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: pelə-, plā- 'plane, flat, wide, broad'
Semantic Field(s): Flat, Wide, Broad
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | ||||
| Old Irish: | lám | n | hand, arm | RPN |
| Welsh: | llawr | n.masc | floor | ASD |
| llydan | adj | wide, broad | RPN | |
| English | ||||
| Old English: | fe(a)ld | n.masc | field, plain, pasture | ASD |
| flōr | n.masc | floor, pavement | ASD | |
| folde | n.fem | earth, ground; land, country, district | LRC | |
| folm(e) | n.fem | palm (of hand) | RPN | |
| palm, pælme | n.masc/fem | palm (tree) | ASD | |
| palm-æppel | n | date, lit. palm-apple | ASD | |
| palm-treōw | n | palm-tree | ASD | |
| plaster | n | plaster | W7 | |
| Middle English: | afelde | adv | to the fields | MEV |
| explanen | vb | to explain | W7 | |
| feld(e), filde | n | field | MEV | |
| field | n | field | W7 | |
| flor | n | floor | W7 | |
| palm | n | palm (tree) | W7 | |
| paume | n | palm (of hand) | W7 | |
| plain | n | plain | W7 | |
| plainen | vb | to plain | W7 | |
| plane | n | plane | W7 | |
| planete | n | planet | W7 | |
| plaster | n | plaster | W7 | |
| English: | aplanatic | adj | free from/corrected for spherical aberration | AHD/W7 |
| Barrowfield | prop.n | Rohan cemetery in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| Bridgefields | prop.n | Shire area in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| dysplasia | n | abnormal cell/organ/tissue growth/development | AHD | |
| Eastfold | prop.n | Rohan district in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| esplanade | n | open stretch of level paved/grassy ground | AHD/W7 | |
| explain | vb | to make plain/understandable | AHD/W7 | |
| feldspar | n | crystalline mineral: aluminum silicates with barium/calcium/sodium/potassium | AHD/W7 | |
| field | n | open land area sans woods/buildings | AHD/W7 | |
| Firienfeld | prop.n | Dunharrow meadow in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| flaneur | n | aimless person | AHD/W7 | |
| floor | n | part of room where one stands | AHD/W7 | |
| Folde | prop.n | area of Rohan in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| Greenfields | prop.n | Shire battle locale in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| metaplasm | n | alteration of text w.r.t. letters/syllables/words | AHD/W7 | |
| palm | n | (sub)tropical monocotyledonous tree/shrub/vine | AHD/W7 | |
| palmary | adj | best, outstanding | AHD/W7 | |
| piano | adv | softly, quietly (in music) | AHD/W7 | |
| piano | n | musical instrument in percussive group | CDC | |
| pianoforte | n | piano | AHD | |
| plain | n | level/rolling treeless countryside | AHD/W7 | |
| plain | vb.intrans | to complain | AHD/W7 | |
| planarian | n | small soft-bodied ciliated aquatic turbellarian worm | AHD/W7 | |
| plane | adj | flat, having no elevations/depressions | AHD/W7 | |
| plane | n | flat surface: straight lines joining points lie wholly in surface | AHD/W7 | |
| plane | n | tool for shaping/smoothing wood surface | AHD/W7 | |
| plane | vb.intrans | to soar on wings | AHD/W7 | |
| plane | vb.trans | to level, make flat/smooth/even | AHD/W7 | |
| planet | n | heavenly body (Mercury, Venus, Earth, etc.) revolving around Sol | AHD/W7 | |
| planish | vb.trans | to make plane/smooth | AHD/W7 | |
| planula | n | free-swimming ciliated coelenterate larva | AHD/W7 | |
| -plasia | n.sfx | formation, development | AHD/W7 | |
| plasma | n | green faintly translucent quartz | AHD/W7 | |
| plasmodesma | n | cytoplasm strand connecting plant cells | AHD | |
| -plast | n.sfx | cell, organized granule/particle | AHD/W7 | |
| plaster | n | medicinal preparation stiffer than ointment | AHD/W7 | |
| plastic | adj | creative, formative | AHD/W7 | |
| plastid | n | body of specialized protoplasm in cell cytoplasm | AHD/W7 | |
| -plasty | n.sfx | plastic surgery | AHD/W7 | |
| Polack | prop.n | Polish man | LRC | |
| polka | n | vivacious Bohemian dance (for couples) | AHD/W7 | |
| polynya | n | open water area in sea ice | AHD/W7 | |
| protoplasm | n | living content of cell | TLL | |
| tonoplast | n | vacuolar membrane | AHD | |
| toxoplasma | n | parasitic sporozoan | AHD | |
| veld(t) | n | S African grassland | AHD/W7 | |
| Westfold | prop.n | Rohan district in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | f(i)eld | n | field | ASD |
| Frisian: | fjild | n | field | ASD |
| Middle Dutch: | veld | n | field | W7 |
| Dutch: | plein | n | town square | TLL |
| veld | n.neut | field | ASD | |
| vloer | n.masc | floor | ASD | |
| Afrikaans: | veld | n | veldt, field | W7 |
| Old Saxon: | feld | n.masc | field | ASD |
| folda | n.fem | field, earth | ASD | |
| folmōs | n.masc.pl | the hands | ASD | |
| palma | n | palm (tree) | ASD | |
| Low German: | floor | n.masc | floor | ASD |
| Old High German: | feld | n.neut | field | ASD |
| fluor, flūr | n | field, meadow | ASD/W7 | |
| folma | n.fem | palm (of hand) | ASD/RPN | |
| palma | n | palm (tree) | W7 | |
| pflastar | n.neut | plaster | ASD | |
| Middle High German: | velt | n.neut | field | ASD |
| vluor | n.masc | field | ASD | |
| German: | Feld | n.neut | field | W7 |
| Feldspat(h) | n.masc | feldspar | W7 | |
| Flur | n.fem | field; floor | ASD | |
| Palme | n.fem | palm (tree) | LRC | |
| Pflaster | n.neut | plaster | TLL | |
| Plasma | n.neut | plasma | W7 | |
| Plastid | n | plastid | W7 | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | flana | vb | to rush around | W7 |
| fold | n.fem | field, earth, world | LRC | |
| Icelandic: | fālma | vb | to grope about | ASD |
| flōr | n.masc | floor, pavement | ASD | |
| fold | n.fem | field, earth | ASD | |
| pālmr | n | palm (tree) | ASD | |
| Danish: | famle | vb | to grope | ASD |
| fælled | n.masc/fem | field | ASD | |
| Swedish: | famla | vb | to grope | ASD |
| fält | n.neut | field | ASD | |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | emplastrum | n.neut | cast | W7 |
| explano, explanare | vb | to make level | W7 | |
| metaplasmus | n.masc | transformation | W7 | |
| palma | n.fem | palm (of hand); palm-tree | RPN | |
| palmarius | adj | deserving the palm | W7 | |
| palmus | n.masc | measure of length (palm of hand) | W7 | |
| plango, plangere | vb | to beat, strike | W7 | |
| planum | adj | flat | W7 | |
| planum | n.neut | plain, flat ground | W7 | |
| plānus | adj | even, level, flat, plane | RPN | |
| plasticus | adj | of molding | W7 | |
| Late Latin: | plana | n.fem | tool for leveling | W7 |
| planeta | n.fem | planet | W7 | |
| plano, planāre | vb | to level | W7 | |
| planus | adj | smooth | W7 | |
| plasma | n.neut | something molded | W7 | |
| -plastus | sfx | molding, shaping | W7 | |
| New Latin: | planula | n.fem | (type of) larva | W7 |
| -plasia | sfx | formation, development | W7 | |
| plasma | n.neut | blood component | W7 | |
| Old French: | plain | adj | flat | W7 |
| planète | n.fem | planet | W7 | |
| Middle French: | paume | n.fem | palm (of hand) | W7 |
| plaindre | vb | to complain | W7 | |
| plan | adj | level | W7 | |
| planir | vb | to level | W7 | |
| -plaste | sfx | molded | W7 | |
| French: | esplanade | n.fem | esplanade, public place | W7 |
| flâneur | n.masc | idler, lazy person | W7 | |
| plan | adj | plane | W7 | |
| planer | vb | to plane, glide in air | W7 | |
| planeur | n.masc | glider | W7 | |
| -plastie | sfx | molding, shaping | W7 | |
| Italian: | piano | adj | soft, plain, level | W7 |
| spianare | vb | to level | W7 | |
| spianata | n.fem | esplanade | W7 | |
| Baltic | ||||
| Lithuanian: | plónas | adj | thin | RPN |
| plóstas | n | expanse, space | RPN | |
| Slavic | ||||
| Russian: | polyn | n | polynya | W7 |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Homeric Greek: | πλανάομαι | vb | to rove, wander | LRC |
| Greek: | emplassein | vb | to plaster on | W7 |
| emplastron | n.neut | cast | W7 | |
| καταπλάσσω | vb | to plaster over | LRC | |
| καταπλαστύς | n.fem | plaster | LRC | |
| metaplasmos | n.masc | transformation | W7 | |
| metaplassein | vb | to remold | W7 | |
| παλάμη | n | (palm of) hand | RPN | |
| planasthai | vb | to wander | W7 | |
| planēs | n.masc | wanderer | W7 | |
| planēt- | stem | wanderer | W7 | |
| plasis | n.fem | molding | W7 | |
| plasma | n.neut | something molded | W7 | |
| plassein | vb | to mold | W7 | |
| -plastēs | afx | molder, forger | W7 | |
| plastikos | adj | of molding | W7 | |
| plastos | adj | formed, molded | W7 | |
| πλάττω | vb | to mold, shape | LRC | |
| Late Greek: | -plastia | afx | molding | W7 |
| Anatolian | ||||
| Hittite: | pal-h̯i-iš | adj | broad | RPN |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | pṛthú-ḥ | adj | wide, broad | RPN |
| práthati | vb | to spread, to extend | RPN | |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| adv | = | adverb(ial) |
| afx | = | affix |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| intrans | = | intransitive |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| pl | = | plural (number) |
| prop | = | proper |
| sfx | = | suffix |
| stem | = | stem |
| 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) |
| CDC | = | W.D. Whitney and B.E. Smith: The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1889-1911) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| MEV | = | J.R.R. Tolkien: A Middle English Vocabulary (1922) |
| RPN | = | Allan R. Bomhard: Reconstructing Proto-Nostratic (2002) |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
