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: mori, mōri   'mere, sea'

Semantic Field(s): Sea

 

Indo-European Reflexes:

Family/Language Reflex(es) PoS/Gram. Gloss Source(s)
English  
Old English: mere, mære n.masc mere ASD
mere-hūs n.neut lit. sea-house LRC
mere-men(n), mere-men(n)en n.fem siren ASD
mere-næddra n.masc lamprey, lit. sea-adder ASD
mere-swīn n.neut dolphin, porpoise, lit. sea-pig ASD
mere-wērig adj weary of seafaring, lit. sea-weary ASD
mere-wīf n.neut water-witch, woman living in lake ASD
mer(i)sc n.masc marsh W7
Middle English: cormeraunt n cormorant W7
marine adj marine W7
mere n mere W7
mersh n marsh W7
English: beche-de-mer n trepang, lit. sea grub AHD/W7
cormorant n dark-colored web-footed seabird AHD/W7
maar n circular flat-bottomed volcanic crater AHD
mare n extensive dark area on surface of moon/Mars AHD/W7
mariculture n cultivation of marine organisms AHD
marinara n tomato sauce with onion/garlic/spices AHD
marine adj re: sea AHD/W7
Marish prop.n marshy Shire area in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings LRC
maritime adj re: sea commerce/navigation AHD/W7
marram n beach grass AHD
marsh n soft wet land usu. having monocotyledons (grasses/cattails) AHD/W7
meerkat n small mongoose-like S African mammal AHD
meerschaum n hydrous magnesium silicate: light, fine white clay/mineral AHD/W7
mere n sea, lake, pool, sheet of standing water AHD/W7
mermaid n fabled marine creature: fish-tailed woman W7
merman, mermen n fabled marine creature: fish-tailed man W7
Mirrormere prop.n glassy lake in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings LRC
morass n marsh, swamp AHD/W7
Shadowmere prop.n reflecting lake in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings LRC
ultramarine adj lit. beyond the sea AHD/W7
ultramarine n blue pigment: powdered lapis lazuli AHD/W7
British English: ormer n sea-ear, ear-shell, Channel Islands abalone AHD
West Germanic  
Middle Dutch: mersch n marsh W7
Dutch: meer n mere TLL
mierikswortel n horseradish TLL
moeras n morass W7
Old Saxon: meri n.fem mere ASD
Old High German: meri, mari n.masc/neut mere ASD/W7
meri-ratih n horseradish KDW
German: Maar n.neut maar, volcanic lake AHD
Marsch n.fem marsh LRC
Meer n.neut mere ASD
Meerrettich n horseradish TLL
Morast n.masc morass LRC
North Germanic  
Old Norse: marr n.masc mere LRC
Icelandic: marr n.masc mere ASD
East Germanic  
Gothic: marei n.wk.fem mere LRC
Italic  
Latin: mare, maris n.neut mere LRC
marinus adj re: sea W7
maritimus adj maritime W7
Vulgar Latin: *mara n maar, lake, standing water AHD
Medieval Latin: ultramarinus adj (coming from) beyond the sea W7
Portuguese: bicho-do-mar n beche-de-mer AHD
Old French: cormareng n.masc cormorant W7
marenc adj re: sea W7
maresc n marsh W7
Middle French: cormorant n.masc cormorant W7
French: bêche-de-mer n.fem beche-de-mer W7

 

Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:

Abbrev. Meaning
adj=adjective
fem=feminine (gender)
masc=masculine (gender)
n=noun
neut=neuter (gender)
prop=proper
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)
KDW=Gerhard Köbler: Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 4th ed. (1993)
LRC=Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin
TLL=Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944)
W7=Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963)

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