Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/lōkōn

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

Etymology

Unknown. According to an older hypothesis, perhaps related to Breton lagad (“eye, look”), Welsh llygad (“eye”), Cornish lagas (“eye”), implying a Proto-Indo-European root *lewg- (“to look; eye”). However, this Celtic set is more commonly derived from *lewk- (“to shine”),[1][2][3][4] which could not have produced the Germanic term. Instead, modern authors compare Doric Greek λωγάω (lōgáō, “to pick up; to tell”) and Proto-Tocharian *läk- (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather”) with a semantic shift paralleled also in Latin legō.[5][6]

Verb

*lōkōn

to look, see

Inflection

Class 2 weak
Infinitive	*lōkōn
1st sg. past	*lōkōdā
Infinitive	*lōkōn
Genitive infin.	*lōkōnijas
Dative infin.	*lōkōnijē
Instrum. infin.	*lōkōniju
Indicative	Present	Past
1st singular	*lōkō	*lōkōdā
2nd singular	*lōkōs	lōkōdēs, lōkōdōs
3rd singular	*lōkōþ	lōkōdē, lōkōdā
1st plural	*lōkōm	*lōkōdum
2nd plural	*lōkōþ	*lōkōdud
3rd plural	*lōkōnþ	*lōkōdun
Subjunctive	Present	Past
1st singular	*lōkō	*lōkōdī
2nd singular	*lōkōs	*lōkōdī
3rd singular	*lōkō	*lōkōdī
1st plural	*lōkōm	*lōkōdīm
2nd plural	*lōkōþ	*lōkōdīd
3rd plural	*lōkōn	*lōkōdīn
Imperative	Present
Singular	*lōkō
Plural	*lōkōþ
	Present	Past
Participle	*lōkōndī	*lōkōd

Related terms

*lōgēn

Descendants

Old English: lōcian
- Middle English: loken, lokan, locen, locan, lokken, locken; luken, lukken; lokien, lokiæn, lokin, locian
  - English: look (see there for further descendants)
  - Scots: luik, leuk, luke
  - Yola: looke
Old Frisian: *lōkia
- West Frisian: lôkje, loaitsje (archaic)
Old Saxon: lōkon, lōcōn, luokoian
- Middle Low German: lö̂ken
  - Low German: löken
Old Dutch: *lōkon
- Middle Dutch: loeken
  - Dutch: loeken

References

Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*lowko-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 245-246
Falileyev, Alexander (2000), “licat”, in Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh (Buchreihe der Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie; 18), Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 103
Koch, John (2004), “*lukato-”, in English–Proto-Celtic Word-list with attested comparanda, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, page 112
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “llygad”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
Orel, Vladimir (2003), “*lōkōjanan”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 249
Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “läk-”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, pages 596–597: “In West Germanic we have Old English lōcian, Old Saxon lōcōn ‘look,’ in origin an iterative-intensive of this root (PIE *lōĝehₐye/o-), exactly matched morphologically by (Doric) Greek lōgáō (in turn semantically equivalent of légō).”

[1] Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*lowko-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 245-246

[2] Falileyev, Alexander (2000), “licat”, in Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh (Buchreihe der Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie; 18), Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 103

[3] Koch, John (2004), “*lukato-”, in English–Proto-Celtic Word-list with attested comparanda, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, page 112

[4] R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “llygad”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

[5] Orel, Vladimir (2003), “*lōkōjanan”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 249

[6] Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “läk-”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, pages 596–597: “In West Germanic we have Old English lōcian, Old Saxon lōcōn ‘look,’ in origin an iterative-intensive of this root (PIE *lōĝehₐye/o-), exactly matched morphologically by (Doric) Greek lōgáō (in turn semantically equivalent of légō).”