*né

Reconstruction

Dunkel sets up 1.*ne 'not', an adverb of factual negation.^[1] Beekes, Fortson, Kroonen and de Vaan reconstruct *ne 'not' too.^[2][3][4][5] Beekes adds the variants *ne-i and *nē.^[2]

Morphology

Dunkel holds that the factual negation had no zero grade.^[1] For ordinary negation the parent language had the adverb *ne beside the privative prefix *n̥-, which some classes of words, such as participles, preferred.^[6] De Vaan explains Latin nē either as the stressed form of *ne or as remade from the prohibitive particle.^[7]

Evidence

Anatolian, Indo-Iranian, Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic attest the particle.^[3] Kloekhorst finds the Hittite form natta clearly derived from *ne, but its seeming o-grade *no with a particle *to is unparalleled.^[8] Greek, Armenian and Albanian replaced it with *h₂oiu 'lifelong', originally a reinforcing word, which Dunkel takes as perhaps a Balkan feature.^[1] Beekes explains Greek Ancient Greek οὐ (ou) from *ne h₂oiu kʷid, after Cowgill, with loss of *ne.^[9]

Competing analyses

Vedic न (ná) also means 'like, as', and KEWA leaves open whether this sense grew out of the negation or is a homonym.^[10] Dunkel separates from the negation an adverb 'in that way, so' of pronominal origin.^[11] Mallory and Adams list a particle *ne 'thus' apart from *ne 'not'.^[12]

Meanings

1. not^[1][2][4]

In prohibitions the parent language used a different particle, *meh₁.^[2][1]

Derivatives

• *ne-kʷe 'and not': Latin neque, Old Irish nach.^[5][13]
• *ne oinom 'not one': Latin nōn.^[2][5]

Reflexes

• Anatolian: Hittite natta (“not”).^[8]
• Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit न (ná, “not”).^[10]
• Italic: Latin ne- (“not, un-”).^[5]
• Celtic: Old Irish ní (“not”).^[14]
• Germanic: Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni, “not”).^[4]
• Slavic: Old Church Slavonic не (ne, “not”).^[15]
• Baltic: Lithuanian nè (“not”).^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 531
2. ^ a b c d e Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011), Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd ed., revised by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam: Benjamins, p. 248
3. ^ a b Fortson, Benjamin W., IV (2010), Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Malden, MA / Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, p. ch. 3
4. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 385
5. ^ a b c d 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. ne
6. ^ Fortson, Benjamin W., IV (2010), Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Malden, MA / Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, p. §8.29
7. ^ 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. nē
8. ^ a b Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 597
9. ^ 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. οὐ
10. ^ a b Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 120
11. ^ Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 532
12. ^ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006), The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World, Oxford: OUP, p. 501
13. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 297
14. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 296
15. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 347
16. ^ Derksen, Rick (2015), Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 345