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This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.
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Proto-Germanic
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), *kʷod, neuter form of *kʷós (“who”), *kʷós, *kʷís.[1]
Pronoun
*hwat
- nominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz
Descendants
- Proto-West Germanic: *hwat
- Old English: hwæt, huæt, huæd, huædd, huætd, huædt, hwet, wæt, whæt, hwat
- Middle English: what, whad, whote, watte, wath, wad, qhat, whæt, whæht, waht, waet, wæht, weht, hweat (Southern West Mid)
- English: what
- Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at
- Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad
- Old Frisian: hwet
- Saterland Frisian: wät
- West Frisian: wat
- Old Saxon: hwat
- Old Dutch: wat
- Middle Dutch: wat
- Afrikaans: wat
- Dutch: wat
- Limburgish: waat
- Old High German: waȥ, whaz, hwaz, hwat
- Old Norse: hvat
- Icelandic: hvað
- Faroese: hvat
- Norwegian Nynorsk: kva, kvat; (dialectal) k(v)att, kåt, ka, ke, ko, kø, hot, høt, hø, ho
- Jamtish: hut, hvuð
- Old Swedish: hvat, hvadh
- Swedish: vad, hvad (pre-1906 spelling)
- Old Danish: hwat
References
- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*hwa-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 261