*weyd-

Reconstruction

LIV and NIL reconstruct *u̯ei̯d- "to catch sight of";^[1][2] de Vaan writes *u̯ei̯d-, Kroonen *ueid- and Matasović *weyd-.^[3][4][5] The perfect has the o-grade *u̯ói̯d- and the zero grade *u̯id-.^[1] Sihler says that most authorities take "see" and "know" for one root, "know" coming from "has seen".^[6]

Morphology

LIV sets up a root aorist *u̯éi̯d-/u̯id-, on the strength of Latin vīdī, with thematised forms in Sanskrit अविदत् (ávidat), Old Armenian եգիտ (egit) and Ancient Greek εἶδον (eîdon), a nasal-infix present *u̯i-né/n-d-, in Sanskrit विन्दति (vindáti, “finds”), and a perfect *u̯ói̯d-/u̯id- without reduplication, in Sanskrit वेद (véda), Ancient Greek οἶδα (oîda) and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍄 (wait).^[1] It adds a causative *u̯oi̯d-éi̯e- and an s-desiderative, in Latin vīsō (“to view, to visit”); the stative "to see" of Latin videō is a later formation.^[1] Why the perfect has no reduplication has not been explained.^[1] Kümmel adds that the athematic aorist rests on Latin alone, which is uncertain, so that the thematic aorist *u̯id-é- is often set up as the secure PIE form; vīdī might also be an Italic perfect *u̯i-u̯id-.^[7]

Evidence

The root is attested in Indo-Iranian, Greek, Armenian, Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic.^[1] For Anatolian, NIL lists only a doubtful Hittite a-witi-.^[2] Tocharian has Tocharian B ūwe (“learned”), as if from *widwó- or *widwon-.^[8] The perfect *woid- "know" is reconstructed from Sanskrit, Greek, Gothic and Old Church Slavonic, and serves as a present everywhere.^[9]

Competing analyses

Jasanoff calls the thematic aorist of Sanskrit अविदत् (ávidat), Ancient Greek εἶδον (eîdon) and Old Armenian եգիտ (egit) one of the best morphological equations in Indo-European, and rejects LIV's root aorist; he explains Latin vīdī otherwise.^[10] Beekes likewise reconstructs εἶδον (eîdon) as *h1e-uid-e-t, and the perfect as *uóid-h2e, *uid-mé.^[11][12] Jasanoff also holds that the usual reasons for rejecting a perfect *u̯eu̯óid-e, parallel to those of *derk̂- and *k̂leu-, are not cogent.^[13]

Meanings

1. to catch sight of^[1][2]

The perfect came to mean "to know" through "to have seen".^[4] According to Meiser, cited by LIV, "to find" first belonged to the nasal present, which LIV finds problematic because "find" is momentary.^[1] Germanic "to blame" developed from "to witness".^[4]

Derivatives

• *u̯éi̯d-es-: Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos, “appearance”).^[2]
• *u̯ei̯d-s-o-: Old English wīs (“wise”), Old Norse víss.^[2]
• *u̯éi̯d-u̯os/t-, the perfect participle: Ancient Greek εἰδώς (eidṓs, “knowing”), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍄𐍅𐍉𐌸𐍃 (weitwoþs, “witness”).^[2][12]

Reflexes

• Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit वेद (véda, “knows”), Sanskrit विन्दति (vindáti, “finds”).^[14][15]
• Iranian: Avestan vid- (“to know”), Avestan vaēd- (“to find”).^[16][17]
• Greek: Ancient Greek εἶδον (eîdon, “saw”), Ancient Greek οἶδα (oîda, “I know”).^[11][12]
• Armenian: Old Armenian գտանեմ (gtanem, “to find”), with the aorist Old Armenian եգիտ (egit).^[18]
• Italic: Latin videō (“to see”).^[3]
• Celtic: Old Irish ro-finnadar, whose perfect forms mean "to know".^[19]
• Germanic: Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (witan, “to know”), Old High German wizzan.^[4]
• Slavic: Old Church Slavonic видѣти (viděti, “to see”), Old Church Slavonic вѣдѣти (věděti, “to know”).^[20][21]
• Baltic: Lithuanian veizdė́ti (“to look”).^[22]
• Tocharian: Tocharian B ūwe (“learned, skillful”).^[8]

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. *u̯ei̯d-
2. ^ a b c d e f Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. *u̯ei̯d-
3. ^ 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. videō
4. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 589
5. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 420
6. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
7. ^ Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 94
8. ^ a b Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), A Dictionary of Tocharian B, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Rodopi, p. 76
9. ^ Clackson, James (2007), Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, Cambridge: CUP
10. ^ Jasanoff, Jay H. (2003), Hittite and the Indo-European Verb, Oxford: OUP, p. 163
11. ^ 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. ἰδεῖν
12. ^ 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. οἶδα
13. ^ Jasanoff, Jay H. (2003), Hittite and the Indo-European Verb, Oxford: OUP, p. 230
14. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 256
15. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1956–1980), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 214
16. ^ Cheung, Johnny (2007), Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb, Leiden: Brill, p. 433
17. ^ Cheung, Johnny (2007), Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb, Leiden: Brill, p. 434
18. ^ Martirosyan, Hrach K. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 230
19. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 435
20. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 521
21. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 518
22. ^ Derksen, Rick (2015), Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 509