Proto-West Germanic words from Proto-Germanic
456 Proto-West Germanic words with Proto-Germanic in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
*ābanþ
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs (“evening”), which Kroonen cites as *ēbanþ- ~ *ēbund-, Orel as *aftanþaz and Köbler as *ēbanda-. EWA traces Old High German āband to a base with a dental…
*aftar
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *after (“after, behind”), which Kroonen writes *after(i) and Köbler *after, *afteri. EWA finds two formations in North and East Germanic, one in *af-ter- and one…
*aggju
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *agjō (“edge”), which Kroonen cites as *agjō- and Orel as *aʒjō. Fulk likewise derives Old English eċġ from *aggju and that from *aʒjō. The geminate comes from…
*ahtō
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *ahtō for Proto-West Germanic, and Wiktionary has the same form. It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *ahtōu (“eight”), which Kroonen, Köbler and EWA write *ahtau…
*aigan
1. It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *aiganą (“to own, to possess”), which Kroonen cites as *aigan- and Köbler as *aigan. Findell notes that Orel sets up the Proto-Germanic verb as *aixa and Ringe…
*ain
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *aina- and Orel as *ainaz.
*ainag
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *ainagaz (“only, sole”), which Orel cites as *ainaʒaz and derives from *ainaz "one", comparing the similar formation of Latin ūnicus. Wiktionary analyses the West…
*aiw
1. It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“age, eternity”), which Kroonen cites as *aiwa/ō-, masculine or feminine, "eternity, age", and Orel as *aiwaz. Köbler sets up a neuter *aiwa-, *aiwam…
*ald
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“old”), which Kroonen cites as *alda-, Orel as *alđaz and EWA as *alđa-. Boutkan and Siebinga note that all the West Germanic dialects point to the voiced…
*all
Ringe and Taylor print its masculine nominative plural, Proto-West Germanic *allē, from Proto-Germanic *allai, and the word is inherited from Proto-Germanic *allaz (“all”), which Kroonen cites by…
*alu
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *alu (“ale, beer”), which Kroonen cites as *aluþ-, and Orel and Köbler as *aluþ. Kroonen finds no generally accepted etymology for the word.
*andī
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *andijaz (“end”), which Kroonen cites as *andja-, Orel as *anđjaz and Casaretto as *andija-. When unstressed *a and *ą were lost at the end of a word, a preceding…
*andijōn
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *andijōną (“to end”), which Orel reconstructs as *anđjōjanan, derived from the noun *anđjaz "end". Wiktionary's Proto-West Germanic entry analyses the verb as…
*angī
Wiktionary reconstructs *angī and explains it as the Proto-Germanic adjective with the adjective suffix *-ī. It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *anguz (“narrow”), which Kroonen cites as…
*anþar
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *anþeraz (“other”), which Köbler also writes *anþara-. In the northern West Germanic dialects the nasal was lost before the fricative, so that Ringe and Taylor…
*arbaiþi
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *arbaiþiz (“hardship, hard labour”), which Ringe and Taylor cite as *arbaiþiz, *arbaidi-, Kroonen as *arbaidi- and Köbler as *arbaiþi-, *arbaidi-. Kroonen takes…
*arg
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *arg for Proto-West Germanic, and Wiktionary has the same form. It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *argaz (“cowardly, effeminate”), which Ringe and Taylor set up…
*ārundī
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *airundiją (“message, errand”), which Köbler writes *airundija-, *airundjam. Wiktionary takes the monophthongization of *ai to *ā before *r for regular and shared…
*augā
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *augô (“eye”), which Ringe and Taylor and Kroonen cite by its stem *augōn- and Orel as *auʒōn. Ringe and Taylor note that the Proto-Germanic endings of the…
*augijan
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *augijaną (“to show”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *augjan-, Orel as *auʒjanan and Köbler as *augjan. EWA sets up Proto-Germanic *au̯ǥ-ii̯e/a-. Kroonen calls…
*auk
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *auk (“also”), which Kroonen and Orel write *auke and Köbler *auk, *auke. Ringe and Taylor cite it among the examples of Proto-West Germanic *au, which appears in…
*awi
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *awiz (“sheep”), which Kroonen cites as *awi-, and Orel and Köbler as *awiz. Ringe and Taylor gloss the Proto-Germanic word "sheep" and its Northwest Germanic…
*badi
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *badi for the nominative and accusative singular, beside the stem *baddj- of the other forms, and Wiktionary has *badi. It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *badją…
*balþ
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“bold, brave”), which Köbler and Schaffner cite by its stem *balþa-. Gothic has only the adverb Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌰𐌱𐌰 (balþaba). EWA finds that the almost…
*banki
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench”), which Ringe and Taylor cite as a Proto-Northwest Germanic form, Kroonen by its stem *banki- and Orel as *ƀankiz. In the prehistory of Old…
*barō
According to Wiktionary it is inherited from Proto-Germanic *barô (“man”), perhaps an agent noun related to Old Norse berja (“to beat, to fight”). Köbler derives the Old High German word from a…
*baukn
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *baukn for Proto-West Germanic, and Wiktionary has the same form. Wiktionary takes it to be inherited from Proto-Germanic *baukną (“sign, symbol”), and Köbler sets up…
*baum
Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *baum "tree" and list it among the words unique to West Germanic, adding that Old Norse baðmr and the Gothic word for "tree" are somehow connected with it, but the sound…
*baþ
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *baþą (“bath”), which Ringe and Taylor reconstruct for Proto-Northwest Germanic as *baþą, plural *baþu, and Orel as *ƀaþan, Köbler as *baþa-, *baþam. EWA sets up…
*bebru
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bebruz (“beaver”), which Orel writes *ƀeƀruz, Fulk *beƀruz, Köbler *bebru- beside *bibru- and *beburu-, and Kroonen *bebura-. EWA derives the Germanic forms from…
*beran
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *beraną (“to carry”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *beran-, and Orel and Fulk as *beranan. Ringe and Taylor reconstruct several Proto-West Germanic forms of…
*berg
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bergaz (“hill, mountain”), which Ringe and Taylor and Kroonen cite by its stem *berga- and Orel as *ƀerʒan, *ƀerʒaz. Ringe and Taylor give it as an example of *e…
*beudan
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer, to bid”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *beudan- and Orel as *ƀeuđanan. Ringe and Taylor do not print the infinitive, but cite the…
*bī
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bi (“around, by, near”), which Orel writes *ƀi. Ringe and Taylor hold that word-final vowels of stressed monosyllables were lengthened in Proto-West Germanic…
*biddjan
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bidjaną (“to ask for”), which Kroonen cites as *bedjan-, Orel as *ƀiđjanan and Köbler as *bedjan, *bidjan. West Germanic gemination doubled the consonant before…
*bigrīpan
It is formed from Proto-Germanic *bi + *grīpaną (“to grab, to grasp”): Wiktionary derives it from the prefix *bi- and *grīpan, and Köbler analyses it as *bi with *greipan.
*bihōf
It is formed from Proto-Germanic *bi + *hōfą (“necessity”): Wiktionary derives it from the prefix *bi- and *hōf, which it traces to Proto-Germanic *hōfą "necessity". Köbler likewise analyses Old…
*bijā
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bijǭ (“bee”), which Kroonen cites as *bīōn- and Orel as *bīō(n). Kroonen takes the oldest formation to have been an n-stem with ablaut, nominative *bīō, genitive…
*bilīban
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bilībaną (“to stay, to remain”), which Wiktionary analyses as the prefix *bi- and the verb *lībaną. Kroonen and Orel head the verb without the prefix, as *līban-…
*biobanā
It is formed from Proto-Germanic *bi + *ubanē (“from above”): Wiktionary derives it from the prefix *bi- and *obanā, which continues Proto-Germanic *ubanē. The daughter dictionaries agree: Köbler…
*birkijā
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ (“birch”), which Orel reconstructs as *ƀerkjōn, derived from *ƀerkō "birch", and Köbler as *berkjō-, *berkjōn. Wiktionary analyses it as *berku with the…
*biūtan
It is formed from Proto-Germanic *bi (“by”) + *ūtanē (“from without”): Old English, Old Saxon and Old High German dictionaries analyse their forms as the prefix "by" and the adverb "from outside"…
*blank
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *blankaz (“bright, shining”), which Kroonen and Heidermanns cite by its stem *blanka- and Orel as *ƀlankaz.
*blāu
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *blēwa- and Orel as *ƀlēwaz, while Köbler gives both *blēwa- and *blǣwa-. The root vowel shows the shift of…
*blīþī
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *blīþiz (“mild, pleasant”), which Kroonen cites as *blīþa- "mild, kind", Orel as *ƀlīþ(j)az and Köbler as *blīþa- or *blīþja-, among other forms. Kroonen finds no…
*blōd
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *blōþą (“blood”), which Kroonen cites as *blōda-, Orel as *ƀlōđan and Boutkan as *blōþaN, while Köbler gives both *blōþa- and *blōda-. Orel notes that Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌸…
*bōk
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bōks (“letter, book”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *bōk- and Orel as *ƀōkz. Ringe and Taylor reconstruct its nominative plural: Proto-Northwest Germanic…
*bōkijā
Köbler takes it to be inherited from Proto-Germanic *bōkjōn (“beech”), which he also writes *bōkjō- and gives beside *bōkō "beech". Orel sets up *ƀōkjan "beech", derived from *bōkz, for Old Norse…
*bord
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *burdą (“board, plank”), which Orel cites as *ƀurđan and Köbler as *burda-, *burdam. Kroonen derives Dutch bord, and its dialect form berd, from *burzda-.
*braid
Wiktionary reconstructs the adjective *braid for Proto-West Germanic. It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *braidaz (“broad”), which Kroonen and Heidermanns cite by its stem *braida-, Orel as…
*brām
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brēmōn (“bramble”) in Köbler's reconstruction, who lists it with variants such as *brēma-, *brēmjō- and *brǣmō-. EWA puts the West Germanic words in an ablaut…
*brigdil
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brigdilaz (“bridle”), which Köbler writes *bregdila-, *bregdilaz beside *brigdilaz. Wiktionary analyses it as *bregdan "to move back and forth, to weave" with…
*bringan
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *bringaną (“to bring”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *bringan-. Ringe and Taylor derive Old English bringan from Proto-Germanic *bringaną, with the spelling…
*brōk
1. It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“crotch; breeches”), which Kroonen cites as *brōk- and Orel as *ƀrōkz. 2. Kroonen sets up the Proto-Germanic masculine *brōka- "swamp", Orel a West…
*brōþer
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (“brother”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *brōþer- and Orel as *ƀrōþēr. Fulk assumes a Proto-Germanic nominative *brōþēr, which would explain Old High…
*brūkan
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to need, to enjoy”), which Orel writes *ƀrūkanan.
*brūn
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brūnaz (“brown”), which Orel writes *ƀrūnaz and Köbler *brūna-, *brūnaz. Boutkan and Siebinga reconstruct Proto-Frisian *brūn.
*busk
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush, thicket”), which Orel cites as *ƀuskaz and Köbler as *buska-, *buskaz.
*dādi
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz (“deed”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *dēdi-, Orel as *đēđiz and Köbler as *dēdi-, *dǣdi-. The Northwest Germanic change of *ē to *ā made…
*dag
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *dagaz (“day”), which Kroonen cites by its stem *daga- and Orel as *đaʒaz. Ringe and Taylor derive Proto-West Germanic *dag, *dagas, *dagē from the Proto-Germanic…