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: 2. sē(i)- : səi- : sī-, sē- : sə-, and sei- : si- 'to sow, dispatch, disseminate, let fall'
Semantic Field(s): to Sow; Seed, to Strew, Spread Out
Indo-European Reflexes:
Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Celtic | ||||
Middle Breton: | hir | adj | long | W7 |
menhir | n.masc | long stone | W7 | |
Welsh: | had | n | seed | LRC |
English | ||||
Old English: | sǣd | n.neut | seed, fruit, sowing | RPN |
sāwan | vb.str | to sow | ASD/RPN | |
sīd | adj | wide, long, ample, extensive | ASD | |
sīde | n.fem | side, flank | ASD | |
sīþ | adv | late, afterwards | ASD | |
siððan, syððan | adv | since, afterwards | ASD | |
siððon, seoððan | adv | since, afterwards | ASD | |
Middle English: | besyde, bisyde, beside, biside | adv/prep | beside | MEV |
season | n | season | W7 | |
seed | n | seed | W7 | |
seminary | n | seminary | W7 | |
sesoun | n | season | W7 | |
sesounen | vb | to season | W7 | |
side | n | side | W7 | |
sins | adv | since | W7 | |
sithen(s) | adv | since | W7 | |
sowen | vb | to sow | W7 | |
English: | beside | adv/prep | hard by, at the side (of) | MEV |
colza | n | cole (herbaceous plant, esp. rape) | AHD/W7 | |
disseminate | vb | to spread about (like sowing seed) | AHD/W7 | |
inseminate | vb.trans | to sow | AHD/W7 | |
menhir | n | single upright rude monolith | AHD/W7 | |
season | n | natural/suitable time/occasion | AHD/W7 | |
season | vb | to improve taste by adding salt/condiment | AHD/W7 | |
seed | n | grain, ripened ovule of plant | AHD/W7 | |
seme | adj | sown, dotted, re: ornamental pattern of objects/figures | AHD/W7 | |
semen | n | viscid whitish fluid of male reproductive tract | AHD/W7 | |
seminary | n | environment in/from which something originates/propagates | AHD/W7 | |
serotinous | adj | late in flowering/developing | AHD/W7 | |
side | n | left/right part of trunk of body | AHD/W7 | |
silent | adj | making no utterance | AHD/W7 | |
since | adv | from definite past time til now | AHD/W7 | |
sith(ence) | adv.arch | since | AHD/W7 | |
soiree | n | evening party/reception | AHD/W7 | |
sow | vb | to plant/scatter seed for growth | AHD/W7 | |
syne | adv | ago, since then | AHD/W7 | |
British English: | side | n | pretentiousness, swaggering/arrogant manner | AHD/W7 |
West Germanic | ||||
Old Frisian: | sēa | vb | to sow | ASD |
sēd | n | seed | RPN | |
sīde | n | side, flank | ASD | |
Middle Dutch: | coolsaet | n | cabbage seed | W7 |
saet | n | seed | W7 | |
Dutch: | koolzaad | n | cabbage seed | W7 |
sedert | conj | since | TLL | |
sinds | prep | since | TLL | |
zaaien | vb | to sow | LRC | |
Old Saxon: | sād | n | seed | RPN |
sāian | vb | to sow | RPN | |
sāmo | n | seed | RPN | |
sīda | n | side, flank | ASD | |
sīð | adv | late | ASD | |
Old High German: | sāen, sājan | vb | to sow | ASD/RPN |
sāmo | n | seed | RPN | |
sāt | n | seed, crop | ASD | |
sāwen | vb | to sow | RPN | |
sīd | adv | since | W7 | |
sīta | n | side | W7 | |
German: | Saat | n.fem | seed, crop | LRC |
säen | vb | to sow | LRC | |
Same | n.masc | seed | LRC | |
seit | adv/prep | since | ASD | |
seitdem | conj | since | TLL | |
Seite | n.fem | side | LRC | |
North Germanic | ||||
Old Norse: | síð | adv | late | LRC |
sīðan | adv | afterwards, since then | W7 | |
Old Icelandic: | sá | vb | to sow, throw, scatter | RPN |
sáð | n | seed, corn, crop | RPN | |
sæði | n | seed; [pl.] crops | RPN | |
Icelandic: | sá(ði) | vb | to sow | ASD |
sið | adv | late | ASD | |
sīða | n | side, flank | ASD | |
Danish: | sā | vb | to sow | LRC |
siden | prep/conj | since | TLL | |
Swedish: | sedan | prep/conj | since | TLL |
så | vb | to sow | RPN | |
sådd | n | seed | RPN | |
East Germanic | ||||
Gothic: | ana-silan | vb.wk | to cease, subside, grow calm | GED/W7 |
manasēþs | n.str.fem | mankind, the world | LRC | |
saian | vb.str.VII | to sow | LRC | |
seithu | adv | late | ASD | |
-sēþs | n.sfx | -seed, -kind | RPN | |
þanaseiþs | adv | still, further | LRC | |
Italic | ||||
Latin: | disseminatus | vb.ptc | scattered around | W7 |
dissemino, dissemināre | vb | to scatter around | W7 | |
inseminatus | vb.ptc | sown into | W7 | |
insemino, inseminare | vb | to sow into | W7 | |
pōnō, ponere, posuī, positum | vb | to place, situate | LRC | |
prōpōnō, proponere, proposuī, propositum | vb | to point out, set forth | LRC | |
satio, satiōnis | n.fem | (act of) sowing, planting | W7 | |
sēmen, sēminis | n.neut | seed, semen; race | RPN | |
sēmentis | n | sowing, planting | RPN | |
seminarium | n.neut | seminary | W7 | |
sēminō, sēmināre | vb | to sow, produce, bring forth | W7 | |
serō, serere, sēvi, satum | vb | to sow, plant | RPN | |
sero | adv | late | LRC | |
serotinus | adj | serotinous, coming late | W7 | |
serus | adj | late | W7 | |
silens, silentis | adj/vb.ptc | quiet, silent | W7 | |
sileo, silēre | vb | to be silent | W7 | |
sinō, sinere, sīvī | vb | to allow, permit | LRC | |
New Latin: | sēmen | n.neut | seed, semen | W7 |
Portuguese: | semear | vb | to sow | TLL |
Spanish: | sembrar | vb | to sow | TLL |
Old French: | assaisoner | vb | to ripen, season | W7 |
saison | n.fem | season | W7 | |
Middle French: | assaisoner | vb | to ripen, season | W7 |
semé | adj | seme | W7 | |
semer | vb | to sow | W7 | |
soir | n.masc | evening | W7 | |
soirée | n.fem | evening | W7 | |
French: | colza | n.masc | colza | W7 |
menhir | n.masc | menhir | W7 | |
semer | vb | to sow | TLL | |
soirée | n.fem | evening party/period | W7 | |
Italian: | seminare | vb | to sow | TLL |
Baltic | ||||
Old Prussian: | semen | n | seed, semen | LRC |
Lithuanian: | sė́ju, sė́ti | vb | to sow | RPN |
sėkla | n.fem | seed, semen | LRC | |
sėlena | n | seed husk | RPN | |
sėmen(y)s | n | flax seed | RPN | |
síela | n.fem | soul | LRC | |
síena | n.fem | wall | LRC | |
skaitýti, skaĩto, skaĩtė | vb | to read | LRC | |
skaitýtojas | n.masc | reader | LRC | |
Slavic | ||||
Polish: | siać | vb | to sow | RPN |
Old Church Slavonic: | sěmę | n | seed, semen | RPN |
sějǫ, sěti | vb | to sow | RPN | |
Russian: | semja | n | seed, semen | LRC |
Anatolian | ||||
Hittite: | iš-h̯u-u-wa-a-i | vb.3.sg | to sow, shed, scatter | RPN |
Indic | ||||
Sanskrit: | śra | n | seed-plow | LRC |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
Abbrev. | Meaning | |
---|---|---|
3 | = | 3rd person |
VII | = | class 7 |
adj | = | adjective |
adv | = | adverb(ial) |
arch | = | archaic |
conj | = | conjunction |
fem | = | feminine (gender) |
masc | = | masculine (gender) |
n | = | noun |
neut | = | neuter (gender) |
prep | = | preposition |
ptc | = | participle |
sfx | = | suffix |
sg | = | singular (number) |
str | = | strong (inflection) |
trans | = | transitive |
vb | = | verb |
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) |
GED | = | Winfred P. Lehmann: A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986) |
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) |