Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ōną
Proto-Germanic
Etymology
From two sources, both reflecting earlier *-ōjaną:
- From Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti, an innovated compound suffix from *-éh₂ (eh₂-stem noun suffix) + *-yéti (verbal suffix). These were originally formed as denominative verbs from ō-stem nouns. When attached to thematic (a-stem) nouns, the thematic vowel was also retained, but the resulting compound suffix *-eyé- became part of the first weak class instead.
- From Proto-Indo-European *-(e)h₂yéti, an innovated compound suffix from *-(e)h₂ti (factitive verb suffix) which was originally athematic, but later extended with the thematic present suffix *-yéti.
Cognates include Latin -āre (the whole first conjugation in the present) together with its Proto-Italic ancestor *-āō, Ancient Greek -άω (-áō, contracted verb), -अयति (-ayati) (for the causative in Sanskrit), Proto-Celtic *-āti and Proto-Balto-Slavic *-ā́ˀtei (whence the infinite Proto-Slavic *-ati, referring again to the whole conjugation).
Note that Ringe (2017) reconstructs this suffix with a trimoric vowel, *-ôną (or, following his own conventions, *-ō̄ną). See Ringe (2017: 160).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔː.nɑ̃/
Verb
*-ōną
- Suffix of the infinitive. Creates denominative verbs from nouns.
- Suffix of the infinitive. Creates factitive verbs from adjectives.
Inflection
| active voice | passive voice | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | indicative | subjunctive | imperative | indicative | subjunctive | |
| 1st singular | *-ō | *-ǭ | — | *-ōi | ? | |
| 2nd singular | *-ōsi | *-ōs | *-ō | *-ōsai | *-ōsau | |
| 3rd singular | *-ōþi | *-ō | *-ōþau | *-ōþai | *-ōþau | |
| 1st dual | *-ōs | *-ōw | — | — | — | |
| 2nd dual | *-ōþiz | *-ōþiz | *-ōþiz | — | — | |
| 1st plural | *-ōmaz | *-ōm | — | *-ōnþai | *-ōnþau | |
| 2nd plural | *-ōþ | *-ōþ | *-ōþ | *-ōnþai | *-ōnþau | |
| 3rd plural | *-ōnþi | *-ōn | *-ōnþau | *-ōnþai | *-ōnþau | |
| past tense | indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| 1st singular | *-ōdǭ | *-ōdēdį̄ | ||||
| 2nd singular | *-ōdēz | *-ōdēdīz | ||||
| 3rd singular | *-ōdē | *-ōdēdī | ||||
| 1st dual | *-ōdēdū | *-ōdēdīw | ||||
| 2nd dual | *-ōdēdudiz | *-ōdēdīdiz | ||||
| 1st plural | *-ōdēdum | *-ōdēdīm | ||||
| 2nd plural | *-ōdēdud | *-ōdēdīd | ||||
| 3rd plural | *-ōdēdun | *-ōdēdīn | ||||
| present | past | |||||
| participles | *-ōndz | *-ōdaz | ||||
Derived terms
Proto-Germanic terms suffixed with *-ōną (denominative)
Proto-Germanic terms suffixed with *-ōną (factitive)
Descendants
This class eventually became the dominant and most productive verb class in all daughter languages.