Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ô

• IPA^(key): /ɔːː/

Uncertain. Possibly a fossilised form of the Proto-Indo-European thematic ablative *-eh₂d, in which case it would reflect earlier *-ôt before word-final -t was lost.

*-ô

2. -ly. Creates adverbs of manner from adjectives.

• *-ê

This suffix lost its function in some Middle West Germanic languages, where adverbs eventually became identical to the base adjectives they were formed from.

• Proto-West Germanic: *-ō
  • Old English: -o, -a
    • Middle English: -e (fossilised)
      • English: -e (archaic)
  • Old Frisian: -a
  • Old Saxon: -o
    • Middle Low German: -e
      • Low German: -e
  • Old Dutch: -o
    • Middle Dutch: -e
  • Old High German: -o
    • Middle High German: -e
• Old Norse: -a (may have merged with *-ê)
  • Icelandic: -a
  • Old Swedish: -a, -æ
    • Swedish: -a (non-productive)
  • Danish: -e (non-productive)
• Gothic: -𐍉 (-ō)

From Proto-Indo-European *-ō. Proto-Germanic masculine n-stems continue Proto-Indo-European amphikinetic n-stems, meaning the vowel grade in the root, the suffix, and the ending alternated throughout the paradigm. Stem ablaut was not preserved in any later Germanic language, but it is indirectly tangible through such pairs as English corn and German Kern (“seed”). Suffix ablaut is clearly visible in the paradigm below, by way of the *ô ~ *a ~ *i alternation.^[1]

• *-jô

*-ô m

2. -er. Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade form of the base.

• *-ǭ f (“-ess”)

• Proto-West Germanic: *-ō
  • Old English: -a
    • Middle English: -e (fossilised)
      • English: -e (archaic)
  • Old Frisian: -a
  • Old Saxon: -o
    • Middle Low German: -e
      • Low German: -e
  • Old Dutch: -o
    • Middle Dutch: -e
  • Old High German: -o
    • Middle High German: -e
      • German: -e (fossilised)
• Old Norse: -i (merged with *-jô in nominative singular)
  • Icelandic: -i
  • Old Swedish: -e
• Gothic: -𐌰 (-a)