*ǵenh₁-

Reconstruction

LIV sets up *g̑enh₁- "to generate, beget",^[1] and NIL *ĝenh₁- with the same meaning.^[2] Beekes writes *ǵenh₁- "beget, arise",^[3] Adams *ĝenh₁- "beget, bear",^[4] Matasović *genh₁- "bear, engender, generate",^[5] and Sihler *ǵenH₁-.^[6]

Morphology

LIV reconstructs a root aorist *g̑énh₁-/g̑n̥h₁-, an i-reduplicated present *g̑i-g̑énh₁/g̑n̥h₁-, a thematic present *g̑énh₁-e-, a zero-grade i̯é-present *g̑n̥h₁-i̯é-, a perfect *g̑e-g̑ónh₁/g̑n̥h₁- and a causative *g̑onh₁-éi̯e-; Latin nāscor, an ske-present replacing the i̯é-present, and the present Proto-Celtic *gni- (“to make”) it counts as innovations.^[1] Beekes matches Ancient Greek γίγνομαι (gígnomai) with Latin gignō, and the Greek root aorist and perfect with the Vedic ones.^[3]

Kümmel's addenda change LIV's list in several places.^[7] They add to the aorist Tocharian B käñiyoytär and Tocharian A knitär, from a subjunctive Proto-Tocharian *kəna- as Malzahn explains it, and they strike LIV's Old British form, following Schumacher.^[7] They add to the perfect a Greek middle form and Tocharian B kānare (“fulfilled”), with the participles kekenu and Tocharian A kaknu (“provided with”).^[7] They set up a desiderative ?*g̑énh₁/g̑n̥h₁-s- in a Vedic future "will be born" and the subjunctive Old Irish -genadar, and they list Middle Welsh gweinyð (“serves”) beside gniid (“to make”) among the innovations.^[7]

Evidence

LIV's verbal forms come from Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Armenian, Greek, Italic, Celtic, Germanic and Tocharian.^[1] Anatolian has the noun Hittite genzu- (“lower abdomen”), from *ǵenh₁-su-,^[8] and NIL also lists Baltic and Albanian nouns.^[2]

Meanings

1. to generate, to beget^[1][2][3]
2. to arise^[3]

LIV takes the agentive meaning to be original, because of the thematic present and the inherited agent noun *g̑énh₁-tor-; already in the parent language, though, the middle root aorist and the i̯é-present had the fientive sense "to be born, to come into being".^[1] Kroonen glosses the root "to be born".^[9]

Derivatives

• *g̑énh₁-tor- "begetter": Ancient Greek γενέτωρ (genétōr), Latin genitor, with a Vedic cognate.^[1]
• *ǵenh₁-o/es- "race, offspring": Ancient Greek γένος (génos), Latin genus.^[10][3]
• *ǵenh₁-mn- "germ, seed".^[10]
• *ǵnh₁-to- "born", the old participle: Proto-Germanic *kunda- (“born”).^[9]
• *ǵenh₁-su-: Hittite genzu- (“lower abdomen”).^[8]
• *(-)ĝn̥h₁-i̯o-: Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌹 (kuni, “kin”), Old English cynn.^[2]

Reflexes

• Anatolian: Hittite genzu- (“lower abdomen”).^[8]
• Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit जनति (jánati, “begets, gives birth”), Sanskrit अजनि (ajani, “I was born”), from LIV's list.^[1]
• Armenian: Old Armenian ծնաւ (cnaw, “gave birth; was born”), from LIV's list.^[1]
• Greek: Ancient Greek γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to become, be born”).^[3]
• Italic: Latin gignō (“to engender”).^[10]
• Celtic: Old Irish gainithir (“is born”).^[11][12]
• Germanic: Old English cennan (“to beget, conceive”).^[13]
• Tocharian: Tocharian B kän- (“to come to pass, be realized”).^[4]

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. *g̑enh₁-
2. ^ a b c d Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. *ĝenh₁-
3. ^ a b c d e f 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. γίγνομαι
4. ^ a b Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), A Dictionary of Tocharian B, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Rodopi, p. 169
5. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 162
6. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
7. ^ a b c d Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 26
8. ^ a b c Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 468
9. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 310
10. ^ a b c 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. gignō
11. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 155
12. ^ Zair, Nicholas (2012), The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 93
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill