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: 1. ghrebh-, gherbh-, root extension ghrebhā- 'to grab, grasp'
Semantic Field(s): to Grasp, Seize, Take Hold of
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | (ge-)græppian | vb | to grapple | ASD/IEW |
| Middle English: | graspen | vb | to grasp | W7 |
| English: | grab | vb | to snatch, clutch | AHD/W7 |
| grabble | vb | to grope, search with hand | IEW | |
| grapple | vb | to seize, hold fast | IEW | |
| grasp | vb | to clutch, make motion of seizing | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | grova | vb | to grovel | GED |
| Low German: | grabben | vb | to grab | W7 |
| Old High German: | garba | n.str/wk.fem | sheaf | GED |
| Middle High German: | grāpen | vb | to grope | GED |
| German: | grapsen | vb | to grasp | GED |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Icelandic: | grufla | vb | to grovel | GED |
| Norwegian: | gruvla | vb | to grovel | GED |
| Swedish: | grabba | vb | to grab | GED |
| Baltic | ||||
| Lithuanian: | grabinėti | vb | to seize here and there | GED |
| grabùs | adj | dexterous | GED | |
| grõbis | n | booty | GED | |
| gróbiu | vb | to seize forcefully | GED | |
| gróbti | vb | to seize forcefully | GED | |
| Latvian: | grâbt | vb | to seize, rake | GED |
| Iranian | ||||
| Old Persian: | ag(a)rbāya | vb.pret | seized | GED |
| Avestan: | gərəwnāiti | vb | to seize | GED |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | gṛbhṇāti | vb | to seize | GED |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| pret | = | preterite (tense) |
| 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) |
| IEW | = | Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
