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: magh- : māgh- 'to help, be able; might, power'
Semantic Field(s): to Help, Aid, Strong, Mighty, Powerful
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | ealmihtig | adj | almighty | AHD |
| mægen | n.neut | main | LRC | |
| magan, mæg, magon, meahte | vb.ptpr.V | may, be able to | LRC | |
| mi(e)ht, me(a)ht, maht, mæht | n.fem | might | ASD/W7 | |
| mihtig | adj | mighty | MEV | |
| Middle English: | almy(gh)ty | adj | almighty | MEV |
| dismayen | vb | to dismay | W7 | |
| magik | n | magic | W7 | |
| magus | n | magus | W7 | |
| main | adj/n | main | W7 | |
| might | n | might | W7 | |
| English: | almighty | adj | having absolute might/power | W7 |
| dismay | vb.trans | to take away.courage/resolution of with alarm | AHD/W7 | |
| machine | n | constructed thing (material/immaterial) | AHD/W7 | |
| magic | n | use of means (charms, spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces | AHD/W7 | |
| magus | n | member of hereditary priestly class among ancient Medes/Persians | AHD/W7 | |
| main | adj | outstanding, conspicuous | AHD/W7 | |
| main | n | force, physical strength | AHD/W7 | |
| mainmast | n | sailing ship's principal mast | W7 | |
| may | vb.mod | to be able | AHD/W7 | |
| mechanic | adj | re: machine (esp. in routine/automatic performance) | AHD/W7 | |
| mechanism | n | machine, mechanical appliance | AHD | |
| mechan(o)- | pfx | machine | AHD | |
| might | n | entity's power/resources/authority | AHD/W7 | |
| mighty | adj | strong, powerful, re: might | LRC | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | macht, meht | n | might | ASD |
| mugan | vb.mod | may | ASD | |
| Dutch: | mag | vb.mod.1/3.sg | (I/he) may | TLL |
| magt | n | might | ASD | |
| Old Saxon: | maht | n | might | ASD |
| megin | n | main, might | ASD | |
| mugan | vb.mod | may | ASD | |
| Old High German: | magan, megin | n | main | ASD/W7 |
| magan, mugan | vb.mod | may | ASD/W7 | |
| maht | n | might | W7 | |
| Middle High German: | maht | n | might | ASD |
| mugen, mügen | vb.mod | may | ASD | |
| German: | Macht | n.fem | might | ASD |
| mächtig | adj | mighty | TLL | |
| mag | vb.mod.1/3.sg | (I/he) may, like(s) to | TLL | |
| mögen | vb.mod | may | ASD | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | mega | vb.mod | may | LRC |
| megin | n.neut | main, (supernatural) strength | LRC | |
| Icelandic: | magn, megin | n | main, might | ASD |
| máttr | n | might | ASD | |
| Danish: | maa | vb.mod.1/3.sg | (I/he) may | TLL |
| Swedish: | må | vb.mod.1/3.sg | (I/he) may | TLL |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | magan | vb.ptpr | may | LRC |
| mahts | n.str.fem | might | LRC | |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | machina | n.fem | machine, device (in theater) | W7 |
| magice | n.fem | magic | W7 | |
| magus | n.masc | magus, sorcerer | W7 | |
| mechanicus | adj | mechanic | W7 | |
| Old French: | desmaiier | vb | to dismay | W7 |
| Middle French: | machine | n.fem | machine, device | W7 |
| magique | adj | magical | W7 | |
| méchanique | adj/n.fem | mechanical; machine | W7 | |
| Slavic | ||||
| Old Church Slavonic: | mošti, mogǫ, mogeši | vb.mod | may | LRC |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Doric: | machana | n.fem | machine, device (in theater) | W7 |
| mēchos | n.neut | means, expedient | W7 | |
| Greek: | magikos | adj | re: magic | W7 |
| μάγος | n.masc | magus, sorcerer, wise man | LRC | |
| μηχανή | n.fem | machine, device, instrument | LRC | |
| mēchanikos | adj | mechanic | W7 | |
| mēchos | n.neut | means, expedient | W7 | |
| Iranian | ||||
| Old Persian: | mogush | n | magus, sorcerer | W7 |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | = | 1st person |
| 3 | = | 3rd person |
| V | = | class 5 |
| adj | = | adjective |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| mod | = | modal |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| pfx | = | prefix |
| ptpr | = | preterite-present (verb) |
| sg | = | singular (number) |
| str | = | strong (inflection) |
| trans | = | transitive |
| 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) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| MEV | = | J.R.R. Tolkien: A Middle English Vocabulary (1922) |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
