*h₂eḱ-

Reconstruction

The root is *h₂ek̑- 'to be, become or make sharp' in LIV and *h₂ek̑- 'sharp, pointed' in NIL;^[1][2] Beekes, de Vaan and Derksen write *h₂eḱ-,^[3][4][5] Kroonen *h₂ek-,^[6] and Sihler *H₂eḱ-.^[7]

Morphology

LIV knows no present or aorist, only a causative *h₂ok̑-éi̯e-, in Middle Welsh hogi (“to whet”) and Old High German eggen (“to harrow”), and perhaps an essive *h₂k̑-h₁i̯é-, in Latin aceō (“to be sour”).^[1] The root lives chiefly in nouns and adjectives: NIL lists the men-stem *h₂ák̑-mon-, the ro-adjective *h₂ak̑-r-o-, the s-stem *h₂ák̑-es-, the *h₂ak̑-i̯áh₂- of the Germanic word for 'edge', and many more.^[2] Baltic shows the men-stem with both treatments of the palatal, Lithuanian akmuõ (“stone”) beside Lithuanian ašmuõ (“cutting edge”), both from *h₂ek̑-mōn.^[8]

Evidence

The root is cited below from Indo-Iranian, Greek, Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Balto-Slavic and Tocharian.^[2] Beekes rejects Hittite ḫekur (“rock sanctuary”), after Puhvel, and warns that the root has been claimed for many words without reason.^[3]

Competing analyses

The long ā of Latin ācer is unexplained.^[4] Schrijver suggests that it was made on the model of Latin sacer (“holy”).^[4] NIL lists Latin acer (“maple”) under the root with a query,^[2] while de Vaan suggests that it may be a non-Indo-European tree name.^[9]

Meanings

1. to be, become or make sharp,^[1] sharp, pointed^[2]

Because no present or aorist is attested, LIV holds that the meaning of the root cannot be fixed exactly.^[1]

Derivatives

• *h₂ák̑-mon-: Sanskrit अश्मन् (áśman, “stone”), Ancient Greek ἄκμων (ákmōn, “anvil”), Lithuanian akmuõ (“stone”).^[2]
• *h₂eḱ-ro-: Ancient Greek ἄκρος (ákros, “highest, outermost”), Latin ācer (“sharp”), Old Church Slavonic остръ (ostrъ, “sharp, rough”).^[5][4]
• *h₂ek-ieh₂-: Proto-Germanic *agjō- (“edge, blade”).^[6]
• An s-stem *hₐekos-: Tocharian B āke (“end”) and Latin acus (“chaff”).^[10]
• Greek ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone”) and Gothic 𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ahana, “chaff”), from *h₂ak̑-ono/nah₂-.^[2]

Reflexes

• Indo-Iranian: Sanskrit अश्मन् (áśman, “stone”), in NIL's list.^[2]
• Greek: Ancient Greek ἄκρος (ákros, “highest, outermost”).^[3]
• Italic: Latin ācer (“sharp”).^[4]
• Celtic: Proto-Celtic *oketā (“harrow”).^[11]
• Germanic: Proto-Germanic *agjō- (“edge, blade”).^[6]
• Slavic: Old Church Slavonic остръ (ostrъ, “sharp, rough”).^[5]
• Baltic: Lithuanian akmuõ (“stone”).^[12]
• Tocharian: Tocharian B āke (“end”).^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *h₂ek̑-
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. h₂ek̑-
3. ^ a b c 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. ἄκρος
4. ^ a b c d e 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. ācer
5. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 379
6. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 4
7. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
8. ^ Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017–2018), Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics, 3 vols (HSK 41), Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, p. 1647
9. ^ 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. acer
10. ^ a b Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), A Dictionary of Tocharian B, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Rodopi, p. 39
11. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 306
12. ^ Smoczyński, Wojciech (2018), Lithuanian Etymological Dictionary, Berlin: Peter Lang, p. 19