Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/newun

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.

Proto-Germanic

Alternative forms

  • *negun (Ingvaeonic and Istvaeonic)

Etymology

From earlier *newunt, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥ (“nine”),[1] with -t added through influence of *tehun (“ten”). Some descendants supposedly reconstruct a variant *negun instead. This presents an isolated case of wu undergoing dissimilatory fortition to gwu (creating the Pre-Germanic form *negwunt necessary for explaining this discrepancy). This change must've happened quite early on in history, as it underwent a regular application of Boukólos rule, showing the gwu losing the w before u, becoming gu (just like other labiovelars in this position) and also regular loss of word final unstressed Pre-Germanic t (which from the word-final consonant of the Proto-Indo-European ancestor term being d in most cases, but in this case was excresently added via influence from *tehun (“ten”) as mentioned above).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈne.wun/

Numeral

Proto-Germanic cardinal numbers
 <  8 9 10  > 
    Cardinal : *newun
    Ordinal : *newundô
    Multiplier : *newunfalþaz

*newun

  1. nine

Descendants

References

  1. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*newun-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 389-90
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