< Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic

Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/an

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂én (up, on high), but the exact formation is disputed due to the final vowel in descendants that reflect *ana. According to Kroonen, who derives both *an and *ana from a pre-Germanic *h₂enh̥₂, the final vowel was lost by regular sound change but remained in compound forms, whence it was restored in some of the daughter languages.[1] Alternative explanations for the final vowel include a fossilized suffix *-o/* of uncertain (allative?) function, as in *anda.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɑn/

Preposition

*an[1]

  1. on, upon [+dative]
  2. onto [+accusative]

Adverb

*an[1]

  1. on, onto

Descendants

  • Proto-West Germanic: *an, *ana
  • Proto-Norse: ᚨᚾ (an), ᚨᚾᚨ (ana)
    • Old Norse: á
      • Icelandic: á
      • Faroese: á
      • Norwegian Nynorsk: å (dialectal)
      • Elfdalian: ą̊
      • Old Swedish: ā
        • Swedish: å, a (dialectal)
      • Old Danish: ā
        • Danish: å (dialectal)
  • Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana)

References

  1. Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*ana”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 26
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