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*demh₂-

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Etymology and origin of the Proto-Indo-European word *demh₂-

*demh₂-1 to join, build

Confidence
Probable

Reconstruction

LIV sets up the root as 1.*demh₂- "to join together, build", with *h₂ rather than *h₁ on the evidence of Ancient Greek δέμας (démas, “bodily shape”), Doric νεόδμᾱτος (neódmātos, “newly built”) and the Doric perfect δέδμᾱται (dédmātai).[1] Kümmel's addenda ask whether the root is *demh₂- or *dem- and report Nikolaev's case against the laryngeal: the concrete evidence for *h₂ is limited to Greek and could be secondary, since the s-stem noun may contain a suffixal *h₂ and the long vowel of the middle perfect may be analogical.[2] Beekes, on the contrary, holds that the Greek data require a root in *h₁, taking the Doric forms with ā as hyperdorisms, and so departs from LIV's *h₂.[3] Mallory and Adams write *dem(hₐ)- "build (up)",[4] as does Adams,[5] while Kölligan's lexicon in the Handbook lists "build" as *demh₂-, citing Nikolaev 2010.[6]

The word for "house", the gloss under which this root is most often cited, is a root noun, which LIV derives from a noun of the result *dómh₂-s, accusative *dómh₂-m̥, genitive *démh₂-s "building", which became "house" and, with regular loss of the laryngeal, nominative and accusative *dṓm, with an analogical genitive *dém-s.[1] Lundquist and Yates likewise give the root noun *dom-/dem- "building, house" as formed to *dem- "build".[7] Matasović accepts the connection with the verb only if *domh₂s gave *dōm, as LIV assumes,[8] and EWAia holds that *dom- "house, household" probably belongs to *dem "build", against Benveniste.[9] Watkins sets up *dem- "house, household" and treats *dem(ə₂)- "to build" as possibly a separate root.[10]

Morphology

LIV reconstructs a thematic present *démh₂-e-, continued in Hieroglyphic Luwian tamata (“built”), Ancient Greek δέμω (démō, “I build”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (ga-timan, “to befit”) and Tocharian B tsamtsi (“to create, make grow”), and an essive *dm̥h₂-h₁i̯é- in Tocharian, meaning "grows"; a causative ?*domh₂-éi̯e-, an s-desiderative and a fientive are doubtful, and the s-aorist ἔδειμα (édeima, “built”) and the perfect are later formations.[1] LIV asks whether the root was telic: a root aorist is not attested, but the thematic present could have arisen from a prospective subjunctive of one.[1] The root noun had nominative *dṓm and genitive *dém-s,[11] and its accusative *dṓm is cited by Byrd as an instance of Stang's law.[12]

Evidence

The verb is attested in Anatolian, Greek, Germanic and Tocharian, with a doubtful Iranian form,[1] and Kölligan cites Hieroglyphic Luwian, Greek, Gothic and Tocharian B for it.[6] The noun "house" adds Indo-Iranian, Armenian, Italic, Slavic and Baltic, for nine branches in all.[11][13]

Competing analyses

De Vaan reconstructs the root noun as *dōm, genitive *dem-s, with a probable u-stem derivative behind Slavic *domu- and Ancient Greek δμώς (dmṓs, “slave”), and takes the o-stems of Lithuanian and Indo-Iranian as independent innovations.[11] Beekes calls the root noun archaic, preserved in Ancient Greek δεσπότης (despótēs) and δάπεδον (dápedon, “ground”), and sees δόμος (dómos) and δῶμα (dôma) as adaptations of it rather than verbal abstracts from the verb.[14] Kölligan leaves open whether 2.*demh₂- "to tame" belongs here, as "accustoming to the house".[15]

Meanings

  1. to join together, to build,[1] to build up[4]

LIV takes "house" as a development of the noun meaning "building".[1] In Tocharian the root came to mean "grow, increase", from "build oneself up".[5]

Derivatives

  • Root noun *dṓm, genitive *dém-s "house".[1][13]
  • u-stem *dom-u-, in Proto-Slavic *dȏmъ (“house”).[16]
  • o-stem *dom-o-, in Lithuanian nãmas (“house”), Sanskrit दम (dáma-, “house”) and Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos).[11]
  • The genitive *dém-s in compounds for "master of the house": Ancient Greek δεσπότης (despótēs) and Sanskrit दम्पति (dám-pati-).[13]
  • *dem(H)-ro-, in Proto-Germanic *timbra- (“timber”).[17]
  • *dm-ped-i- or *dḿ-ti-, in Proto-Germanic *tumfeti- (“foundation”) and Ancient Greek δάπεδον (dápedon).[18]

Reflexes

  • Anatolian: Hieroglyphic Luwian tamata (“built”), cited by LIV.[1]
  • Tocharian: Tocharian B tsäm- (“grow, increase”).[5]
  • Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit दम् (dám-, “house”).[13]
  • Iranian: Avestan dam- (“house”).[13]
  • Armenian: Old Armenian տուն (tun, “house; family”).[13]
  • Greek: Ancient Greek δέμω (démō, “to build”), Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos, “house, room”).[3][14]
  • Italic: Latin domus (“house, home; household”).[11]
  • Germanic: Proto-Germanic *timbra- (“timber, lumber”), Old English timber (“timber; building”).[17]
  • Slavic: Proto-Slavic *dȏmъ (“house”), Old Church Slavonic домъ (domŭ).[16]
  • Baltic: Lithuanian nãmas (“house”).[16]

*demh₂-2 to tame

Confidence
Established

Reconstruction

LIV sets up 2.*demh₂- "to tame, subdue, make docile".[19] The same form is given by Sihler, who notes the traditional *dem-, *demə-,[20] by Beekes,[21] and as *demhₐ- by Mallory and Adams.[22] LIV notes that it may originally have been identical with 1.*demh₂-, following Kluge and Seebold.[19]

Morphology

LIV reconstructs a root aorist *démh₂-/dm̥h₂-, continued in Greek participles; a nasal present *dm̥-né/n-h₂- in Ancient Greek δάμνημι (dámnēmi), Old Irish -damna (“binds, subdues”) and Sanskrit दमाय (damāyá-, “to tame, subdue”); an iterative *domh₂-éi̯e- in Sanskrit दमयति (damáyati, “subdues, tames”), Latin domō and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌰𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (ga-tamjan, “to tame”); an s-desiderative *démh₂/dm̥h₂-s- in Hittite damaszi (“presses”); a fientive *dm̥h₂-éh₁/h₁- in ἐδάμην (edámēn, “was subdued”); and an essive *dm̥h₂-h₁i̯é- in Sanskrit दाम्यत (dāmyata, “be tame!”) and Old Irish -daim (“endures”).[19] Kümmel adds a ske-present in Khwarezmian "to be tamed".[2] In Germanic, *tamjan- may continue the causative or be a factitive to the adjective *tama- "tame".[23]

Evidence

Six branches are cited under Reflexes, Anatolian among them, but LIV cites no Tocharian form.[19] Beekes cites the root in discussing where the horse was first tamed.[21]

Competing analyses

LIV takes the Hittite verb as an s-desiderative and denies that it continues an s-aorist, which the root did not have in Proto-Indo-European.[19] Kloekhorst connects it with the root as an s-formation and reconstructs *dmeh₂-s- with Schwebe ablaut,[24] and de Vaan gives *dméh₂-s- / *dmh₂-s-.[25] Chantraine, following Benveniste, denies any link with the noun for "house".[26]

Meanings

  1. to tame, to subdue, to make docile,[19] to domesticate[6]

Kölligan calls it the general term for domestication.[15] Old Irish shows the development "endure, allow".[19]

Derivatives

  • *domh₂-o- "tame", in Proto-Germanic *tama- (“tame”).[23]
  • *dmh₂o- "the tamed one", in Proto-Celtic *damo- (“bull”), whence Old Irish dam (“bull, deer”), and Proto-Celtic *damato-, whence Middle Welsh dafad (“sheep”).[27]

Reflexes

  • Anatolian: Hittite tamāšš- (“to press, oppress”).[28]
  • Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit दमयति (damáyati, “subdues, tames”), cited by LIV.[19]
  • Greek: Ancient Greek δάμνημι (dámnēmi, “to tame, subdue”).[29]
  • Italic: Latin domō (“to subdue”).[25]
  • Celtic: Proto-Celtic *dam-na-, Old Irish damnaid (“binds, subdues”).[8]
  • Germanic: Proto-Germanic *tamjan- (“to tame”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌰𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (ga-tamjan, “to tame, subdue”), Old Norse temja (“to tame; train”).[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 1.*demh₂-
  2. ^ a b Kümmel, Martin Joachim, Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV², online document, last change 16 June 2026, p. 19
  3. ^ 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. δέμω
  4. ^ a b Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006), The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World, Oxford: OUP, p. 220
  5. ^ a b c Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), A Dictionary of Tocharian B, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Rodopi, p. 804
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017–2018), Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics, 3 vols (HSK 41), Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, p. 2264, Kölligan
  7. ^ Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017–2018), Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics, 3 vols (HSK 41), Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, p. 2111, Lundquist & Yates
  8. ^ a b Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 89
  9. ^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1986–2001), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. dám-
  10. ^ Watkins, Calvert (2000), "Indo-European Roots", appendix to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. s.v. dem-
  11. ^ a b c d e 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. domus
  12. ^ Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017–2018), Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics, 3 vols (HSK 41), Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, p. 2060, Byrd
  13. ^ a b c d e f Martirosyan, Hrach K. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 632
  14. ^ 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. δόμος
  15. ^ a b Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017–2018), Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics, 3 vols (HSK 41), Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, p. 2234, Kölligan
  16. ^ a b c Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 113
  17. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 517
  18. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 525
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 2.*demh₂-
  20. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, New York: OUP
  21. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011), Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd ed., revised by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam: Benjamins, p. 51
  22. ^ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006), The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World, Oxford: OUP, p. 134
  23. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 508
  24. ^ Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 182
  25. ^ 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. domō
  26. ^ Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck, p. 250
  27. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Leiden: Brill, p. 90
  28. ^ Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 822
  29. ^ 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. δάμνημι
Cite this entry

“*demh₂-.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ine-pro/*demh%E2%82%82-. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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