𐌀𐌉𐌖

Umbrian

Etymology

Disputed. Possibly from Proto-Italic *agjom, itself possibly marked with the suffix *-i(j)o-, a morpheme that appears in Osco-Umbrian terms such as Acesoniam. This term may itself be from Proto-Italic *agjō, which comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ǵyéti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-. However, a Proto-Indo-European formation in *Heǵ-io (“speech”) could be reconstructed, which may either be *h₁eǵ-io or *h₂eǵ-io. If so, cognate with Latin āiō. It may also be connected with Latin Āius Loquens.

Noun

𐌀𐌉𐌖 • (aiu) f (nominative) (early Iguvine, hapax legomenon)

  1. The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
    1. response
    2. oracular, prophetic, oracle-like voice
    3. movements, actions or disturbances

Usage notes

The term can be interpreted as either nominative singular or plural. The linguist Roland G. Kent considered it likely that the term was a feminine singular noun marked by the ending -ā or -ōf. This theory supposes that the final -f had been dropped, a common practice in Umbrian orthography.

Further reading

  • De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “aiō, aī̆s”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 31f.
  • Buck, Carl Darling (1904) A Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian: With a Collection of Inscriptions and a Glossary
  • Poultney, James Wilson (1959) The Bronze Tables of Iguvium‎[1], Baltimore: American Philological Association
  • Roland G. Kent (1920) “Studies in the Iguvine Tables”, in Classical Philology‎[2], volume 15, number 4, →ISSN, pages 353–369
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