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: 3. lē(i)- 'to weaken, leave behind; feeble'
Semantic Field(s): Weak, Infirm, to Leave, Relinquish
Indo-European Reflexes:
Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
Old English: | forlǣtan, forlēt, forlēton, forlǣten | vb.str.VII | to leave, forsake, abandon | LRC |
læt | adj | late | W7 | |
lǣtan, lēt, lēton, lǣten | vb.str.VII | to let, allow | LRC | |
lætra | adj.comp | later | W7 | |
latost | adj.sup | last | W7 | |
Middle English: | alas | interj | alas | W7 |
allegeaunce | n | allegiance | W7 | |
last | adj | last | W7 | |
late | adj | late | W7 | |
latter | adj | latter | W7 | |
leten | vb | to let | W7 | |
liege | adj | liege | W7 | |
ligeaunce | n | allegiance | AHD | |
English: | alas | interj | used to express pity/concern/unhappiness | AHD/W7 |
allegiance | n | obligation of feudal vassal to liege lord | AHD/W7 | |
lassitude | n | fatigue, weariness | AHD/W7 | |
last | adj | following all others | AHD/W7 | |
late | adj | coming/remaining after due/proper/usual time | AHD/W7 | |
latter | adj | later, more recent | AHD/W7 | |
lenient | adj | relieving pain/stress | AHD/W7 | |
lenis | adj | produced with lax articulation/weak expiration | AHD/W7 | |
lenitive | adj | mitigating, alleviating pain/acrimony | AHD/W7 | |
let, let | vb.str | to make, cause to | AHD/W7 | |
liege | adj | having right/obligation to render feudal service/allegiance | AHD/W7 | |
West Germanic | ||||
Old Frisian: | let | adj | late, slow | ASD |
let | n | serf | W7 | |
lēta | vb | to let, allow | ASD | |
Dutch: | laten | vb | to let | TLL |
verlaten | vb | to forsake, let go | ASD | |
Old Saxon: | lat | adj | late, slow | ASD |
lātan | vb | to let, allow | ASD | |
Old High German: | laz | adj | slow | W7 |
lāz(z)an | vb | to let, allow, permit | ASD/W7 | |
German: | lass | adj | late, slow | ASD |
lassen | vb | to let | TLL | |
verlassen | vb.str | to quit, leave, forsake, abandon | ASD | |
North Germanic | ||||
Old Norse: | láta | vb | to let, allow; yield, concede | LRC |
Icelandic: | latr | adj | late, slow | ASD |
lāta | vb | to let, allow | ASD | |
Danish: | lade | vb | to let | TLL |
Swedish: | låta | vb | to let | TLL |
East Germanic | ||||
Gothic: | lats | adj | slothful | ASD |
lētan | vb | to let, allow | ASD | |
Italic | ||||
Latin: | lassitudo | n.fem | lassitude | W7 |
lassus | adj | weary | W7 | |
leniens, lenientis | vb.ptc | lenient, with soft rule | W7 | |
lenio, lenīre, lenīvī, lenītus | vb | to soften, soothe | W7 | |
lēnis | adj | soft, mild, smooth, gentle | W7 | |
Late Latin: | laeticus | n.masc | serf | W7 |
Medieval Latin: | lenitivus | adj | lenitive, softening | W7 |
Old French: | alas | interj | alas | W7 |
las | adj | weary | W7 | |
li(e)ge | n.masc | feudal servant; feudal lord | W7 | |
ligeance | n.fem | allegiance | W7 | |
Middle French: | lassitude | n.fem | fatigue | W7 |
lenitif | adj | lenitive, that makes things softer | W7 | |
ligeance | n.fem | allegiance | W7 | |
Baltic | ||||
Latvian: | lēni | adv | slowly | LRC |
Albanian | ||||
Gheg: | lą | vb | to leave | IEW |
Tosk: | lë | vb | to leave | IEW |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
Abbrev. | Meaning | |
---|---|---|
VII | = | class 7 |
adj | = | adjective |
adv | = | adverb(ial) |
comp | = | comparative |
fem | = | feminine (gender) |
interj | = | interjection |
masc | = | masculine (gender) |
n | = | noun |
ptc | = | participle |
str | = | strong (inflection) |
sup | = | superlative |
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) |
IEW | = | Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959) |
LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |