Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/an

< Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic

Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/an

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

• *ana

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂én (“up, on high”), but the exact formation is disputed due to the final vowel in descendants that reflect *ana. According to Kroonen, who derives both *an and *ana from a pre-Germanic *h₂enh̥₂, the final vowel was lost by regular sound change but remained in compound forms, whence it was restored in some of the daughter languages.[1] Alternative explanations for the final vowel include a fossilized suffix *-o/*-ó of uncertain (allative?) function, as in *anda.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑn/

Preposition

*an[1]

1. on, upon [+dative]
2. onto [+accusative]

Adverb

*an[1]

1. on, onto

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *an, *ana
  • Old English: an, on
    • Middle English: an, on, one, onne, hon, ane; an; æn; one, onne, an
      • English: on
      • Scots: an, on
      • Yola: an, on, a; ana
  • Old Frisian: on, an
    • North Frisian: a
    • Saterland Frisian: an, oun
    • West Frisian: oan
  • Old Saxon: ana, an
    • Middle Low German: an
      • Low German: an
  • Old Dutch: ana, an, in
    • Middle Dutch: āne, āen, an
      • Dutch: aan
        • Afrikaans: aan
        • Jersey Dutch: ân
        • Negerhollands: aan, an
        • Skepi Creole Dutch: an
      • Limburgish: aan
  • Old High German: ana
    • Middle High German: ane, an
      • Cimbrian: å
      • German: an
      • Hunsrik: aan
      • Luxembourgish: un
      • Pennsylvania German: aa
      • Yiddish: אָן‎ (on)
• Proto-Norse: ᚨᚾ (an), ᚨᚾᚨ (ana)
  • Old Norse: á
    • Icelandic: á
    • Faroese: á
    • Norwegian: å
    • Elfdalian: ą̊
    • Old Swedish: ā
      • Swedish: å, a (dialectal)
    • Old Danish: ā
      • Danish: å (dialectal)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana)

References

1. Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*ana”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 26