Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lówksneh₂

This Proto-Indo-European 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-Indo-European

Etymology

From *lewk- (“to shine”) +‎ *-sneh₂. Alternatively from *lewk-s- +‎ *-néh₂, from the s-stem of the same root (compare Proto-Indo-Iranian *ráwčas (“day; light”)). In this case, originally a substantivized adjective *lewksnós or *lowksnós (“shiny, bright”) (compare Middle High German liehsen (“bright”) from *léwksnos, Ancient Greek λύχνος (lúkhnos, “lamp”) from *luksnos[1]), as the divergent meanings of Avestan, Persian and Old Prussian indicate, and the fact that Iranian has cognates that are adjectives, not nouns. The original Proto-Indo-European lexeme for "moon" was apparently *mḗh₁n̥s, and *lówksneh₂ may have originated as a later poetic synonym.

Noun

*lówksneh₂ f[2][3][4]

moon

Inflection

Thematic in *-eh₂
	singular
nominative	*lówksneh₂
genitive	*lówksneh₂s
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*lówksneh₂	—	—
vocative	*lówksneh₂	—	—
accusative	*lówksnām	—	—
genitive	*lówksneh₂s	—	—
ablative	*lówksneh₂s	—	—
dative	*lówksneh₂ey	—	—
locative	lówksneh₂, lówksneh₂i	—	—
instrumental	*lówksneh₂h₁	—	—

Descendants

Proto-Armenian:
- Old Armenian: լուսին (lusin)
  - Armenian: լուսին (lusin)
Proto-Balto-Slavic: *láukšnāˀ (see there for further descendants)
Proto-Indo-Iranian: *lukšás
- Proto-Iranian: *luxšáh
  - Persian: لوخن (loxan, “moon, moonlight”)
Proto-Indo-Iranian: *ráwkšnaH
- Proto-Iranian: *ráwxšnaH (see there for further descendants)
Proto-Italic: *louksnā[4] (see there for further descendants)

References

De Vaan, Michiel (2008) chapter 352, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page lūna
Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 56: “*lewk-sneH₂-”
Derksen, Rick (2015) “lauxnos”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 561: “*louk-sneh₂”
De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “lūna”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 354: “*louksnā-”