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: denk̑- 'to bite'
Semantic Field(s): to Bite
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | intinga | n.masc | cause, reason | LRC |
| tang(e) | n.fem | tong(s) | GED | |
| tōh | adj | tough | W7 | |
| Middle English: | tang | n | tang | W7 |
| tonge(s) | n | tong(s) | W7 | |
| tough | adj | tough | W7 | |
| English: | tang | n | projecting shank/prong/tongue (e.g. on knife/sword) connected with handle | AHD/W7 |
| tongs | n.pl | grasping device: pieces joined at end by pivot/hinge | AHD/W7 | |
| tough | adj | strong/firm in texture, flexible, not brittle | AHD/W7 | |
| zinc | n | crystalline bivalent metallic element | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Dutch: | tang | n.fem | tongs, forceps | ASD |
| Old Saxon: | tanga | n.fem | tongs | GED |
| Old Low German: | tanga | n.fem | tongs, forceps | ASD |
| Old High German: | zāhi | adj | tough, tenacious, holding together | ASD/W7 |
| zanga | n.fem | tong(s), forceps | GED | |
| zangar | n | wound, cautery | GED | |
| Middle High German: | zāch | n.str.masc | wick | GED |
| zāhe | n.wk.masc | wick | GED | |
| zanger | adj | sharp, keen, lively | GED | |
| German: | zāhe | adj | tough, tenacious, holding together | ASD |
| Zange | n.fem | tongs | LRC | |
| Zink | n | zinc | W7 | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | tangi | n | tang, point of land | W7 |
| tǫng | n.fem | tong | LRC | |
| Old Icelandic: | tāg | n.fem | fiber | GED |
| tǫng | n.fem | tongs | GED | |
| Icelandic: | tæja | vb | to card/comb (wool) | GED |
| töng | n.fem | tongs, forceps | ASD | |
| Norwegian: | tæja | vb | to fray (re: a garment) | GED |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | *dis-taheins | n.fem | dispersion | GED |
| *dis-tahjan | vb.wk.I | to scatter, disperse | GED | |
| *tahjan | vb.wk.I | to tear apart | GED | |
| Albanian | ||||
| Albanian: | danë, darë | n | tongs | GED |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | δάκνω | vb | to bite, lacerate | GED |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | daṁśati | vb | to bite, lacerate | GED |
| dáśati | vb | to bite, lacerate | GED | |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| I | = | class 1 |
| adj | = | adjective |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| pl | = | plural (number) |
| str | = | strong (inflection) |
| vb | = | verb |
| 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) |
| GED | = | Winfred P. Lehmann: A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
