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) |