Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hwat

This Proto-West Germanic 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-West Germanic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *hwat.

Pronoun

*hwat^[1]

what (interrogative)

Inflection

This pronoun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Old English: hwæt, huæd, huædd, huædt, huæt, huætd, hwat, hwet, whæt, wæt
- Middle English: what, whad, whote, watte, wath, wad, qhat, whæt, whæht, waht, waet, wæht, weht, hweat (Southern West Mid)
  - English: what
  - Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at
  - Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, fa'de, f'ad
Old Frisian: hwet
- North Frisian: wat
- Saterland Frisian: wät
- West Frisian: wat
Old Saxon: hwat
- Middle Low German: wat
  - Low German: wat
  - Plautdietsch: waut
Old Dutch: wat
- Middle Dutch: wat
  - Afrikaans: wat
  - Dutch: wat
  - Limburgish: waat
Old High German: waȥ, whaȥ, hwaȥ, hwat
- Middle High German: waȥ, was, wat
  - Alemannic German: waas, waa, was, wa (unstressed)
  - Central Franconian: wat
  - Cimbrian: bas, baz (Luserna)
  - Hunsrik: was, wat
  - German: was
  - Luxembourgish: wat
  - Yiddish: וואָס (vos)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *hwataz.

Adjective

*hwat

quick, sharp, brave

Inflection

a-stem
Singular	Masculine
Nominative	*hwat
Genitive	*hwatas
Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	*hwat	*hwatu	*hwat
Accusative	*hwatanā	*hwatā	*hwat
Genitive	*hwatas	*hwateʀā	*hwatas
Dative	*hwatumē	*hwateʀē	*hwatumē
Instrumental	*hwatu	*hwateʀu	*hwatu
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	*hwatē	*hwatō	*hwatu
Accusative	*hwatā	*hwatā	*hwatu
Genitive	*hwateʀō	*hwateʀō	*hwateʀō
Dative	hwatēm, hwatum	hwatēm, hwatum	hwatēm, hwatum
Instrumental	hwatēm, hwatum	hwatēm, hwatum	hwatēm, hwatum

Descendants

Old English: hwæt
- Middle English: hwat, whæt
Old Saxon: hwat (in compounds)
Old High German: hwaz, waz
- Middle High German: was

References

^ Ringe, Donald; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 125: “*hwat”

[1] Ringe, Donald; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 125: “*hwat”

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