*gʰed-

Reconstruction

The root is *gʰed- 'to grasp' in LIV,^[1] *ghed- 'grasp, seize' in Beekes and Kroonen,^[2][3] and *gʰed- 'take, seize' in Matasović.^[4] Most of its presents have a nasal infix, and LIV notes that a root *gʰend- was abstracted in some languages from the present reanalysed as *gʰn̥ned-.^[1] The nasal-less root is shown by Germanic *get- and by Latin praeda (“booty”).^[1] Beekes cites the nasal forms as *gʰend- / *gʰnd- 'to catch', under the root *gʰed-.^[5]

The root *ǵʰed- 'to defecate', with a palatal, is a separate root: see *ǵʰed-.^[6][7]

Morphology

LIV reconstructs a root aorist *gʰéd-/gʰed-, continued by Ancient Greek ἔχαδον (ékhadon), a nasal-infix present *gʰ-né/n̥-d-, a perfect *gʰe-gʰód/gʰd-, a possible causative *gʰod-éi̯e- and a possible s-desiderative.^[1] The Germanic thematic present *get-e- is an innovation that replaced the old nasal present.^[1] Kümmel adds the aorist Albanian gjet- (“found”) of Albanian.^[8] Beekes calls the Greek verb a regular formal system, with a zero-grade nasal present, a zero-grade thematic aorist and a full-grade middle future.^[2]

Evidence

Greek, Latin, Celtic, Germanic and Albanian show the verb;^[1][3] Weiss gives Albanian gjet (“found”) among the examples of the plain velars in Albanian.^[9] There are no Anatolian, Indo-Iranian or Tocharian forms in LIV.^[1] A Russian verb for 'to tell fortunes, guess' may belong here if it is not from *gʰedʰ-;^[1] Derksen finds the link of Slavic *gādàti (“to tell fortunes, guess”) with the Greek, Latin and Norse verbs more convincing than the other proposals, without ruling out *gʰedʰ-.^[10] The Gothic compound for 'to begin' is doubtful.^[1]

Meanings

1. to grasp,^[1] to seize^[2]

Kroonen thinks the original meaning was 'to seize an opportunity' or 'to find a way', which would allow a link with Germanic words for 'path' and 'hole'.^[3] Greek developed 'to hold, contain', Celtic 'to find room in, be situated' and Germanic 'to find, get'.^[2][3]

Derivatives

• Latin praeda (“booty”): usually *prai-χed-ā-, but Livingston argues for an o-grade noun *prai-χod-ā-, which de Vaan accepts as convincing.^[11]
• Greek εὐρυχαδής (eurukhadḗs, “ample”), a second member of compounds.^[2]

Reflexes

• Greek: Ancient Greek χανδάνω (khandánō, “to hold, include, contain”).^[2]
• Italic: Latin prehendō (“to grasp, seize”), from *gh-n(e)-d-.^[11]
• Celtic: Old Irish ro·geinn (“takes place”), from Proto-Celtic *gan-d-o- (“take place”).^[4]
• Germanic: Old Norse geta (“to get; to be able to”), from Proto-Germanic *getan- (“to find a way, to be able”).^[3]
• Albanian: Albanian gjen (“finds”), with a middle meaning 'is situated'.^[11][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *gʰed-
2. ^ a b c d e f Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. χανδάνω
3. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *getan-
4. ^ a b Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 155
5. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011), Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd ed., revised by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam: Benjamins, p. 267
6. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *g̑ʰed-
7. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. χέζω
8. ^ Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 29
9. ^ Weiss, Michael (2020), Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, 2nd ed., Ann Arbor: Beech Stave
10. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 160
11. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. prehendō
12. ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (1997), Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz, Amsterdam / Atlanta: Rodopi (Leiden Studies in Indo-European 7), p. 185