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: 4. perk̑-, prek̑-, pr̥k̑-   'to request, ask/pray for'

Semantic Field(s): to Ask, Request

 

Indo-European Reflexes:

Family/Language Reflex(es) PoS/Gram. Gloss Source(s)
Celtic  
Middle Welsh: arch n request RPN
arch-af vb.3.sg to ask RPN
English  
Old English: freht n divination RPN
frignan, fricgean, fricg(g)an vb.str to ask, inquire, question ASD/RPN
friht n divination RPN
gefrīnan, gefrān, gefrūnon, gefrūnen vb.str.III to learn, hear of LRC
Middle English: prayen vb to pray W7
prayer n prayer W7
English: deprecate vb.trans to express disapproval of AHD/W7
expostulate vb to examine, discuss AHD/W7
imprecate vb to invoke AHD/W7
postulate n hypothesis advanced as essential premise/presupposition AHD/W7
postulate vb.trans to claim, demand AHD/W7
pray vb to implore, entreat AHD/W7
prayer n approach to deity via word/thought AHD/W7
precarious adj depending on will/pleasure of another AHD/W7
prie-dieu n prayer-desk (with bookshelf/kneeling bench) AHD/W7
West Germanic  
Old Frisian: fregia vb to ask, inquire ASD
Frisian: freegjen vb to ask, inquire ASD
Dutch: vragen vb to ask, inquire ASD
Old Saxon: fregnan, fragōn vb to ask, inquire ASD
Old High German: forsca n question W7
frāga n question RPN
frāgēn vb to ask RPN
frāhēn vb to ask RPN
Middle High German: vragen vb to ask, inquire ASD
German: Frage n.fem question LRC
fragen vb to ask, inquire ASD
North Germanic  
Old Norse: fregna vb to ask; learn, hear of LRC
Old Icelandic: frétt n inquiry RPN
Swedish: fråga vb to ask, inquire ASD
East Germanic  
Gothic: fraíhnan vb.str.V to ask, question LRC
Italic  
Umbrian: persklum n prayer RPN
Latin: deprecatus vb.ptc averted by prayer W7
deprecor, deprecāri vb.dep to avert by prayer W7
expostulatus vb.ptc demanded, disputed W7
expostulo, expostulāre vb to demand, dispute W7
imprecatus vb.ptc invoked W7
imprecor, imprecari vb.dep to invoke W7
posco, poscere vb to ask W7
poscō, poscere vb to ask, request RPN
postulatus vb.ptc asked, demanded W7
postulo, postulāre vb to ask for W7
postus vb.ptc asked W7
precarius adj obtained by entreaty, uncertain W7
precor, precārī, precātus vb.dep to ask, pray, request LRC
prex, precis n.fem prayer, request, entreaty RPN
Medieval Latin: postulatum n.neut assumption W7
postulatus vb.ptc assumed W7
postulō, postulāre vb to assume W7
Old French: preier vb to prey on, seize booty W7
preiere n.fem prayer W7
Middle French: precaria n.fem prayer W7
French: prie-dieu n.masc prayer-desk W7
Baltic  
Lithuanian: peršù, prašýti vb to ask, beg RPN
Slavic  
Old Church Slavonic: prositi, prošǫ, prosiši vb to ask, demand LRC
Armenian  
Classical Armenian: harcʿanem vb to ask LRC
harcʿ n question, questioning, examination LRC
Iranian  
Avestan: frašna- n question RPN
pərəsaiti vb to ask, question RPN
Indic  
Sanskrit: pṛccháti vb to ask, inquire about RPN
praśná-ḥ n question, inquiry, query RPN
Tocharian  
Tocharian B: pärk- vb to ask RPN
prek- vb to ask RPN
Tocharian A: pärk- vb to ask RPN
prak- vb to ask RPN

 

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

Abbrev. Meaning
III=class 3
V=class 5
adj=adjective
dep=deponent
fem=feminine (gender)
masc=masculine (gender)
n=noun
neut=neuter (gender)
ptc=participle
sg=singular (number)
str=strong (inflection)
trans=transitive
vb=verb
3=3rd person

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
RPN=Allan R. Bomhard: Reconstructing Proto-Nostratic (2002)
W7=Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963)

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