Indo-European Root Words and Verbs

**Conquistador** · Saturday, November 2nd, 2002

Since reconstructed Proto-Indo-European, or 'PIE', is considered Linguistic History, I decided to put this post in the History Forum.

Here's a link to a PIE root verb: *bhel-: white, clear; to shine, to be white.

http://www.geocities.com/indoeurop/p...cs/word11.html

Now, this link at the bottom links to a verb-conjugation page at Verbix.com. It has the reconstructed verb inflections of all the verb tenses that existed in PIE.

http://www.verbix.com/languages/prot...european.shtml

Enjoy!

**Stríbog** · Saturday, November 2nd, 2002

Here is another good example:
English: Mother
German: Mutter
Swedish: Moder
Dutch: Moeder
Russian: Mat
Polish: Matka
Latin: Mater
Spanish: Madre
French: Mère
Italian: Madre
Portuguese: Matriz

**GreenHeart** · Sunday, November 3rd, 2002

Also,

Croatian: majka
Icelandic: móðir
Welsh: mam, or fam
Hungarian: mama

Compared to nonwhite languages:

Turkish: ana
Chinese: Niàng
Zulu: UMAMA
Swahili: nina

**Stríbog** · Sunday, November 3rd, 2002

More examples:
English: Sun
German: Sonne
Swedish: Sol
Dutch: Zon
Russian: Sonn or Sonna, I believe
French: Soleil
Italian: Sole
Spanish: Sol

English: Cat
German: Katze
Dutch: Kat
Swedish: Katt
Russian: Kot
French: Chat
Spanish: Gato
Italian: Gatto

I will try and think of some more tomorrow, but this is enough for tonight....

**Conquistador** · Sunday, November 3rd, 2002

Proto-Indo-European Root/Stem: *sneigwh- (Snow)

Greek: niks, niphos (snow), neiphei (it snows)

Latin: nix, nivis (snow), ninguit (it snows)
French: neige
Sardinian: nie
Ladin: naiv
Italian: neve
Catalan: neu
Spanish: nieve
Occitan: neu
Portuguese: neve

Common Celtic: *snig-
Old Irish: snigid (it snows), snechta (snow)
Irish: sneachta
Scottish: sneachtadh

Gothic: snaiws
Old High German: snîvit (it snows)
Old English: snâw
Old Norse: snâer
Swedish: sno
Danish:sne
Norwegian: sne
Icelandic: snjór
German: Schnee
Frisian: snie
Dutch: sneeuw
Africaans: sneeu

Avestan: snaez'aiti (it snows)
Sanskrit: snihyati (he gets wet)

Common Baltic *snég-
Lithuanian: sniega (it snows), snigti (to snow)
Latvian: snigt
Old Prussian: snaygis
Sudovian: snaigas

Common Slavic: *snegü-
Old Church Slavonic: snegü
Ukrainian: snig
Bulgarian: sniag
Macedonian: sneg
Serbo-Croatian: snijeg
Slovene: sneg
Czech: snih
Slovak: sneh
Polish: s'nieg
Upper Sorbian: sneh
Lower Sorbian: sneg
Polabian: snêg
Russian: sneg, snezhit' (to snow)

I hope it doesn't snow tonight. x_p

**GreenHeart** · Wednesday, November 6th, 2002

Rain

Latin: pluvia
Spanish: Lluvia
Latvian: lietus
French: Pluie
Italian: Pioggia
Portugese: chover
Slovenian: dež
Belorussian: doždž
Czech: déšť
Polish: deszcz, or padać
Romanian: ploaie
Serbian: padati
Croatian: padati, or lijevati
Finnish: vuodattaa or sadella

German: regnen
English: rain
Swedish: regn
Danish: regn
Dutch: regen, neerslag, hemelwater (sky-water literally)
Norwegian: regne
Icelandic: rigning

(Note: You can see a distinct separation between the Slavic, Germanic, and Latin Languages)

Non-white languages:

Turkish: yağmur
Swahili: mvua
Indonesian: hujan
Seneca: ustáá'
Filipino: umulan
Potawatomi Indian: kmowen

**GreenHeart** · Wednesday, November 6th, 2002

Tree

Danish: træ
English: tree
Icelandic: tré
Swedish: träd
Latin: nemus, or arbor
German: Baum
Dutch: boom
Spanish: árbol
French: arbre
Italian: albero
Polish: drzewo
Czech: dřevo

Interesting how they break up into separate entities again........

**Conquistador** · Wednesday, November 6th, 2002

Indo-European had many derivatives for the same thing or idea.

For example, the verb "to be"; Indo-European had two of them. One for animate objects and another for inanimate objects.

(? = Not sure yet.)

Animate Used for people, animals, Gods, and Deities.
*Es-, To be

Eg esmi (I am)
Tu essi (You are)
Ki esti (He is)
Ko esti (That is)
S(w)e esti (Oneself is)
We esmés (we are)
? esthé (You all are)
? esént (They are)

Inanimate Used for objects that did not move, such as trees, rocks, ground, etc.
*bhe-, To be

Eg bhemi (I am)
Tu bhesi (You are)
Ki bheti (He is)
ko bhete (That is)
S(w)e bheti (Oneself is)
We bhemés (we are)
? bhethé (You all are)
? bheént (They are)

Apparently, *bhe-, became used for all things animate and inanimate in Common Germanic. Whereas, *es-, became used for both animate and inanimate objects in Common Italic.