Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ō
Proto-Germanic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔː/
Etymology 1
Predominantly from Proto-Indo-European *-(o)-éh₂, later merging with *-eh₂ (of several origins; see Etymology 2).
Suffix
*-ō f
- Creates feminine nouns from roots and stems.
Usage notes
Originally, the suffix exhibited the Indo-European o-ablaut in the root and triggered Verner's law: the original root vowel changed to early (or pre-) Proto-Germanic *a, with *(e)i and *(e)u becoming the diphthongs *ai and *au respectively, and, if the root ended in a voiceless fricative not preceded by an occlusive, this fricative gained voicing. By the time of Proto-Germanic proper, the suffix increasingly came to be used on stems more than roots and its productive ablaut effects were mostly lost, later occurring only sporadically in a few analogical cases.
Inflection
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | *-ō | *-ôz |
| vocative | *-ō | *-ôz |
| accusative | *-ǭ | *-ōz |
| genitive | *-ōz | *-ǫ̂ |
| dative | *-ōi | *-ōmaz |
| instrumental | *-ō | *-ōmiz |
Derived terms
More at Category:Proto-Germanic ō-stem nouns.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂, *-éh₂, feminine to thematic *-o-, *-ó- and collective to thematic neuter *-om, *-óm.
Suffix
*-ō f
- nominative feminine singular of *-az (adjectival)
- nominative/accusative neuter plural of *-az (adjectival)
- nominative/vocative/accusative plural of *-ą (suffix of neuter a-stem nouns)
Etymology 3
From Proto-Indo-European *-oh₁.
Suffix
*-ō
- instrumental singular of *-az (“-er”)
- instrumental singular of *-az (suffix of masculine a-stem nouns in general)
- instrumental singular of *-ą (suffix of neuter a-stem nouns)