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. ser- 'to serve, guard, protect, shelter'
Semantic Field(s): to Save, Preserve, Keep Safe
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | searu, searo | n.fem | art, skill; wile, deceit; arms, armor | ASD |
| Middle English: | conserven | vb | to conserve | W7 |
| observen | vb | to observe | W7 | |
| preserven | vb | to preserve | W7 | |
| reserven | vb | to reserve | W7 | |
| servant | n | servant | W7 | |
| serven | vb | to serve | W7 | |
| English: | conserve | vb.trans | to preserve, keep in safe/sound state | AHD/W7 |
| hero | n | legendary/mythological figure endowed with great strength/ability | AHD/W7 | |
| observe | vb | to conform one's action/practice to | AHD/W7 | |
| preserve | vb | to protect, keep safe from harm/injury/destruction | AHD/W7 | |
| reserve | vb.trans | to store for future/special use | AHD/W7 | |
| reservoir | n | place where something is stored | AHD/W7 | |
| Saradoc | prop.n | Merry's father in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| Saruman | prop.n | treacherous white wizard in Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings | LRC | |
| servant | n | one who performs duties for others | LRC | |
| serve | vb | to render service, be a servant | LRC | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old High German: | gi-sarwi, gi-sarwa | n | armor, equipment | ASD |
| saro | n | art, skill; wile, deceit; arms, armor | ASD | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Icelandic: | sörvi | n | necklace; armor | ASD |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | sarwa | n.neut | art, skill; wile, deceit; arms, armor | ASD |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | conservo, conservāre | vb | to guard, observe | W7 |
| heros | n.masc | hero, demi-god | W7 | |
| observo, observare | vb | to guard, watch, observe | W7 | |
| reservo, reservāre | vb | to keep back | W7 | |
| serviō, servīre, servīvī, servītum | vb | to serve, be a slave | LRC | |
| servitium, servitii | n.neut | servitude | LRC | |
| servitus, servitutis | n.fem | servitude, slavery | LRC | |
| servō, servāre, servāvī, servātum | vb | to guard, keep, watch | LRC | |
| servus, servi | n.masc | slave, servant | LRC | |
| Late Latin: | praeservo, praeservāre | vb | to observe beforehand | W7 |
| Medieval Latin: | praeservō, praeservāre | vb | to guard, preserve | W7 |
| Old French: | servir | vb | to serve | W7 |
| Middle French: | conserver | vb | to conserve | W7 |
| observer | vb | to observe | W7 | |
| préserver | vb | to preserve | W7 | |
| réserver | vb | to reserve, keep back | W7 | |
| réservoir | n.masc | reservoir | W7 | |
| French: | héros | n | hero | TLL |
| Slavic | ||||
| Old Church Slavonic: | xraniti, xranǫ, xraniši | vb | to guard, protect | LRC |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | ἥρως | n.masc | hero | LRC |
| Iranian | ||||
| Avestan: | haurvaiti | vb | to guard | W7 |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| prop | = | proper |
| 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) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
