Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁ger-

This Proto-Indo-European 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-Indo-European

Etymology

Perhaps this term emerged from *h₁gr-, the zero-grade of another otherwise unattested root. The original root may have underwent depalatalization in the zero-grade.^[1]

Root

*h₁ger-^[2]^[3]

to wake up, awaken
Synonyms: *bʰewdʰ-, *weǵ-

Antonyms: *ses-, *swep-
to keep watch

Alternative reconstructions

*ger-^[4]
*h₁ǵer-^[5]^[6]

Reconstruction notes

Structurally, this root is somewhat unusual in that it begins with a laryngeal followed by a plosive, whereas most laryngeal-initial roots began with a laryngeal followed by a resonant. However, it does not necessarily violate any rules of Proto-Indo-European phonotactics.^[7] The root *h₃sleydʰ- may showcase a similar irregularity.^[8]

Derived terms

Terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ger- (7 c, 0 e)

*h₁gér-e-tor (thematic root present middle)^[2]
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: *Hǰáratay
  - Proto-Indo-Aryan: *Hȷ́áratay
    - Sanskrit: जरते (járate, “to wake up”)

*h₁gér-ye-ti (ye-present)^[5]
- Proto-Hellenic: *egéřřō^[9]
  - Ancient Greek: ἐγείρω (egeírō, “to wake up; to keep watch”) (see there for further descendants)

*h₁ge-h₁gόr-e ~ *h₁ge-h₁gr-ḗr (reduplicated stative)^[2]^[10]^[11]^[12]
- Proto-Hellenic: *ḗgore
  - Ancient Greek: ἐγρήγορα (egrḗgora, “is awake”)
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: *HǰaHgā́ra ~ *HǰaHgrā́y
  - Proto-Indo-Aryan: *Hȷ́aHgā́ra ~ *Hȷ́aHgrā́y
    - Vedic Sanskrit: जागार (jāgā́ra, “is awake; is watching”)
  - Proto-Iranian: *HǰaHgā́ra
    - Younger Avestan: 𐬘𐬀𐬖𐬁𐬭𐬀 (jaγāra, “is awake”)

*h₁gor-éye-ti (eye-causative)^[2]
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: *Hgāráyati
  - Proto-Indo-Aryan: *Hgāráyati
    - Sanskrit: जारयति (jāráyati) (j- from जरते (jarate))
  - Proto-Iranian: *Hgāráyati (see there for further descendants)

*h₁gr-éh₁sḱe-ti (eh₁sḱe-inchoative)
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: *HgráHsćati
  - Proto-Iranian: *HgráHscati (see there for further descendants)
- Proto-Italic: *grēscor
  - ⇒? Latin: expergīscor (“to awake, wake up”)

*h₁gr-éh₁-ti (eh₁-inchoative)^[13]^[14]
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: *HgráHti
  - Proto-Iranian: *HgráHti (see there for further descendants)

*h₁gr-é-to (thematic root aorist middle)^[2]
- Proto-Hellenic: *ḗgreto
  - Ancient Greek: ἔγρετο (égreto, “awoke”, 3sg.rt.aor.med.)

*h₁gr̥-sḱé-tor (sḱe-inchoative middle)^[15]^[13]
- Proto-Albanian: *angrisketai
  - Albanian: ëngrihetë (“rises”)
    - ⇒ Albanian: ngre, (dialetcal) ngreh (secondary aorist)

*h₁gr̥-tó (athematic root aorist middle)
- >? Phrygian: egertoy (“?”)^[16] (or from *ǵʰer-)^[17]

*h₁gr̥-yé-ti (zero-grade ye-present)^[10]
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: *Hgr̥yáti
  - Proto-Iranian: *Hgr̥yáti
    - ⇒ Proto-Iranian: *hanHgr̥yáti
      - Ossetian: (“to believe, think, hope”)
        Digor Ossetian: ӕнɣӕлун (ænɣælun)
        
        Iron Ossetian: ӕнхъӕлын (ænqælyn)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011), Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd edition, revised and corrected by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 126: “The roots *h₁ger- 'to awaken' and *kes- 'to comb', which are often used as counterarguments, are thought to have gotten their K from the zero-grade forms *h₁gr- and *ks-, where depalatalization would be regular.”
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “*h₁ger-”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, pages 245-246
^ Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), “*h₁ger-”, in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 37
^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), “4. ger-, grēi-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 390
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*karska-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 281
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “regō, -ere”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 517-518
^ Keydana, Götz (2012), “Evidence for non-linear phonological structure in Indo-European: The case of fricative clusters”, in Benedicte Nielsen Whitehead, Thomas Olander, Birgit Anette Olsen, Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, editors, The Sound of Indo-European – Phonetics, Phonemics and Morphophonemics, page 232
^ Ittzés, Máté (1 January 2005), “Problems of the Augment in Vedic”, in Acta Antiqua Hung‎^[2], volume 45, page 213
^ Ruijgh, Cornells J. (1997), “Les lois phonétiques relatives aux laryngales et les actions analogiques dans la préhistoire du grec”, in Lubotsky, A., editor, Sound Law and Analogy (in French), Amsterdam; Atlanta, page 263: “*h₁gér- > ἐγέρ- dans *ἐγέρ-yω > ἐγείρω ‘j’éveille’”
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 Rastorgujeva, V. S.; Edelʹman, D. I. (2000–), “*⁴gar- : ǰar-, *grā- : gri-”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ iranskix jazykov [Etymological Dictionary of Iranian Languages] (in Russian), Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, pages 165-168
^ Jasanoff, Jay H. (27 November 2023), “The origin of Attic Reduplication”, in Indo-European Linguistics‎^[3], volume 11, number 1, Brill, →DOI, →ISSN, page 55: “*h₁e-h₁gór-e”
^ Michele Bianconi, editor (2022), Ancient Indo-European languages between linguistics and philology: contact, variation, and reconstruction (Brill's studies in historical linguistics), Brill, →ISBN, page 290: “Compare the similar-sounding *h₁ǵer-i̯e/o- > ἐγείρω ‘awaken,rouse,stirup’”
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 Kümmel, Martin Joachim (2011–2025), “*h₁ger-”, in Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV²‎^[4]
^ Cheung, Johnny (2007), “*Hgar”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 172-173
^ Forschungen, Stefan; Matzinger, Joachim (2013), Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie (Albanische Forschungen; 33) (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 987: “Präsens *h₁gr̥-sḱé/o-”
^ Yaroslav Gorbachov (1 February 2009), “Nine Observations on the Old Phrygian Inscription from Vezirhan”, in Kadmos‎^[5], volume 42, numbers 1-2, →DOI, →ISSN, page 95: “e-gertoy (W-01c) – if from *e-h₁ger-to”
^ “Historical basis of PIE syntax - Hittite evidence and beyond Part I: Old Hittite and PIE syntax”, in Indogermanische Forschungen‎^[6], 31 December 2003, →DOI, →ISSN, page 44

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011), Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd edition, revised and corrected by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 126: “The roots *h₁ger- 'to awaken' and *kes- 'to comb', which are often used as counterarguments, are thought to have gotten their K from the zero-grade forms *h₁gr- and *ks-, where depalatalization would be regular.”

[LIV-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “*h₁ger-”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, pages 245-246

[3] Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), “*h₁ger-”, in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 37

[4] Pokorny, Julius (1959), “4. ger-, grēi-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 390

[EDPG-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*karska-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 281

[6] De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “regō, -ere”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 517-518

[7] Keydana, Götz (2012), “Evidence for non-linear phonological structure in Indo-European: The case of fricative clusters”, in Benedicte Nielsen Whitehead, Thomas Olander, Birgit Anette Olsen, Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, editors, The Sound of Indo-European – Phonetics, Phonemics and Morphophonemics, page 232

[8] Ittzés, Máté (1 January 2005), “Problems of the Augment in Vedic”, in Acta Antiqua Hung‎^[2], volume 45, page 213

[9] Ruijgh, Cornells J. (1997), “Les lois phonétiques relatives aux laryngales et les actions analogiques dans la préhistoire du grec”, in Lubotsky, A., editor, Sound Law and Analogy (in French), Amsterdam; Atlanta, page 263: “*h₁gér- > ἐγέρ- dans *ἐγέρ-yω > ἐγείρω ‘j’éveille’”

[ESIJa-10] 10.0 ^10.1 Rastorgujeva, V. S.; Edelʹman, D. I. (2000–), “*⁴gar- : ǰar-, *grā- : gri-”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ iranskix jazykov [Etymological Dictionary of Iranian Languages] (in Russian), Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, pages 165-168

[11] Jasanoff, Jay H. (27 November 2023), “The origin of Attic Reduplication”, in Indo-European Linguistics‎^[3], volume 11, number 1, Brill, →DOI, →ISSN, page 55: “*h₁e-h₁gór-e”

[12] Michele Bianconi, editor (2022), Ancient Indo-European languages between linguistics and philology: contact, variation, and reconstruction (Brill's studies in historical linguistics), Brill, →ISBN, page 290: “Compare the similar-sounding *h₁ǵer-i̯e/o- > ἐγείρω ‘awaken,rouse,stirup’”

[LIV2-13] 13.0 ^13.1 Kümmel, Martin Joachim (2011–2025), “*h₁ger-”, in Addenda und Corrigenda zu LIV²‎^[4]

[EDIV-14] Cheung, Johnny (2007), “*Hgar”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 172-173

[15] Forschungen, Stefan; Matzinger, Joachim (2013), Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie (Albanische Forschungen; 33) (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 987: “Präsens *h₁gr̥-sḱé/o-”

[16] Yaroslav Gorbachov (1 February 2009), “Nine Observations on the Old Phrygian Inscription from Vezirhan”, in Kadmos‎^[5], volume 42, numbers 1-2, →DOI, →ISSN, page 95: “e-gertoy (W-01c) – if from *e-h₁ger-to”

[17] “Historical basis of PIE syntax - Hittite evidence and beyond Part I: Old Hittite and PIE syntax”, in Indogermanische Forschungen‎^[6], 31 December 2003, →DOI, →ISSN, page 44

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