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: spek̑- 'to watch, inspect, spy on'
Semantic Field(s): to Look
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | ||||
| Irish: | easbog | n | bishop | ASD |
| Scots Gaelic: | easbuig | n | bishop | ASD |
| Welsh: | esgob | n | bishop | ASD |
| English | ||||
| Old English: | bisc(e)op, biscep | n.masc | bishop | ASD/W7 |
| Middle English: | aspect | n | aspect | W7 |
| aspien | vb | to espy, detect, observe | MEV | |
| bisshop, bis(s)chop, bysshop(p)e | n | bishop | MEV/W7 | |
| circumspect | adj | circumspect | W7 | |
| despisen | vb | to despise | W7 | |
| despite | n | despite | W7 | |
| episcopal | adj | episcopal | W7 | |
| especial | adj | especial | W7 | |
| espien | vb | to espy | W7 | |
| perspective | adj/n | perspective | W7 | |
| prospect | n | prospect | W7 | |
| respect | n | respect | W7 | |
| respit | n | respite | W7 | |
| specious | adj | specious | W7 | |
| spectacle | n | spectacle | W7 | |
| spice | n | spice | W7 | |
| spien | vb | to spy | W7 | |
| spite | n | spite | W7 | |
| suspect | n | suspect | W7 | |
| suspecten | vb | to suspect | W7 | |
| English: | aspect | n | position of stars/planets w.r.t. one another | AHD/W7 |
| auspice | n | observation in augury (flight/feeding of birds) | AHD/W7 | |
| bishop | n | prelate, one having spiritual/ecclesiastical supervision | AHD/W7 | |
| circumspect | adj | prudent, careful to consider circumstances/consequences | AHD/W7 | |
| colposcope | n | endoscope for examining vaginal/cervical tissues | AHD | |
| colposcopy | n | medical examination using colposcope | AHD | |
| conspicuous | adj | obvious to eye/mind | AHD/W7 | |
| despicable | adj | deserving to be despised | AHD/W7 | |
| despise | vb.trans | to regard with contempt/aversion | AHD/W7 | |
| despite | n | spite, pique, malice, contempt | W7 | |
| despite | prep | notwithstanding, in spite of | W7 | |
| epidiascope | n | opaque projector | TLL | |
| episcopal | adj | re: bishop(s) | AHD/W7 | |
| especial | adj | special, particular | AHD/W7 | |
| espionage | n | practice of spying/using spies | AHD/W7 | |
| espy | vb.trans | to catch sight of | AHD/W7 | |
| expect | vb | to stay, wait | AHD/W7 | |
| frontispiece | n | principal front of building | AHD/W7 | |
| horoscope | n | diagram of relative positions of planets in zodiac | AHD/W7 | |
| inspect | vb | to look over, view closely, critically appraise | AHD/W7 | |
| introspect | vb | to examine reflectively | AHD/W7 | |
| periscope | n | instrument using mirrors/prisms to transfer image between different heights | TLL | |
| perspective | adj | aiding vision | AHD/W7 | |
| perspective | n | optical glass (e.g. in telescope) | AHD/W7 | |
| perspective | n | process/technique of representing spatial relations of objects | AHD/W7 | |
| perspicacious | adj | keen, of acute mental vision/discernment | AHD/W7 | |
| prospect | n | outlook, exposure | AHD/W7 | |
| respect | n | reference, relation to/concern with something | AHD/W7 | |
| respite | n | postponement, temporary delay | AHD/W7 | |
| retrospect | vb | to refer to past event | AHD/W7 | |
| -scope | n.sfx | means/instrument for viewing/observing | AHD/W7 | |
| scope | n | space/opportunity for unhampered thought/motion/activity | AHD/W7 | |
| -scopy | n.sfx | viewing, observation | AHD/W7 | |
| skeptic | n | adherent/advocate of skepticism | AHD/W7 | |
| species | n | individuals having common attributes/designated by common name | AHD/W7 | |
| specimen | n | sample, part/item typical of whole/group | AHD/W7 | |
| specious | adj | showy | AHD/W7 | |
| spectacle | n | something exhibited as notable/unusual/entertaining | AHD/W7 | |
| spectrum | n | array of components separated/arranged in order | AHD/W7 | |
| speculate | vb.intrans | to reflect, ponder/meditate on subject | AHD/W7 | |
| speculum | n | tubular instrument inserted into body passage for inspection/medication | AHD/W7 | |
| spice | n | aromatic vegetable product used to season/flavor food | AHD/W7 | |
| spite | n | hatred, petty ill will | W7 | |
| spy | vb | to scout, watch secretly | AHD/W7 | |
| suspect | adj | suspected, regarded with suspicion | AHD/W7 | |
| suspect | vb | to distrust, have doubts about | AHD/W7 | |
| telescope | n | optical instrument for observing distant objects | AHD/W7 | |
| transpicuous | adj | transparent | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Dutch: | bioscoop | n | cinema | TLL |
| bisschop | n | bishop | ASD | |
| spiegel | n | mirror | TLL | |
| Old Saxon: | biskop | n | bishop | ASD |
| spēgal | n | mirror | KSW | |
| Old High German: | piscof | n | bishop | ASD |
| spehōn | vb | to spy | W7 | |
| spiegal | n | mirror | KDW | |
| Middle High German: | bischof | n | bishop | ASD |
| German: | Bischof | n.masc | bishop | ASD |
| spähen | vb | to spy, peer | LRC | |
| Spiegel | n.masc | mirror | TLL | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | biskup | n | bishop | ASD |
| spá | n.fem | prophecy, song of fate | LRC | |
| spegill | n | mirror | KNW | |
| Danish: | bisp | n | bishop | ASD |
| spejl | n | mirror | TLL | |
| Swedish: | biskop | n | bishop | ASD |
| spegel | n | mirror | TLL | |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | aipiskaupus | n | bishop | ASD |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | aspectus | vb.ptc | looked at | W7 |
| aspicio, aspicere | vb | to look at | W7 | |
| auspex | n | leader, protector, bird augur | AHD | |
| auspicium, auspicii | n.neut | divination via flight of birds | LRC | |
| circumspectō, circumspectāre, circumspectāvī, circumspectātum | vb | to look around | LRC | |
| circumspectus | adj | circumspect | W7 | |
| circumspicio, circumspicere | vb | to look around, be cautious | W7 | |
| cōnspiciō, conspicere, conspēxī, conspectum | vb | to perceive, get sight of | LRC | |
| conspicuus | adj | conspicuous, visible | W7 | |
| dēspiciō, dēspicere, dēspēxī, dēspectum | vb | to despise, look astray | W7 | |
| despicor, despicari | vb.dep | to despoil, plunder | W7 | |
| exspectō, exspectāre, exspectāvī, exspectātum | vb | to wait for, look forward to | LRC | |
| horoscopus | n.masc | device to indicate time | W7 | |
| inspectus | vb.ptc | inspected | W7 | |
| inspicio, inspicere | vb | to inspect | W7 | |
| introspectus | vb.ptc | having looked inside | W7 | |
| introspicio, introspicere | vb | to look inside | W7 | |
| perspectus | vb.ptc | looked at through, clearly seen | W7 | |
| perspicax, perspicācis | adj | perspicacious, sharp-sighted | W7 | |
| perspicio, perspicere | vb | to look through, see clearly | W7 | |
| prospectus | n.masc | view, prospect | W7 | |
| prospectus | vb.ptc | foreseen | W7 | |
| prospicio, prospicere | vb | to look forward, exercise foresight | W7 | |
| respectus | n.masc | act of looking back | W7 | |
| respectus | vb.ptc | regarded, looked back at | W7 | |
| respicio, respicere | vb | to look back, regard | W7 | |
| retrospectus | vb.ptc | looked back at | W7 | |
| retrospicio, retrospicere | vb | to look back at | W7 | |
| scepticus | adj | skeptical | W7 | |
| species, speciei | n.fem | aspect, appearance; species | LRC | |
| specimen | n.neut | model, representative of species | W7 | |
| speciō, specere | vb | to look | W7 | |
| speciosus | adj | beautiful, plausible | W7 | |
| speco, specere | vb | to look at | W7 | |
| spectaculum | n.neut | show, spectacle | W7 | |
| spectō, spectāre, spectāvī, spectātum | vb | to watch, look/gaze at | LRC | |
| spectrum | n.neut | specter, appearance | W7 | |
| spectus | vb.ptc | looked at | W7 | |
| specula | n.fem | watchtower | W7 | |
| speculatus | vb.ptc | examined | W7 | |
| speculor, speculāri | vb.dep | to examine, spy out | W7 | |
| speculum | n.neut | mirror | W7 | |
| specus, specus | n.masc | cave, pit | LRC | |
| suspecto, suspectāre | vb | to suspect | W7 | |
| suspectus | vb.ptc | looked at, suspected | W7 | |
| suspico, suspicere | vb | to look at from above | W7 | |
| transpicio, transpicere | vb | to look through | W7 | |
| Vulgar Latin: | *ebiscopus | n | bishop | AHD |
| Late Latin: | despicabilis | adj | despicable | W7 |
| episcopalis | adj | episcopal | W7 | |
| episcopus | n.masc | bishop | W7 | |
| frontispicium | n.neut | front view, frontispiece | W7 | |
| Medieval Latin: | perspectivus | adj | optical, re: sight | W7 |
| respectus | n.masc | respect | W7 | |
| New Latin: | -scopium | sfx | -scope, looking | W7 |
| spectrum | n.neut | array of components | W7 | |
| tele-scopium | adj | lit. far-seeing | W7 | |
| transpicuus | adj | transparent | W7 | |
| Spanish: | especia | n | spice | TLL |
| obispo | n | bishop | ASD | |
| Old French: | despire | vb | to despise | W7 |
| despit | n | despite | W7 | |
| espice | n.fem | spice | W7 | |
| espier | vb | to espy, catch glimpse of | W7 | |
| respit | n.masc | rest | W7 | |
| Middle French: | circonspect | adj | circumspect | W7 |
| espion | n.masc | spy | W7 | |
| espionage | n.masc | espionage | W7 | |
| espionner | vb | to spy | W7 | |
| frontispice | n.masc | frontispiece | W7 | |
| horoscope | n.masc | horoscope | W7 | |
| perspective | n.fem | view, perspective | W7 | |
| spectacle | n.masc | spectacle, magnifying glass | W7 | |
| suspect | adj | suspect | W7 | |
| French: | épice | n | spice | TLL |
| espionnage | n.masc | activity of spying | W7 | |
| Old Italian: | prospettiva | n.fem | technique of representing relations of objects | W7 |
| prospetto | n.masc | view, prospect | W7 | |
| spione | n.masc | spy | W7 | |
| Italian: | dispetto | n.masc | despite | TLL |
| scòpo | n.masc | goal, purpose | W7 | |
| vescovo | n | bishop | ASD | |
| Baltic | ||||
| Lithuanian: | wyskupas | n | bishop | ASD |
| Albanian | ||||
| Albanian: | respektim | n.masc | respect | LRC |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Homeric Greek: | σκοπός | n.masc | spy, scout, watch(man) | LRC |
| Attic: | σκοπῶ | vb | to view, look at, consider | LS |
| Greek: | ἐπί-σκοπος | n.masc | guardian, overseer | LS |
| σκεπτικός | adj | watchful, thoughtful, reflective | LS | |
| σκέπτομαι | vb | to look out/about/carefully | LS | |
| -skopion | afx | observation, examination | W7 | |
| τηλε-σκόπος | adj | lit. far-seeing | LS | |
| hōro-skopos | n.masc | device to indicate time | W7 | |
| Armenian | ||||
| Armenian: | eskop | n | bishop | ASD |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| afx | = | affix |
| dep | = | deponent |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| intrans | = | intransitive |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| prep | = | preposition |
| ptc | = | participle |
| sfx | = | suffix |
| 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) |
| KDW | = | Gerhard Köbler: Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 4th ed. (1993) |
| KNW | = | Gerhard Köbler: Altnordisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed. (2003) |
| KSW | = | Gerhard Köbler: Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed. (2000) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| LS | = | Liddell and Scott: Greek-English Lexicon, 7th-9th ed's (1882-1940), rev. |
| MEV | = | J.R.R. Tolkien: A Middle English Vocabulary (1922) |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
