Etymologically
Log in

*sper-

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Proto-Indo-European word *sper-

*sper-1 to liberate, save

Confidence
Uncertain

Reconstruction

LIV sets up 1.*sper- "to liberate, to save" with a query.[1] The root is only Indo-Aryan, and LIV allows *spel- instead.[1] Cheung lists Proto-Iranian *spar (“to hand over”) and refers to LIV's root, adding that it may be connected with Germanic verbs such as Old English sparian (“to spare”).[2]

Morphology

LIV's formations are a root aorist *spér-/spr- in Sanskrit अस्पर् (áspar, “has saved”), a néu̯-present *spr̥-néu̯/nu- in Sanskrit स्पृणुहि (spr̥ṇuhi, “set free!”), and perhaps a causative ?*spor-éi̯e- in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa; the s-aorist and the perfect are Indic innovations.[1]

Evidence

The verb is attested only in Indo-Aryan, with possible Iranian and Germanic relatives.[1][2]

Meanings

  1. to liberate, to save[1]

Vedic also has "to win, to acquire", and LIV calls the relation of the two senses unclear.[1] Wackernagel took "to win" for a different root, but a development from "to free for oneself" remains possible.[3][4] KEWA rejects a derivation of "to free" from Pokorny's *sper- "to push away", on grounds of meaning and sound.[4]

Reflexes

  • Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit स्पृणोति (spr̥ṇoti, “sets free; wins”).[4][3]
  • Iranian: Proto-Iranian *spar (“to hand over, to entrust”).[2]

*sper-2 to fly

Confidence
Probable

Reconstruction

LIV sets up 2.*(s)per- "to fly", separated from 1.*per- "to come through", following Benveniste.[5] The verb is only Slavic, and LIV notes that the Slavic paradigm suggests, without proving, a seṭ root.[5] KEWA also sets up a verbal root *per- "to fly".[6]

Morphology

LIV's formations are a full-grade e-present *(s)pér-e- in Old Church Slavonic перѫтъ (perǫtŭ, “they fly”), a sigmatic aorist ?*(s)pḗr/(s)pér-s- in Church Slavonic -прѣ (-prě, “flew”), and an iterative ?*(s)pṓr-i̯e- in Old Church Slavonic парити (pariti, “to fly”).[5]

Evidence

Verbal forms are only Slavic; the nouns for "feather, wing" in Indo-Aryan and Baltic are the other evidence.[5]

Competing analyses

Derksen reconstructs *prH- for Old Church Slavonic перѫтъ (perǫtŭ) and compares Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌽 (faran, “to wander”); for Old Church Slavonic парити (pariti) he reconstructs *pōrH- and compares Sanskrit पारयति (pārayáti, “leads”) and Old English fōrian (“to lead”).[7][8] Kroonen likewise puts the verb with the Germanic verb for "to go".[9] Both thus compare "to fly" with verbs that LIV puts under *per-1.[7][9][10]

Meanings

  1. to fly[5]

Derivatives

  • *(s)por-no- "wing, feather": Lithuanian spar̃nas (“wing”), with s-mobile Sanskrit पर्ण (parṇá, “feather; leaf”) and Avestan parəna- (“feather, wing”).[11]
  • Derksen reconstructs *perH-o- for Proto-Slavic *però (“feather”), with Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “feather, wing”) among its cognates.[12]

Reflexes

  • Slavic: Old Church Slavonic перѫтъ (perǫtŭ, “they fly”).[7]
  • Baltic: Lithuanian spar̃nas (“wing”).[11]
  • Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit पर्ण (parṇá, “feather, wing”).[6][5]

*sper-3 to scatter, strew

Confidence
Probable

Reconstruction

LIV sets up 3.*sper- "to scatter".[13] Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō) has an old *p, as Mycenaean Greek pe-mo (“seed”) shows, so LIV no longer unites it with 3.*kerH- under *skʷerH- as the first edition did.[13] Kümmel adds Hittite išpāri (“spreads out, strews”) as a present *spór-/sper-, separated from Hittite isparre- (“to trample”) after Kloekhorst.[14] Kloekhorst reconstructs the Hittite verb as *spór-ei, *spr-énti.[15] Pokorny also set up a root *sper- "to turn, to wind", with Ancient Greek σπεῖρα (speîra, “coil”).[16]

Morphology

LIV gives an amphidynamic root present ?*spér-/spr̥- behind Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), remade as a i̯e-present as Greek regularly did with athematic presents of such roots; a néu̯-present ?*spr̥-néu̯/nu- in Hittite išparnu- (“to scatter”), and a sigmatic aorist ?*spḗr/spér-s- in the Greek aorist.[13] Kümmel sets up the present as *spór-/sper-, from Hittite išpāri.[14]

Evidence

Only Anatolian and Greek attest the root.[17] Old Armenian սփռեմ (spʽr̄em, “to spread out”), long compared, is phonologically incompatible.[13][17]

Competing analyses

Oettinger took the Hittite verb for "to trample" and connected it with *sperH- "to kick", keeping only the causative Hittite išparnu- with Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), but Kloekhorst objects that most contexts demand "to spread out" and treats the forms meaning "to trample" as a separate verb.[15] That verb belongs to *sperH- "to kick", which LIV writes *spʰerH-.[18][13]

Meanings

  1. to scatter, to strew[13][14]

Hittite uses the verb of spreading out beds, cloths and leaves, and Greek of sowing.[15][13]

Derivatives

  • Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed, sowing”), Mycenaean Greek pe-mo.[17]

Reflexes

  • Anatolian: Hittite išpāri (“spreads out, strews”).[15]
  • Greek: Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō, “to sow, to scatter”).[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. ?1.*sper-
  2. ^ a b c Cheung, Johnny (2007), Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb, Leiden: Brill, p. 376
  3. ^ a b Mayrhofer, Manfred (1986–2001), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. spar-
  4. ^ a b c Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 538
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 2.*sper-
  6. ^ a b Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 223
  7. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 427
  8. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 391
  9. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 128
  10. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 1.*per-
  11. ^ a b Smoczyński, Wojciech (2018), Lithuanian Etymological Dictionary, Berlin: Peter Lang, p. 1716
  12. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 396
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 3.*sper-
  14. ^ a b c Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 84
  15. ^ a b c d Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 406
  16. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke, p. s.v. sper-3
  17. ^ a b c d 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. σπείρω
  18. ^ Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 408
Cite this entry

“*sper-.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ine-pro/*sper-. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·