Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ilaz
 | 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
Etymology 1
Formally appears to be a thematicized variant of Proto-Indo-European *-lós.
Kroonen (2017) instead derives this from the Proto-Indo-European *-trom family of instrumental nominal suffixes, specifically the lambdacized variants Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom and Proto-Indo-European *-tlom. The former suffix and the voiced Verner's alternant of the latter would undergo an assimilation to *-lla-. The geminate consonant would have later shortened to make *-la- which was suffixed onto stems with *-yeti, forming the Germanic agent suffix. [1] Compare Latin -ula.
Suffix
*-ilaz
- -er: suffix forming agent nouns and instrument nouns such as tools
Alternative forms
- *-ilą
- *-ulaz (e.g. in *skakulaz)
Inflection
| masculine a-stemDeclension of *-ilaz (masculine a-stem) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | *-ilaz | *-ilōz, *-ilōs | |
| vocative | *-il | *-ilōz, *-ilōs | |
| accusative | *-ilą | *-ilanz | |
| genitive | *-ilas, *-ilis | *-ilǫ̂ | |
| dative | *-ilai | *-ilamaz | |
| instrumental | *-ilō | *-ilamiz | |
Derived terms
- *-ilingaz
Descendants
- Proto-West Germanic: *-il, *-ul
- Old English: -el, -ol, -ul
- Middle English: -el
- English: -el, -le
- Middle English: -el
- Old Frisian:
- West Frisian: -el
- Old Saxon: -al, -il
- Middle Low German: -el
- Low German: -el
- Middle Low German: -el
- Old Dutch:
- Dutch: -el
- Old High German: -il
- Middle High German: -el
- German: -el
- Middle High German: -el
- Old English: -el, -ol, -ul
- Old Norse: -ill, -all, -ull m, -la f
- Faroese: -il m
Etymology 2
From Proto-Indo-European *-elo-, thematized from Proto-Indo-European *-lós.
Suffix
*-ilaz
- forms nouns of diminutive connotation
Inflection
| masculine a-stemDeclension of *-ilaz (masculine a-stem) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | *-ilaz | *-ilōz, *-ilōs | |
| vocative | *-il | *-ilōz, *-ilōs | |
| accusative | *-ilą | *-ilanz | |
| genitive | *-ilas, *-ilis | *-ilǫ̂ | |
| dative | *-ilai | *-ilamaz | |
| instrumental | *-ilō | *-ilamiz | |
Alternative forms
- *-ilǭ
- *-ulaz, *-ulǭ
Derived terms
Descendants
- Proto-West Germanic: *-il
- Old English: -el, -il
- Middle English: -el
- English: -el, -le
- Scots: -el, -il
- Middle English: -el
- Old High German: -il
- German: -el
- Old English: -el, -il
- Old Norse: -ill m, -la f
- Faroese: -il m
- (possibly) Gothic: -𐌹𐌻𐌰 (-ila)
Etymology 3
Related to the above etymologies. Compare Latin -ilis.
This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Suffix
*-ilaz
- forms adjectives from verbs, meaning “-ing” or “tending to …” (alternative form of *-ulaz)
Inflection
| Strong declension | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | *-ilaz | *-ilai | *-ilō | *-ilôz | *-ilą, -atō | *-ilō |
| Accusative | *-ilanǭ | *-ilanz | *-ilǭ | *-ilōz | *-ilą, -atō | *-ilō |
| Genitive | *-ilas, -is | *-ilaizǫ̂ | *-ilaizōz | *-ilaizǫ̂ | *-ilas, -is | *-ilaizǫ̂ |
| Dative | *-ilammai | *-ilaimaz | *-ilaizōi | *-ilaimaz | *-ilammai | *-ilaimaz |
| Instrumental | *-ilanō | *-ilaimiz | *-ilaizō | *-ilaimiz | *-ilanō | *-ilaimiz |
| Weak declension | ||||||
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | *-ilô | *-ilaniz | *-ilǭ | *-ilōniz | *-ilô | *-ilōnō |
| Accusative | *-ilanų | *-ilanunz | *-ilōnų | *-ilōnunz | *-ilô | *-ilōnō |
| Genitive | *-iliniz | *-ilanǫ̂ | *-ilōniz | *-ilōnǫ̂ | *-iliniz | *-ilanǫ̂ |
| Dative | *-ilini | *-ilammaz | *-ilōni | *-ilōmaz | *-ilini | *-ilammaz |
| Instrumental | *-ilinē | *-ilammiz | *-ilōnē | *-ilōmiz | *-ilinē | *-ilammiz |
Alternative forms
- *-ulaz
Derived terms
Descendants
- Proto-West Germanic: *-il
- Old English: -il, -el
- Middle English: -il, -el
- English: -le
- Scots: -il, -el
- Middle English: -il, -el
- Old Frisian: -il
- Saterland Frisian: -il
- West Frisian: -il
- Old Saxon: -il
- Middle Low German: -il, -el
- German Low German: -il
- Middle Low German: -il, -el
- Old Dutch: -il
- Middle Dutch: -il, -el
- Dutch: -il
- Middle Dutch: -il, -el
- Old High German: -il
- Middle High German: -il
- German: -el
- Middle High German: -il
- Old English: -il, -el
- Old Norse: -ill
- Gothic: -𐌹𐌻𐍃 (-ils)
Note: Fossilized in several descendants.
References
- Kroonen, Guus (2017), “The development of the Proto-Indo-European instrumental suffix in Germanic”, in Indogermanische Forschungen, volume 122, issue 1, DOI:, ISSN 0019-7262, pages 105-110