*upér

Reconstruction

The adverb is *upér(i) 'over' in Beekes,^[1] *uper 'above' in Fortson,^[2] and *up-ér beside *up-ér-i in Dunkel.^[3] Ringe reconstructs both *upér and *upéri 'over, above'.^[4] De Vaan writes *(h1)uper(i) and EWAia *(h)uper(i),^[5][6] but Dunkel argues against an initial laryngeal, as for *upó, and notes that the form does not ablaut.^[3]

Morphology

Dunkel analyses it as the particle *up 'above' with the locative adverbial ending *-er; since *up-ér is already locative, *up-ér-i is hypercharacterised.^[7] Ringe takes the *-i as the 'hic-et-nunc' particle, and shows that Germanic kept both forms: *upéri gave Proto-Germanic *ubiri, whose umlaut needs the surviving *-i, while *upér gave Proto-Germanic *ubar.^[4] Dunkel adds that Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar) can continue either.^[7]

Evidence

The adverb is shared by Indo-Iranian, Greek, Italic, Celtic, Germanic and Armenian.^[8][5] Sihler notes that Greek could continue a form with an initial s like Latin, but that Vedic, Old Irish, Gothic and English all point to a form without it.^[9] Beekes calls the s- of Latin super unclear,^[1] and de Vaan refers it to the same Italic development as in Latin sub.^[5] Dunkel takes Hittite uppara- (“upper”) as probably Luwian, and lists Albanian only with a query.^[10][11] In Celtic, the p was lost, giving *wer- as in the Gaulish name Vercingetorix,^[12] and in Brythonic and Gaelic it became *wor-,^[13] perhaps after the reflex of *upó 'under'.^[14]

Meanings

1. over, above^[1][4][8][5]

Dunkel glosses the adverb 'above, over; upwards'^[3] and takes *uper and *uperi as locative adverbs: their use as preverbs and prepositions, and with a sense of direction, belongs to the individual languages.^[11] In Greek, Italic and Celtic it also took over the sense 'above, upwards' after the forms for 'above' and 'below' had fallen together.^[15]

Derivatives

• The adjective *upero- 'upper': Ancient Greek ὕπερος (húperos, “pestle”), Avestan upara- (“upper”), Sanskrit उपर (úpara, “lower, later”), Latin superus (“upper”), Oscan supro- (“upper”).^[8][5][16]
• Superlatives in Ancient Greek ὑπέρτατος (hupértatos) and Gaulish uertamo- (“highest”).^[11]
• Latin superbus (“proud, haughty”), from *uper with the root 'to be'.^[11]

Reflexes

• Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit उपरि (upári, “above, over”).^[17][6]
• Iranian: Avestan upairi (“above, over”), Old Persian upariy (“over, on”).^[6]
• Greek: Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over, above”).^[8]
• Italic: Latin super (“over, above, beyond”), Umbrian super (“on top”).^[5]
• Celtic: Proto-Celtic *ufor- (“over, on”), Old Irish for (“on, over”).^[18]
• Germanic: Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar, “over”), Old High German ubiri (“over”), Old Norse yfir (“over”), Old English ofer (“over”), from Beekes and Ringe, as Kroonen has no entry.^[1][4]
• Armenian: Martirosyan derives the adverb for 'above, up, upwards' from *upéri, but prints it only in transliteration.^[19][20]

References

1. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011), Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd ed., revised by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam: Benjamins, p. 248
2. ^ Fortson, Benjamin W., IV (2010), Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Malden, MA / Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, p. ch. 7
3. ^ a b c Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 836
4. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don (2017), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. super
6. ^ a b c Mayrhofer, Manfred (1986–2001), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. upári
7. ^ a b Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 837
8. ^ 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. ὕπερ
9. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
10. ^ Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 750
11. ^ a b c d Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 839
12. ^ Meier-Brügger, Michael (2010), Indogermanische Sprachwissenschaft, 9th ed., with Matthias Fritz and Manfred Mayrhofer, Berlin: De Gruyter, p. 259
13. ^ Kapović, Mate, ed. (2017), The Indo-European Languages, 2nd ed., London: Routledge, p. 358
14. ^ Schrijver, Peter (1995), Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology, Amsterdam: Rodopi, p. 126
15. ^ Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, vol. 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 751
16. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 105
17. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 106
18. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 410
19. ^ Martirosyan, Hrach K. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 606
20. ^ Martirosyan, Hrach K. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 607