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: 5. mel- 'limb; to join'
Semantic Field(s): to Join, Unite
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| English: | acromelic | adj | re: extremity ends (hands/feet) | AHD |
| melisma | n | multiple notes sung to single syllable | AHD | |
| melodrama | n | extravagantly theatrical play: plot/action predominate over characterization | AHD/W7 | |
| melody | n | tunefulness; sounds ordered musically | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| German: | Melodie | n.fem | melody | LRC |
| Italic | ||||
| Late Latin: | melodia | n.fem | melody | W7 |
| Old French: | melodie | n.fem | melody | W7 |
| French: | mélodrame | n.masc | melodrama | W7 |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Homeric Greek: | μέλος | n | limb, member | LRC |
| Greek: | melizein | vb | to sing | AHD |
| melos | n.neut | song, melody | W7 | |
| melōidia | n.fem | music, chanting, melody | W7 | |
| Armenian | ||||
| Classical Armenian: | marmin | n | body | LRC |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| 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) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
