Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/akaną

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.kɑ.nɑ̃/

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti, from *h₂eǵ- (“to drive”). Cognate with Latin agō (“drive”), Ancient Greek ἄγω (ágō, “direct, drive, lead, draw, go”), Sanskrit अजति (ájati, “he drives”).^[1]

*akaną^[1][2][3]

1. (North Germanic) to drive, sail, navigate

• *ēkaną

• Old Norse: aka
  • Icelandic: aka
  • Faroese: aka
  • Norwegian:
    • Norwegian Nynorsk: aka, ake
    • Norwegian Bokmål: ake, åke
  • Dalian: aka
    • Elfdalian: åka
  • Old Swedish: aka
    • Swedish: åka
  • Scanian: aga
  • Old Danish: akæ
    • Danish: age
  • Gutnish: ake
  • → Scots: oag, hoag; aik
  • → English: aik (Northern England, Scotland, rare)

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂eg- (“sin, crime”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄγος (ágos, “curse, blood-guilt, penance”), Sanskrit आगस् (ā́gas, “offence, injury, sin, fault”). According to Orel, "[d]espite the semantic discrepancy, these forms are historically identical", referring to the verb for the 'drive' described above and referencing Seebold, p.74-5.^[2] Indeed, Kroonen prefers to reconstruct the proto-form as *h₂eǵ- and adduces as cognates, in contrast to the above, Sanskrit आजि (ājí, “race, competition, fight”), Avestan 𐬁𐬰𐬌 (āzi, “greed, desire”), Persian آز (âz, “greed”).^[4]

*akaną^[4][2][5]

1. (West Germanic) to ache

• *akiz
• *aklaz

• Proto-West Germanic: *akan
  • Old English: acan
    • Middle English: aken, ake, eken
      • English: ache
      • Scots: yawk
      • Yola: aake
  • Old Frisian: *aka
    • Saterland Frisian: ääke, eeke
  • Old Saxon: *akan
    • Middle Low German: aken
      • Low German: aken, äken, achen
  • Old Dutch: *akan
    • ⇒ Middle Dutch: ākel
      • ⇒ Dutch: akelig