iam Latin · revision 17779

− It is formed on the base of the pronoun [[is]], as [[tam]] and [[quam]] are on theirs.^(OLD 2012) De Vaan reconstructs ⟨*iām⟩, an accusative singular feminine; since adverbs in ⟨-ām⟩ meant “as far as, with respect to”, ⟨*iām⟩ would have meant “as far as this is concerned”, hence “now”.^(de Vaan 2008) He also considers a remodelling of the old accusative ⟨*īm⟩ “him, her” after pronouns such as “quam”; in the pronoun itself the form was later replaced by [[m|la|eam]].^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary instead derives it from [[ine-pro|*Hyā́m]], the feminine accusative of the relative [[m|ine-pro|*Hyós|t=who, which]].^(Wiktionary)