Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ōfer

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

From Proto-Germanic *ōferaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éh₁-per-o-s, from *h₂éh₁ (“to, at”) +‎ *per- (“beyond, across”) +‎ *-os, (whence Ancient Greek πέρας (péras, “end, boundary”)) + *-os. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἤπειρος (ḗpeiros, “mainland”), and possibly Old Armenian ափն (apʿn, “edge; shore”).[1][2][3]

Noun

*ōfer m

border, edge (of a body of water)
shoreline

Inflection

Masculine a-stem
	Singular
Nominative	*ōfer
Genitive	*ōferas
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*ōfer	ōferō, ōferōs
Accusative	*ōfer	*ōferā
Genitive	*ōferas	*ōferō
Dative	*ōferē	*ōferum
Instrumental	*ōferu	*ōferum

Descendants

Old English: ōfer, ōfor, ōbr
- Middle English: over
  - English: over
  - Scots: offer
Old Frisian: ōvera, ōvere
- North Frisian: over
- Saterland Frisian: Ouger n
- West Frisian: ouwer
Old Saxon: *ovar
- Middle Low German: över, oever, oyver, auver
  - Low German: Över
Old Dutch: *uovar, *ōvar
- Middle Dutch: oever
  - Dutch: oever
Old High German: *uofar
- Middle High German: uover, uober
  - German: Ufer

References

Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*ōf(e)ra-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 394
Pokorny, Julius (1959), “āpero-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 53
Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἤπειρος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 523

[1] Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*ōf(e)ra-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 394

[2] Pokorny, Julius (1959), “āpero-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 53

[3] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἤπειρος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 523