< Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic
Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/samft(ī)
 | 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
Alternative reconstructions
- *samft
Etymology
Likely from *samftu (“gentleness”) + *-ī, from Proto-Germanic *samþuz, *samftuz, from Proto-Indo-European *sóm-tu-s, from *sem- (“one, same”).[1] Cognate with Sanskrit सान्त्व (sāntva, “consolation; gentle, mild”), Proto-Celtic *sāmos (“calm, easy, pleasant”), and possibly Ancient Greek ἥμερος (hḗmeros, “tame, civilized, cultivated”).
Adjective
*samft(ī)[2]
- soft
- gentle
Inflection
| a-stem | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Masculine | ||
| Nominative | *samft | ||
| Genitive | *samftas | ||
| Singular | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | *samft | *samftu | *samft |
| Accusative | *samftanā | *samftā | *samft |
| Genitive | *samftas | *samfteʀā | *samftas |
| Dative | *samftumē | *samfteʀē | *samftumē |
| Instrumental | *samftu | *samfteʀu | *samftu |
| Plural | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | *samftē | *samftō | *samftu |
| Accusative | *samftā | *samftā | *samftu |
| Genitive | *samfteʀō | *samfteʀō | *samfteʀō |
| Dative | *samftēm, *samftum | *samftēm, *samftum | *samftēm, *samftum |
| Instrumental | *samftēm, *samftum | *samftēm, *samftum | *samftēm, *samftum |
| ja-stem | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Masculine | ||
| Nominative | *samftī | ||
| Genitive | *samftijas | ||
| Singular | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | *samftī | *samftiju | *samftī |
| Accusative | *samftijanā | *samftijā | *samftī |
| Genitive | *samftijas | *samftijeʀā | *samftijas |
| Dative | *samftijumē | *samftijeʀē | *samftijumē |
| Instrumental | *samftiju | *samftijeʀu | *samftiju |
| Plural | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | *samftijē | *samftijō | *samftiju |
| Accusative | *samftijā | *samftijā | *samftiju |
| Genitive | *samftijeʀō | *samftijeʀō | *samftijeʀō |
| Dative | *samftijēm, *samftijum | *samftijēm, *samftijum | *samftijēm, *samftijum |
| Instrumental | *samftijēm, *samftijum | *samftijēm, *samftijum | *samftijēm, *samftijum |
Alternative reconstructions
- *samþī[1]
Related terms
- *sōmī
Derived terms
- *samftō
Descendants
- Old English: sēfte, sœ̄fte, sōfte, sōft, sēft
- Middle English: softe, soufte, zofte
- English: soft
- Scots: saft
- Yola: zaft
- Middle English: softe, soufte, zofte
- Old Frisian: sēfte, sēft
- West Frisian: sêft
- Old Saxon: *sāfti
- Middle Low German: safte, sachte
- Dutch Low Saxon:
- Twents: sacht
- German Low German:
- Altmärkisch, Low Prussian, Westphalian (Westmünsterländisch): sacht
- Low Prussian, Westphalian (Bentheimisch, Dortmundisch, Sauerländisch, Westmünsterländisch): sachte
- → German: sacht
- → Danish: sagte
- → Swedish: sakta
- Dutch Low Saxon:
- Middle Low German: safte, sachte
- Old Dutch: sāfti
- Middle Dutch: sachte
- Dutch: zacht
- Middle Dutch: sachte
- Old High German: semfti, samfti, senfti
- Middle High German: semfte, senfte, sanfte
- Alemannic German: sanft
- German: sanft
- Middle High German: semfte, senfte, sanfte
Further reading
- Friedrich Kluge (1989), “sanft”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 617: “*samftja-”
- Orel, Vladimir (2003), “*samþjaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 318
- Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*sampu-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 426
References
- Pokorny, Julius (1959), “2. sem-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 902
- Ringe, Donald; Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 140: “PWGmc *samft / *samftī”