*sekH-

Reconstruction

LIV reconstructs *sekH- 'to sever', with the two senses 'to cut' and 'to distinguish'; the root is seṭ because of the Latin perfect secuī, after Rix.^[1] De Vaan writes *sekh₁-,^[2] and Kloekhorst also sets the laryngeal as *h₁, because a form with *h₂ or *h₃ would have given the Hittite verb a 3rd singular ending in -ai.^[3] Kroonen writes the root without a laryngeal, *sek- 'to cut'.^[4]

LIV's *sek- 'to dry up' is a separate root, Pokorny's *sek- 'to flow out, dry out';^[5][6] so is *sei̯kʷ- 'to pour out'.^[7]

Morphology

LIV reconstructs a root aorist *sékH-/skH-, in the Latin perfect; an acrodynamic present *sḗkH-/sékH-, in Old Church Slavonic сѣщи (sěšti, “to hew, to fell”); a zero-grade i̯é-present *skH-i̯é-, in Latin secō (“to cut”) and Latin nesciō (“not to know”); and a perfect *se-sókH/skH-, in Hittite sākki (“knows”).^[1] Jasanoff notes that LIV sets up both a Narten present and a root aorist, a pairing that is not rare.^[8] LIV sets aside a Lithuanian verb 'to dig in', which appears only in Bezzenberger's 1877 book and in no current dictionary.^[1]

Evidence

The root is cited from Anatolian, Italic, Slavic and Germanic, and doubtfully from Celtic.^[1][4] Kroonen also compares Albanian shat (“hoe, mattock”).^[4] The Hittite verb has been linked since Justus with the root 'to cut', and Kloekhorst notes that the link is widely followed.^[3]

Competing analyses

Oettinger instead connected Hittite šākk- with *seh₂g- 'to track', the root of a Latin verb 'to perceive keenly'.^[3] Kloekhorst finds the meaning acceptable but the form unsatisfactory,^[3] and LIV finds it hard to reconcile with the sound laws.^[1] De Vaan derives Latin sciō from *skh₁-i(e/o)- 'to incise' and suggests that LIV's *sḱheh₂(i̯)- 'to cut' may be the same root.^[9]

Meanings

1. to cut^[1][2][4]
2. to distinguish^[1]

LIV's basic meaning is 'to sever', and the two senses branch from it.^[1] The sense 'to know' in Hittite and Latin comes from 'to distinguish': LIV compares Middle High German geschide beside Middle High German scheiden,^[1] and Mallory and Adams the same change in *kers- 'to cut'.^[10] LIV makes the same comparison for Tocharian B kärs- (“to know”).^[11]

Derivatives

• Latin sciō (“to know”), probably a back-formation from Latin nesciō.^[9]
• Proto-Germanic *sagō- (“saw”), from *sok-éh₂-.^[4]

Reflexes

• Anatolian: Hittite šākk- (“to know”).^[3]
• Italic: Latin secō (“to cut”).^[2]
• Celtic: Middle Irish tescaid (“cuts”), doubtfully, in LIV's list.^[1]
• Germanic: Proto-Germanic *sagō- (“saw”).^[4]
• Slavic: Old Church Slavonic сѣщи (sěšti, “to cut”).^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *sekH-
2. ^ 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. secō
3. ^ a b c d e Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, p. 695
4. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 421
5. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *sek-
6. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke, p. s.v. sek-1
7. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. *sei̯kʷ-
8. ^ Jasanoff, Jay H. (2003), Hittite and the Indo-European Verb, Oxford: OUP, p. 81
9. ^ 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. sciō
10. ^ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006), The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World, Oxford: OUP, p. 374
11. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. s.v. 2.*kers-
12. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 446