*h₁ey-

Reconstruction

LIV writes the root *h₁ei̯- "to go";^[1] de Vaan and Kloekhorst give the ablaut *h₁ei-/*h₁i-,^[2][3] and Matasović writes *h₁ey-.^[4] Adams reconstructs the athematic paradigm as *h₁éimi, *h₁éiti, *h₁imé, *h₁yénti, with the imperative *h₁i-dʰí.^[5]

Morphology

LIV's main formation is an amphidynamic root present *h₁éi̯-/h₁i-, in Sanskrit एति (éti), Ancient Greek εἶμι (eîmi), Latin eō and Lithuanian eimì.^[1] Beside it LIV has a Vedic néu̯-present meaning "drives, sends" and a doubtful reduplicated desiderative; an e-grade thematic present, a zero-grade i̯e-present and a perfect, in Gothic 𐌹𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰 (iddja, “went”), are innovations.^[1] Kümmel deletes the zero-grade i̯e-present, a Vedic verb meaning "hurries", which belongs better to *h₂i̯eh₂-.^[6] Hittite replaced the simple verb with the middle Hittite iya-tta and with compounds such as Hittite uwe- (“to come”) and Hittite pai- (“to go”).^[1] The Slavic stem *jьde- has its d from the imperative *i-dʰi in LIV's view;^[1] Kümmel refers to another explanation, *jьd- from *jud-.^[6]

Evidence

The root present is attested in Anatolian, Indo-Iranian, Greek, Italic, Baltic, Slavic and Tocharian, and doubtfully in Celtiberian and Albanian.^[1] Greek, Sanskrit, Lithuanian, Hittite and Latin share the forms *ei-mi, -si, -ti.^[7]

Meanings

1. to go^[1]

Derivatives

• *h₁i-ter/n-: Hittite itar, Latin iter.^[8]
• *h₁ei̯-ti-: Lithuanian eiti, Old Church Slavonic ити (iti).^[8]
• *h₁oy-to- "a going": Proto-Celtic *oyto- (“oath”), with Old Irish oeth.^[9]

Reflexes

• Anatolian: Hittite i- (“to go”).^[3]
• Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit एति (éti, “goes”).^[10]
• Iranian: Avestan aē- (“to go”).^[11]
• Greek: Ancient Greek εἶμι (eîmi, “I go”).^[7]
• Italic: Latin eō (“to go”).^[2]
• Celtic: the past passive participle Old Irish etha.^[4]
• Germanic: LIV cites the past tense Gothic 𐌹𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰 (iddja, “went”).^[1]
• Baltic: Lithuanian eiti (“to go”).^[12]
• Slavic: Old Church Slavonic ити (iti, “to go”).^[13]
• Tocharian: Tocharian B i- (“to go, to travel”).^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *h₁ei̯-
2. ^ a b 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. eō
3. ^ a b Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 375
4. ^ a b Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 176
5. ^ a b Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), A Dictionary of Tocharian B, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Rodopi, p. 64
6. ^ a b Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 35
7. ^ a b 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. εἶμι
8. ^ a b Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. *h₁ei̯-
9. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 314
10. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 128
11. ^ Cheung, Johnny (2007), Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb, Leiden: Brill, p. 179
12. ^ Derksen, Rick (2015), Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 165
13. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 216