denunciation | AHD/W7 | |
| inflame | vb | to kindle, set on fire | AHD/W7 | |
| Phlegethon | prop.n | river of fire in Hades (Greek mythology) | LRC | |
| phlegm | n | one of 4 humors in early physiology | AHD/W7 | |
| phlegmatic | adj | re: phlegm | AHD | |
| phlogiston | n | former hypothetical principle of fire (as material substance) | AHD/W7 | |
| phlox | n | American annual/perennial herb with variously coloured flowers | AHD/W7 | |
| Scots English: | blonk | adj | blank | CDC |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | blīka | vb | to shine | CDC |
| Middle Dutch: | blinken | vb | to blink; shine, glitter | ODE |
| Vlaminc | n | Fleming | W7 | |
| Dutch: | blaken | vb | to burn, scorch, blacken | CDC |
| blakeren | vb | to scorch, blacken | CDC | |
| blank | adj | blank, shining | CDC | |
| blecken | vb | to bleach | CDC | |
| bleek | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| blijken | vb | to look, appear | ODE | |
| blinken | vb | to blink; shine | W2I | |
| vlam | n | flame | TLL | |
| Old Saxon: | blēk | adj | bleak, white, shining | ODE |
| blīkan | vb | to shine | CDC | |
| Middle Low German: | black | n | ink | CDC |
| blaken | vb | to blacken, burn with much smoke | CDC | |
| blank | adj | blank, shining | CDC | |
| blēk | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| Low German: | black | n | ink | CDC |
| blek | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| verblekken | vb | to scorch, blacken | CDC | |
| Old High German: | bla(c)h | adj | black | CDC/W7 |
| blanch | adj | blank, white | W7 | |
| bleichēn | vb | to bleach | CDC | |
| bleih | adj | bleak, white, shining | ODE | |
| blīhhan | vb | to shine | CDC | |
| Middle High German: | black | n | ink | CDC |
| blanc | adj | blank, shining, bright | CDC | |
| bleich | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| bleichen | vb | to bleach | CDC | |
| blīcan | vb | to grow bleak | CDC | |
| German: | blaken | vb | to blacken, burn with much smoke | CDC |
| blank | adj | blank, bright, shining | CDC | |
| blanko | adj | blank, plain | LRC | |
| bleich | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| bleichen | vb | to bleach, grow bleak | CDC | |
| blinken | vb | to blink; shine, flash, twinkle | W2I | |
| Flamme | n.fem | flame | LRC | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | bleikr | adj | bleak, white, shining | ODE |
| blekkja | vb | to impose on | W7 | |
| blika, blíkja | vb | to shine, gleam, twinkle | ODE | |
| Icelandic: | blakkr | adj | black | ASD |
| blakkr | n | poetic horse/steed | CDC | |
| bleikja | vb | to bleach | CDC | |
| bleikr | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| blek | n | ink | CDC | |
| blekkja | vb | to deceive | CDC | |
| *blincan | vb | to blink; twinkle | CDC | |
| blīk(j)a | vb | to shine | CDC | |
| Danish: | blak | adj | black, dark | CDC |
| blank | adj | blank, shining | CDC | |
| bleg | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| blege | vb | to bleach | CDC | |
| blinke | vb | to blink, wink; twinkle | ODE | |
| blæk | n | ink | CDC | |
| flamme | n | flame | TLL | |
| Swedish: | black | adj | black, dark, grayish | CDC |
| blank | adj | blank, shining | CDC | |
| blek | adj | bleak | CDC | |
| bleka | vb | to bleach | CDC | |
| blinka | vb | to blink, wink; twinkle | ODE | |
| bläck | n | ink | CDC | |
| flamma | n | flame | TLL | |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | conflagrans, conflagrantis | adj/vb.ptc | burning | W7 |
| conflagratio, conflagrationis | n.fem | a burning together | W7 | |
| conflagro, conflagrare, conflagratus | vb | to burn | W7 | |
| deflagro, deflagrare, deflagratus | vb | to burn down | W7 | |
| flagrans, flagrantis | adj/vb.ptc | burning, glowing | W7 | |
| flagro, flagrare | vb | to burn, glow | W7 | |
| flamma | n.fem | flame | W7 | |
| flammo, flammare | vb | to flame, set on fire | W7 | |
| flammula | n.fem | little flame | W7 | |
| fulgens, fulgentis | adj/vb.ptc | shining | W7 | |
| fulgeo, fulgēre | vb | to shine | W7 | |
| fulgur, fulgor | n.neut | lightning | W7 | |
| fulguro, fulgurare, fulguratus | vb | to flash with lightning | W7 | |
| fulmen, fulminis | n.neut | lightning, a thunderbolt | W7 | |
| fulmino, fulmināre, fulminātus | vb | to flash/strike with lightning | W7 | |
| inflammo, inflammare | vb | to ignite | W7 | |
| Phlegethon | n.masc | Phlegethon | W7 | |
| phlox | n.fem | flower | W7 | |
| Middle Latin: | blancus | adj | blank | CDC |
| blanketus, blanchetus | n | blanket | CDC | |
| New Latin: | phlox | n.masc | genus of flowers | W7 |
| Portuguese: | branco | adj | blank | CDC |
| chama | n | flame | TLL | |
| Spanish: | blanco | adj | blank | CDC |
| flamenco | n.masc | a Spanish dance | W7 | |
| llama | n | flame | TLL | |
| Old French: | blanc(he) | adj | blank | W7 |
| blanchir | vb | to blanch, make white | CDC | |
| blanket | n | blanket | CDC | |
| blankete | n.fem | blanket | W7 | |
| flambe | n.fem | flame | W7 | |
| flamber | vb | to flame | AHD | |
| flamble | n.fem | flame | W7 | |
| flamboyer | vb | to flame | W7 | |
| Middle French: | enflamer | vb | to inflame | W7 |
| flambeau | n.masc | torch | W7 | |
| flamme, flambe | n.fem | flame | W7 | |
| French: | blanchet | n | blanket | CDC |
| blanchir | vb | to blanch | CDC | |
| flambeau | n.masc | torch | W7 | |
| flamboyant | adj | re: flame | W7 | |
| flamboyer | vb | to flame, be ablaze | W7 | |
| flamme | n.fem | flame | W7 | |
| Old Occitan: | blanc | adj | blank | CDC |
| Italian: | bianco | adj | blank | CDC |
| fiamma | n | flame | TLL | |
| Slavic | ||||
| Old Church Slavonic: | blagъ | adj | good | RPN |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | Phlegethōn | prop.n.masc | Phlegethon | W7 |
| phlegein | vb | to burn | W7 | |
| phlegma | n.neut | flame, inflammation, phlegm | W7 | |
| φλέγω | vb | to burn, blaze | RPN | |
| phlogizein | vb | to set on fire | W7 | |
| phlogistos, phlogiston | adj | inflammable | W7 | |
| phlox, phlogos | n.fem | flame | W7 | |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | bhárgas- | n | splendor, radiance | RPN |
| bhrāj | vb | to shine | CDC | |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| dial | = | dialectal |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| intrans | = | intransitive |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| obs | = | obsolete |
| prop | = | proper |
| ptc | = | participle |
| trans | = | transitive |
| vb | = | verb |
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) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| MEV | = | J.R.R. Tolkien: A Middle English Vocabulary (1922) |
| ODE | = | C.T. Onions: The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1966) |
| RPN | = | Allan R. Bomhard: Reconstructing Proto-Nostratic (2002) |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W2I | = | Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd ed. (1959) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
