This dictionary carries the etymology of the English language to its logical and natural conclusion, for if the documentary history of words is of interest and value, so is their reconstructed prehistory. The historical component is given in the etymologies, after the definitions in the main body of the dictionary. This appendix supplies the prehistoric component, tracing the ultimate Indo-European derivations of those English words that are descended from a selected group of Indo-European roots.
kei-1 To lie; bed, couch; beloved, dear.
skei- To cut, split. Extension of sek-.
kwr̥mi- Worm. Rhyme word to *wr̥mi‑, worm (see wer-2).
pā- To protect, feed. Oldest form *peh2‑, colored to *pah2‑, becoming *pā-.
[līk- Body, form; like, same. Germanic root.
Most, but not all, of the additional information is self-explanatory. In the first two examples, the boldface forms sek- and wer-2 are cross-references to those roots, which are main entries in this appendix. Every boldface form appearing in the text of an entry is such a cross-reference. In the example pā- the forms *peh2‑, *pah2‑, and *pā- represent older root forms; the nature of these changes is explained in the essay with "Speech Sounds and Their Alternations" (see the print dictionary). The entries līk- and re- are not, strictly speaking, Indo-European, since they are represented in only one branch of the family, but they are included, within boldface brackets, because of the number of English words among their descendants.
awi- Bird. I. 1.avian, aviary, aviation; aviculture, avifauna, bustard, ocarina, osprey, ostrich, from Latin avis, bird.
A form with e-vocalism (the basic form); so identified for descriptive contrast.
men-1 I. Zero-grade form *mn̥-.
ked- 1. Lengthened-grade form *kēd-.
stā- … V. Zero-grade extended root *stū- (< *stuə‑).... VI. Secondary full-grade form *steuə-.
The unchanged root; so identified for descriptive contrast.
mel-2 1. Suffixed (comparative) form *mel-yos-.
pel-5 … II. Extended form *pelh2-.
tag- 1. Nasalized form *ta-n-g-.
segh- … 6. Reduplicated form *si-sgh-.
gal- … 3. Expressive form *gall-.
syū- … III. Suffixed shortened form *syu-men-.
ambhi 1. Reduced form *bhi.
ster-3 Star. Oldest form *h2ster-.
deru- … 2. Variant form *dreu-.
These terms can be combined freely to describe in as much detail as necessary the development from the root to the lemma.
dhē(i)- 1. Suffixed reduced form *dhē-mnā-. female, feme, feminine; effeminate, from Latin fēmina, woman (< "she who suckles").
gerə-1 1. Suffixed lengthened-grade form *gērə-s-. ageratum, geriatrics, from Greek gēras, old age.
petə- … 2. Suffixed (stative) variant zero-grade form *pat-ē-. patent, patulous, from Latin patēre, to be open.
In order to emphasize the fact that English belongs to the Germanic branch of Indo-European and give precedence to directly inherited words in contrast to words borrowed from other branches, the intermediate stages in Germanic etymologies are covered in fuller detail. The Common or Proto-Germanic (here called simply Germanic) forms underlying English words are always given. Where no other considerations intervene, Germanic is given first of the Indo-European groups, and Old English is given first within Germanic, although this order of precedence is not rigidly applied.
The final item in most entries is an abbreviated reference, in brackets, to Julius Pokorny's Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (Bern, 1959). This, the standard work of reference and synthesis in the Indo-European field, carries a full range of the actual comparative material on which the roots are reconstructed. Our appendix presents only those aspects of the material that are directly relevant to English. For example, the English word many is found at the root menegh‑, "copious." This entry describes the transition of the Indo-European form through Germanic *managa- to Old English manig, mænig, "many." It does not cite the comparative evidence from outside English and Germanic on which this assertion is based, but it refers to "Pokorny men(e)gh- 730." The entry men(e)gh- on page 730 in Pokorny's dictionary cites, in addition to the Old English word, the forms attested in Sanskrit, Celtic, Gothic, Old High German, Old Norse, Slavic, and Lithuanian, from which the reconstruction of the root was made. These references should serve as a reminder that the information given in this appendix is assertive rather than expository and that the evidence and evaluation upon which its assertions are based are not presented here.
Parentheses within a form enclose sound(s) or letter(s) sometimes or optionally present.