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: gerebh- 'to carve, scratch; write'
Semantic Field(s): to Carve, to Rub, to Write
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | ceorfan | vb | to cut, carve | RPN |
| crabba | n.masc | crab | ASD/W7 | |
| cyrf | n | kerf, (action of) cutting | RPN | |
| Middle English: | crabbe | n | crab (marine crustacean) | W7 |
| crawlen | vb | to crawl | W7 | |
| crevis | n | crayfish | W7 | |
| epigrame | n | epigram | W7 | |
| graffe | n | graft | W7 | |
| graffen, graften | vb | to graft | W7 | |
| gramere | n | grammar | W7 | |
| kerf | n | kerf | W7 | |
| kerven | vb | to carve | W7 | |
| topographie | n | topography | W7 | |
| English: | agrapha | n | sayings of Jesus in early, non-canonical Christian writings | AHD/W7 |
| agraphia | n | dysgraphia | AHD | |
| anagram | n | word/phrase spelled via letter transposition from another word/phrase | AHD/W7 | |
| carve | vb | to cut with care/precision | AHD/W7 | |
| crab | n | broadly built marine crustacean | AHD/W7 | |
| crawl | vb | to creep, move slowly with body close to ground | AHD/W7 | |
| crayfish | n | small freshwater crustacean resembling lobster | AHD/W7 | |
| diagram | n | line drawing for mathematical/scientific purposes | AHD/W7 | |
| dysgraphia | n | inability to write | LRC | |
| epigram | n | poem dealing concisely/pointedly/satirically with single thought/event | AHD/W7 | |
| epigraph | n | engraved inscription | AHD/W7 | |
| glamo(u)r | n | spell, magic, illusion, enchantment | AHD/W7 | |
| graffito | n | rude drawing/inscription on rock/wall | AHD/W7 | |
| graft | vb | to cause (scion) to unite with stock | AHD/W7 | |
| -gram | n.sfx | drawing, writing, record | AHD/W7 | |
| gram | n | metric unit of mass | AHD/W7 | |
| grammar | n | study of word/sentence use in language | AHD/W7 | |
| graph | n | something drawn/written | AHD/W7 | |
| -grapher | n.sfx | one who writes | AHD/W7 | |
| graphic | adj | drawn/written/engraved | AHD/W7 | |
| graphite | n | soft black lustrous carbon used in pencils etc. | AHD/W7 | |
| -graphy | n.sfx | writing/representation | AHD/W7 | |
| iconography | n | illustration by pictures/other visual representations | AHD/W7 | |
| kerf | n | slit/notch made by saw/cutting torch | AHD/W7 | |
| landgrave | n | German count having territorial jurisdiction | AHD/W7 | |
| margrave | n | military governor of German border province | AHD/W7 | |
| odograph | n | instrument for recording course/distance traveled | AHD | |
| pal(a)eography | n | (study of) scripts/writing from former eras | TLL | |
| palsgrave | n | count palatine, lit. count (of a) palace | AHD/W7 | |
| paragraph | n | one/more sentences in written composition | AHD/W7 | |
| parallelogram | n | quadrilateral with parallel opposite sides of equal length | AHD/W7 | |
| plethysmograph | n | instrument measuring variation in body part size based on blood volume | AHD | |
| plutography | n | media describing lives of rich/famous people | AHD | |
| program | n | public notice | AHD/W7 | |
| prosopography | n | statistical study describing people/characters in context | AHD | |
| pseudepigrapha | n | apocrypha | AHD/W7 | |
| topography | n | position/elevation depiction on maps/charts | AHD/W7 | |
| Scots English: | glamour | n | glamor | W7 |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | kerva | vb | to carve | RPN |
| Frisian: | kerven | vb | to carve | ASD |
| Middle Dutch: | marcgrave | n | margrave | W7 |
| Dutch: | kerven | vb | to carve | ASD |
| krab | n.fem | crab | ASD | |
| kreeft | n | crayfish; lobster | TLL | |
| markgraaf | n | margrave | W7 | |
| paltsgrave | n | palsgrave | W7 | |
| Old High German: | chrëpazo | n.masc | crab | ASD |
| grāvo | n | count | W7 | |
| krebiz | n | crab | W7 | |
| marcgrāvo | n | margrave, lit. boundary count | W7 | |
| Middle High German: | kerban, kerben | vb | to carve, notch | RPN |
| krebez | n.masc | crab | ASD | |
| German: | Graf | n.masc | count | LRC |
| Graphit | n | graphite | W7 | |
| kerben | vb | to carve | ASD | |
| Krabbe | n.fem | crab | ASD | |
| Krebs | n.masc | cancer | ASD | |
| Landgraf | n | landgrave | W7 | |
| Markgraf | n.masc | margrave | LRC | |
| Pfaltzgraf | n.masc | palsgrave | LRC | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | krabbi | n | crab | KNW |
| krafla | vb | to crawl | W7 | |
| Old Icelandic: | krota | vb | to engrave | RPN |
| kurfr | n | chip, cut-off piece | RPN | |
| Icelandic: | krabbi | n.masc | crab | ASD |
| Danish: | biograf | n | cinema | TLL |
| karve | vb | to carve | ASD | |
| krabbe | n | crab | ASD | |
| krebs | n | crayfish | TLL | |
| Swedish: | biograf | n | cinema | TLL |
| karfva | vb | to carve | ASD | |
| krabba | n.fem | crab | ASD | |
| kräfta | n | crayfish | TLL | |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | epigramma, epigrammatis | n.fem | epigram | W7 |
| -gramma | sfx | letter | W7 | |
| grammatica | n.fem | grammar | W7 | |
| -graphia | sfx | action of writing | W7 | |
| graphicus | adj | of writing | W7 | |
| graphium | n.neut | stylus | W7 | |
| -graphum | sfx | writing | W7 | |
| karabus | n.masc | crab | ASD | |
| Late Latin: | gramma | n.neut | a small weight | W7 |
| -graphus | sfx | writer | W7 | |
| parallelogrammum | n.neut | parallelogram | W7 | |
| topographia | n.fem | topography, study of landscape | W7 | |
| Medieval Latin: | paragraphus | n.masc | sign marking a paragraph | W7 |
| New Latin: | anagramma, anagrammatis | n.neut | anagram, transposition of letters | W7 |
| pseudepigrapha | n.neut.pl | manuscripts falsely ascribed to an author, apocrypha | W7 | |
| Middle French: | anagramme | n.fem | anagram | W7 |
| grafe | n.masc | stylus | W7 | |
| gramaire | n.fem | grammar, grammar book, book of sorcery | W7 | |
| -graphe | sfx | writing or drawing | W7 | |
| paragraphe | n.masc | paragraph | W7 | |
| French: | gramme | n.masc | unit of weight | W7 |
| -graphe | sfx | suffix indicating writing | W7 | |
| programme | n.masc | agenda, public notice | W7 | |
| Italian: | graffito | n | graffito | W7 |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | agraphos | adj | unwritten | W7 |
| anagrammatizein | vb | to transpose letters | W7 | |
| anagrammatismos | n.masc | anagram | W7 | |
| gramma, grammatos | n.neut | letter | W7 | |
| γραμματεύς | n.masc | scribe | LRC | |
| grammatikē | n.fem | grammar | W7 | |
| grammatikos | adj | of letters | W7 | |
| grammē | n.fem | line | W7 | |
| grapheion | n.neut | stylus | W7 | |
| γραφή | n.fem | writing, scripture | LRC | |
| -graphia | afx | writing | W7 | |
| γραφικῆ | n.fem | painting | LRC | |
| graphikos | adj | of writing | W7 | |
| -graphon | afx | written | W7 | |
| -graphos | afx | writer | W7 | |
| γράφω | vb | to write | LRC | |
| diagramma | n.neut | a drawing, a plan | W7 | |
| diagraphein | vb | to mark out by lines | W7 | |
| eikonographein | vb | to describe | W7 | |
| eikonographia | n.fem | sketch, description | W7 | |
| epigramma | n.neut | epigram | W7 | |
| epigraphein | vb | to inscribe | W7 | |
| epigraphē | n.fem | inscription | W7 | |
| paragraphein | vb | to write alongside | W7 | |
| paragraphos | n.masc | line used to mark change of persons in a dialogue | W7 | |
| parallelogrammon | n.neut | parallelogram | W7 | |
| parallelogrammos | adj | bound by parallel lines | W7 | |
| programma | n.neut | public notice | W7 | |
| prographein | vb | to write before | W7 | |
| topographein | vb | to describe a place | W7 | |
| topographia | n.fem | topography | W7 | |
| pseudepigrapha | n.neut.pl | writings falsely ascribed to an author | W7 | |
| pseudepigraphos | adj | falsely ascribed | W7 | |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| afx | = | affix |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| pl | = | plural (number) |
| sfx | = | suffix |
| 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) |
| KNW | = | Gerhard Köbler: Altnordisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed. (2003) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| RPN | = | Allan R. Bomhard: Reconstructing Proto-Nostratic (2002) |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
