Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Proto-Germanic word *andi

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
Inherited from
Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Proto-Germanic *andi
Dutch en
German und

Reconstruction

The conjunction is *andi in Köbler, Ringe and Wiktionary,[1][2][3] and *anđi in Orel and EWA.[4][5] Köbler gives the variants *anþi, *undi and *unþi.[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti (“opposite, in front”), the locative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (“front, forehead”).[3][5]

Morphology

A conjunction.[1] EWA starts from a proterodynamic root noun, nominative *h₂ént-s, locative *h₂ént-i or *h₂ent-í: the first gave *anþi, the second *anđi, and a third form *unþi was made from the weak stem with the locative ending.[5] Wiktionary says that West Germanic continues an unstressed variant, and that the forms in u- may continue the zero grade, which is uncertain given the enclitic use of the word and the great variety of its vowels.[3] In Old High German, Old High German anti is mostly Bavarian, enti has umlaut, inti is probably its weakly stressed variant, and unta is the original zero-grade form, which later replaced the others.[5] Fulk reports Klingenschmitt's view that the -i of the Old Saxon and Old High German forms was kept before consonants in sandhi.[6]

Evidence

The conjunction is found in North and West Germanic: Old Norse en, Old English and, Old Frisian and, Old Saxon endi, Old Dutch inde and Old High German inti.[5] Orel and Köbler list no Gothic form.[4][1] EWA cites a runic en beside enn,[5] and de Vries runic Danish ⟨ian⟩ and ⟨an⟩.[7] Köbler records the Old High German word in a runic inscription of the third quarter of the 6th century.[8]

Competing analyses

Ringe traces it to PIE *h₂ánti, reshaped as *h₂antí "on the surface, in front of", which gave Proto-Germanic *andi "in addition" and Proto-West Germanic "and".[2] Orel takes it as a full grade of a conjunction originally *n̥te, and compares Ancient Greek ἀντί (antí, “over against”).[4] De Vries connected it instead with the Indo-European *en, *n̥ "in".[7] EWA rejects the old comparison with the Tocharian B word for "then", which would require a PIE *h₁endh-.[5]

Meanings

  1. in addition, furthermore[1][2][3]
  2. and[1][3]

Ringe takes "in addition" as the Proto-Germanic meaning and "and" as the West Germanic one.[2] Old Norse also had an adverb Old Norse enn (“still, yet”), which de Vries derives from *anþi.[9][10]

Derivatives

  • EWA derives a comparative *anđjaz "earlier" from the adverb *anđi "opposite, before", the source of Old High German enti (“earlier”).[11] Kroonen and Wiktionary list the comparative adverb as *andiz "earlier, rather".[12][13]

Reflexes

  • Old Norse: en (“and, but”), also enn[7]
  • Old English: and (“and, but”), also end[14][15]
  • Old Frisian: and (“and, as, when”), also ande[16]
  • Old Saxon: endi (“and”)[17]
  • Old High German: inti (“and, also, but”), also anti, enti and unta[5]

No Gothic form is listed.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *andi
  2. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 89
  3. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *andi
  4. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 18
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. inti
  6. ^ Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
  7. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. en
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. inti
  9. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. enn
  10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. enn
  11. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. enti²
  12. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 27
  13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *andiz
  14. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. and
  15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. and
  16. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. and
  17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ėndi

Related etymologies

  • *stainaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *beraną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fadēr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *watōr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *ga- · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *frijaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fallaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *standaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
Cite this entry

“*andi.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gem-pro/*andi. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·