Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰe

This Proto-Indo-European 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-Indo-European

Particle

*g(ʰ)e or *g(ʰ)o or *g(ʰ)i

Postpositional intensifying particle: indeed, at any rate, in fact

Reconstruction notes

Dunkel splits the material in unaspirated^[1] and aspirated^[2] forms, though indicating that the Baltic particles can derive from both. See also *ǵʰí.

Usage notes

The particle was indeclinable in Proto-Indo-European. Some daughter languages, particularly Italic, added pronominal inflection later, as also occurred with the particles *de, *h₂ew, and *ḱe. This particle could either be postposed to the word it intensified (e.g. *Hyód-gʰe wóyde “that which he knows”) or that it otherwise modified (e.g. *né-gʰí “not at all, not indeed”), or it could begin discourse in which it is placed before everything else (e.g. *gʰí … “of course, …”). The presence or lack of aspiration as well as the ablaut grade appear to have been completely arbitrary, and may have been subject to dialectal variation.

Derived terms

*gʰo-h₁^[2]
- Proto-Indo-Iranian:
  - Proto-Indo-Aryan:
    - Sanskrit: घा (ghā)
- Proto-Italic:
  - Latin: *hō- (in hōc (“hither”) and hōrsum)
*h₂éw ge (see there for further descendants)
*né g(ʰ)o, *né g(ʰ)i (“not at all”, combined with *né) (compare *neǵʰí)
- Proto-Balto-Slavic: *negi
  - Latvian: nedz (“neither, nor”)
  - Lithuanian: nègi (“not at all”)
  - Old Prussian: neggi
- Proto-Germanic:
  - Old Saxon: nec (“neither”)
- Proto-Indo-Iranian:
  - Proto-Indo-Aryan:
    - Sanskrit: न घ (ná gha)

Descendants

Proto-Balto-Slavic: *ge (< *g(ʰ)e)
- Proto-Slavic: *že (see there for further descendants)
Proto-Balto-Slavic: *go (enclitic emphatic particle) (< *g(ʰ)o)
- Old Lithuanian: -ga
- Proto-Slavic: *-go (as in *jego, gen.sg. of *jь)
Proto-Germanic: *-k
- Gothic: -𐌺 (-k)
Proto-Hellenic: *ge
- Ancient Greek: γε (ge, “at least, at any rate, only; in fact”)
Proto-Indo-Iranian: *ǰʰa (< *gʰe), *gʰa (< *gʰo)
- Proto-Indo-Aryan: *źʰa, *gʰa
  - Sanskrit: ह (ha), घ (gha) (see there for further descendants)
Proto-Italic: *ho^[3] (see there for further descendants)
>? Proto-Tocharian: (< *g(ʰ)o)
- Tocharian B: ka (“just, scarcely”)

References

^ Dunkel, George E. (2014) “-gó 'gerade, eben; wenigstens'”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, pages 279-283
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Dunkel, George E. (2014) “*-gʰo 'wahrlich, in der Tat'”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, pages 283-288
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “hic, haec, hoc”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 284: “PIt. *χo, *χa(-ī), *χod”

[LIPP_go-1] Dunkel, George E. (2014) “-gó 'gerade, eben; wenigstens'”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, pages 279-283

[LIPP_gho-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Dunkel, George E. (2014) “*-gʰo 'wahrlich, in der Tat'”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, pages 283-288

[3] De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “hic, haec, hoc”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 284: “PIt. *χo, *χa(-ī), *χod”

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