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: terk-, trek-, tork-, trok- 'to torque, turn'
Semantic Field(s): to Turn
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | þwe(o)rh, þwyrh | adj | cross, angry; crooked, perverse | ASD |
| þweorian, þwyrian | vb | to thwart, be adverse | ASD | |
| Middle English: | thwert | adv/prep | thwart | W7 |
| thwerten | vb | to thwart | CDC | |
| torche | n | torch | W7 | |
| torment | n | torment | W7 | |
| tort | n | tort | W7 | |
| tortuous | adj | tortuous | W7 | |
| trussen | vb | to truss | W7 | |
| English: | athwart | adv/prep | crosswise, transversely, from side to side; across | AHD |
| contort | vb | to twist in violent manner | AHD/W7 | |
| distort | vb.trans | to twist out of true meaning/proportion | AHD/W7 | |
| extort | vb.trans | to wring, obtain by force/undue power/ingenuity | AHD/W7 | |
| nasturtium | n | herb having showy spurred flowers | AHD/W7 | |
| queer | adj | odd, strange, deviating from normal/expected | AHD | |
| retort | vb | to return, pay back | AHD/W7 | |
| thwart | adv/prep | athwart; (obliquely) across/transverse | AHD/W7 | |
| thwart | vb | to cross, oppose, frustrate | CDC | |
| torch | n | flambeau, resinous wood/twist of tow burnt to give light | AHD/W7 | |
| torment | n | torture (inflicted e.g. by rack/wheel) | AHD/W7 | |
| torque | n | force producing torsion/rotation | AHD/W7 | |
| torque | n | metal collar/neck-chain worn by ancient Celts/Germans | AHD/W7 | |
| torque | vb.trans | to turn, twist, rotate | LRC | |
| torsade | n | twisted cord/ribbon used as hat ornament | AHD/W7 | |
| torsion | n | twisting/wrenching by exertion of force | AHD/W7 | |
| tort | n | wrongful act for which civil action is admissible | AHD/W7 | |
| tortuous | adj | winding, marked by repeated bends/twists/turns | AHD/W7 | |
| torture | n | infliction of intense pain | AHD/W7 | |
| truss | vb.trans | to bind, secure tightly | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Middle Low German: | dwer | adj | queer, oblique | AHD |
| Old High German: | drāhsil | n | turner | W7 |
| dwerah | adj | athwart, oblique, transverse | W7 | |
| German: | Drechsler | n.masc | turner | LRC |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | þverr | adj | athwart, oblique, transverse | W7 |
| Icelandic: | þverr | adj | cross; transverse | ASD |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | þwairhs | adj | cross, angry | ASD |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | contorqueō, contorquēre | vb | to turn, twist, contort | W7 |
| contortus | vb.ptc | contorted | W7 | |
| distorqueō, distorquere | vb | to twist awry, distort | W7 | |
| distortus | vb.ptc | distorted | W7 | |
| extorqueō, extorquēre | vb | to wrench out, extort | W7 | |
| extortus | vb.ptc | extorted | W7 | |
| nasturtium | n.neut | nasturtium | W7 | |
| retorqueō, retorquēre | vb | to twist/throw back | W7 | |
| retortus | vb.ptc | thrown back | W7 | |
| tormentum | n.neut | torment | W7 | |
| torqueō, torquēre | vb | to turn, twist, torque | W7 | |
| torques | n.masc | torque | W7 | |
| tortuosus | adj | twisted, tortuous | W7 | |
| tortus | adj.ptc | torqued, twisted | W7 | |
| Vulgar Latin: | torca | n.fem | torch | W7 |
| Late Latin: | torsus | vb.ptc | twisted | W7 |
| tortura | n.fem | torture | W7 | |
| Old French: | torche | n.fem | torch | W7 |
| torment | n.masc | pain, worry, torment | W7 | |
| trousser | vb | to take up | W7 | |
| Middle French: | tort | n.masc | fault | W7 |
| tortueux | adj | tortuous | W7 | |
| French: | torque | n.masc | torque: Celtic necklace | W7 |
| tors | adj | twisted | W7 | |
| torsade | n.fem | torsade, braiding by twisting | W7 | |
| torture | n.fem | torture | W7 | |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | ἄτρακτος | n.masc | spindle; arrow | LRC |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| adv | = | adverb(ial) |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| prep | = | preposition |
| ptc | = | participle |
| 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 |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
