Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-anaz
Proto-Germanic
Alternative forms
- *-naz
Etymology
From a confluence of two sources:
- Extracted from thematicized on-stems, with their suffix from Proto-Indo-European *-ō + *-os, equivalent to Proto-Germanic *-ô + *-az.
- From Proto-Indo-European verbal adjectives in *-nós, rebracketed to include the thematic *-o- vowel found on many stems, and presumably with loss of the zero-grade-triggering ablaut pattern. Compare the development of *-þaz, used for weak verbs, and the infinitive suffix *-aną.
Both formally reflect pre-Germanic or late PIE *-onos. Cognate with Sanskrit -अन (-ana) and Proto-Slavic *-anъ.
These on-stems in late PIE had increasing use both as (past) participles (compare Sanskrit -न (-ná), Proto-Slavic *-nъ (e.g. *danъ (“given”)), and again the Germanic infinitive suffix), following the trend of other n-stems which in descendants were furthermore conflated with the older nt-participles (whence *-andz) and mn-deverbals (especially as *-(m̥)nós, as in the sound change from *bʰudʰ-m̥n-ó/és to *bʰudʰnós > Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna), Latin fundus, Proto-Germanic *butt-), and as deverbal agent nouns (meaning “the one who does [verb]”, also deriving some occupational titles and names; compare Sanskrit -अन (-ana), Latin -ō). The latter use likely underwent semantic narrowing on the way to Proto-Germanic as the internal morphology of *-anaz became fossilized and contradistinguished from *-ô. On the other hand, these semantics may be related to a secondary augmentative use of Proto-Indo-European *-ō as seen in Latin -ō, and therefore have been synchronically understood in early Germanic as an enlargement of *-az (“-er”) with this function, leading to its specialization for rulers and similar prestige titles.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ.nɑz/
Suffix
*-anaz
- -ruler (attached to various words to create a term meaning ”one who leads X”).
- Forms the past participle of strong verbs.
Inflection
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | *-anaz | *-anōz, *-anōs |
| vocative | *-an | *-anōz, *-anōs |
| accusative | *-aną | *-ananz |
| genitive | *-anas, *-anis | *-anǫ̂ |
| dative | *-anai | *-anamaz |
| instrumental | *-anō | *-anamiz |
Related terms
- *-aną
- *-inaz
- *-naz