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: bhlē- 'to bleat, weep, howl'
Semantic Field(s): Sound (n), to Cry, Weep, Loud
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | bellan | vb | to roar | W7 |
| blǣtan | vb | to bleat | W7 | |
| blagettan, blǣgettan | vb | to cry, shriek, scream | IEW | |
| Middle English: | *blaren, bloren | vb | to blare, cry, weep | CDC |
| bleren | vb | to blare | W7 | |
| bleten | vb | to bleat | W7 | |
| feble | adj | feeble | W7 | |
| English: | blare | vb | to sound loud/strident | AHD/W7 |
| bleat | vb | to emit natural cry of sheep/goat | AHD/W7 | |
| feeble | adj | markedly lacking in strength | AHD/W7 | |
| Scots English: | blair, bleir | vb | to cry, weep, blare | CDC |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Middle Dutch: | blaren, blaeren | vb | to low, bleat, blare | CDC |
| bleten | vb | to bleat | ASD | |
| Dutch: | blaren | vb | to bleat, blare | IEW |
| bleeten, blāten | vb | to bleat | ASD | |
| Middle Low German: | blarren | vb | to blare | CDC |
| bleten | vb | to bleat | CDC | |
| Low German: | blar(r)en | vb | to blare | CDC |
| bleten | vb | to bleat | CDC | |
| Old High German: | blāzan | vb | to bleat | ASD |
| Middle High German: | blāzen | vb | to bleat | CDC |
| blēren, blerren | vb | to cry, bleat, blare | IEW | |
| German: | bellen | vb | to bark, boom | LRC |
| blarren, blärren | vb | to blare | CDC | |
| blässen | vb | to bleat | IEW | |
| blätzen | vb | to bleat | CDC | |
| blöken | vb | to bleat, bellow | CDC | |
| plär(r)en | vb | to blare, bawl | IEW | |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | bālō, bālāre | vb | to bleat | CDC |
| flebilis | adj | wretched, lamentable | W7 | |
| fleo, flēre | vb | to weep | W7 | |
| Old French: | feble | adj | feeble | W7 |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Doric: | βληχή | n.fem | bleating, wailing | CDC |
| Greek: | βληχάομαι | vb | to bleat | LS |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| 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) |
| IEW | = | Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| LS | = | Liddell and Scott: Greek-English Lexicon, 7th-9th ed's (1882-1940), rev. |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |