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Theparticles of theProto-Indo-European language (PIE) have been reconstructed by modern linguists based on similarities found across allIndo-European languages.
Many particles could be used both asadverbs andpostpositions. This is similar to modern languages; compare EnglishHe isabove in the attic (adverb) andThe bird isabove the house (preposition). The postpositions became prepositions in the daughter languages exceptAnatolian,Indo-Iranian andSabellic; some of the other branches such asLatin andGreek preserve postpositions vestigially.[1]
Reflexes, or descendants of the PIE reconstructed forms in its daughter languages, include the following.
| Particle | Meaning | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|
| *h₂epo / h₂po / apo | from | Ved. ápa "away, forth",Gk. apó,Lat. ab "from",Alb. pa "without",Eng. of, off,[2]Hitt. āppa, āppan "behind" |
| *h₂ed | to, by, at | Lat. ad,Osc. adpúd,Umb. ař,Goth. at,ON at,Eng. æt/at,Gm. az/--,Ir. ad/,Welsh add-, at,Gaul. ad,Phryg. addaket,XMK addai[3] |
| *h₂eti | from, back, again | Lat. at,OCS отъ,Ir. aith-,Welsh ad- "re-",Toch. A atas,Toch. B ate "away",Gk. atar "however" |
| *h₂en / *h₂enh₃ / *h₂neh₃ | on, upon | Av. ana,Gk. ano,Lat. in (in some cases),ON á,Goth. ana,Eng. an/on,Gm. ?/an,Lith. ant[citation needed] |
| *h₂enti | against, at the end, in front of, before | Gk. anti,Lat. ante,Hitt. hantezzi "first" |
| *h₂eu | off, away, too much, very | Ved. ava,Lat. aut, autem,Lith. nuo |
| *h₂n̥-bʰi / *h₂m̥-bʰi | around[4] (→ both) | Ved. abhi,Av. aiwito, aibi,Pers. abiy/?,Gk. amphi,ON um,Eng. bi/by; ymbi/umbe (obsolete),Gm. umbi/um; ?/bei,Lat. ambi, ambo,Gaul. ambi,Ir. imb/um,Welsh am,Toch. āmpi/?,Alb. mbi,Lith. abu,OCS oba,Russ. ob "about", oba "both"[3] |
| *bʰeǵʰ | without | OCS без,OPruss. bhe,Ved. bahis "from outwards"[3] |
| *de, *do | to | Gk. -de,Eng. to,Gm. zu,Lith. da-,OCS do,PER tâ,Welsh i,Ir. do,Luw. anda, |
| *h₁eǵʰs | out | Lat. ex,Gk. ἐκ (ek)/ἐξ (eks), Gaul. ex-,Ir. ass/as; acht/; echtar,Russ. из (iz), Alb. jashtë, Oscan eh-, Umbrian ehe-,Lith. iš,Ltv. iz,OPruss. is, Welsh ech-[3] |
| *h₁eǵʰs-tos | outside | Gk. ektos[3] |
| *h₁eǵʰs-tro- / *h₁eǵʰs-ter | extra | Lat. extra,[3]Welsh either "except, besides" |
| *h₁en | in | Gk. en,Lat. in,Eng. in/in,Gm. in/in, īn/ein-,Ir. i,Welsh yn,Arm. i,Alb. në,OPruss. en,OCS vŭ(n)-,[2] Luw.anda,Cariannt_a,Goth. in,ON í,Ir. in/i,Lith. į,Ltv. iekšā[citation needed] |
| *h₁en-ter | within, inside | Ved. antár "between",Lat. inter "between, among",Gm. untar/unter "between, among" (see also*n̥dʰ-er below),Ir. eter/idir "between",Cornish ynter,Alb. ndër "between, in",[2]Pers. ændær "inside",SCr. unutar "within" |
| *h₁eti | beyond, over (about quantity), besides | Lat. et, etiam,Gk. ἔτι, οὐκέτι,Ved. अति (ati),Av. aiti,OPruss. et-, at- ,Eng. ed-, edgrow,Gaul. eti, t-ic |
| *h₁opi / h₁epi | near, at, upon, by | Ved. ápi "by, on",Gk. epí "on",Lat. ob "on",Arm. ew "and",[2] |
| *h₁neu | without | Khot. anau "without" Osset. aenaeGk. aneu |
| *h1poi | away, thither | Hitt. pe-[5] |
| *km̥-th₂ / *km̥-ti | by, along | Hitt. katta "with, down (+Gen)",Gaul. kanta "with",Gk. katá "down"[2][3]Welsh gan |
| *kom | with | Lat. cum,Ir. co/?,[2]Welsh cyf-,Goth. ga- |
| *medʰi | in the middle | Pers., miyanAv. madiiana, Khot. mayana-,Ved. madhyamaLat. mediusOPruss. medianGoth. miduma "the middle"OCS meždu,[3]Welsh y mewn |
| *n̥dʰ-eri | under | Ved. adhás,Av. aδairi,Lat. īnfr-ā,Eng. under/under,Arm. ənd,[2] Pers. ?/zēr,ON und,Goth. undar,Gm. untar/unter,Arm. ĕndhup/ĕnthub[citation needed] |
| *ni | down, under | Ved. ní,Eng. ne-ther,Arm. ni,OCS ni-zŭ[2] |
| *nu | now | Hitt. nu,Luw. nanun,Ved. nū,OPers. nūra/?,Pers. æknun/konun/?,Gk. nun,Lat. nunc,ON nū,Goth. nu,Eng. nū/now,Gm. nu/nun,Toch. nuṃ/nano,Lith. nūn,Ltv. nu,OPruss. teinu,OCS нъінѣ (nyne),Alb. tani,Arb. naní[citation needed](but see the list ofconjunctions below) |
| *h₃ebʰi, h₃bʰi | towards, into, at | OCS объ[3] |
| *per(i) | around, through | Ved. pári "around, forth",Gk. perí "around",Lat. per "through",OPruss. per,Alb. për,[2]Russ. pere- "through, over" |
| *per / *pero / *prō | before, forth, in front of, ahead of | Hitt. pēran "before", prā "toward",Ved. prā,Lat. per, prō,Eng. for/fore-,Gm. ?/vor,Welsh rhy, rhag, er,Lith. per, pro[citation needed],Alb. para,Pers. pær-/pæri-/par-,Russ. pered |
| *pos | after | Ved. pascat,Lat. post,Lith. paskui[6] |
| *r̥ / *rō / *rō-dʰi | for (enclitic), for the purpose of | Ved. r̥[citation needed]OCS ради |
| *trh₂os | through | Ved. tiras,Lat. trāns,Eng. through, OIr. tar,[6]Welsh tra |
| *uper | above | Ved. upári,Gk. hupér,Lat. s-uper,Eng. over,Ir. for/fara,Welsh gor-, gwar-Arm. (i) ver "up",[2]Alb. sipër,Gm. über |
| *up / *upo | under, below | Ved. úpa "up to",Gk. hupó "below",Lat. s-ub,Ir. fo/faoi,[2]Welsh go-, gwa- Hitt. upzi,Av. upa,Pers. upa/?,Umb. sub,Osc. sup,ON upp,Goth. iup,Eng. upp/up,Gm. uf/auf,Welsh go,Gaul. voretus,Toch. ?/spe,Lith. po[citation needed] |
Untranslated reflexes have the same meaning as the PIE word.
In the following languages, two reflexes separated by a slash mean:
Twoprivatives can be reconstructed,*ne and*mē, the latter only used for negativecommands. The privative prefix*n̥- is likely thezero grade of*ne.
| Particle | Meaning | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|
| *ne | sentence negator | Ved. ná,Lat. nē/ne-,Eng. ne/no,Gm. ne/nein,Lith. nè,OCS ne,[7] Hitt. natta,Luw. ni-,Lyc. ni-,Lyd. ni-,Av. na,Pers. na/?,Gk. ne-,Osc. ne,Umb. an-,ON né,Goth. ni,Ir. ní/ní,Welsh ni,Arm. an-,Toch. an-/en-,Ltv. ne,OPruss. ne,Pol. nie,Russ. ne, net,Alb. nuk[citation needed] |
| *n̥- | privative prefix | Hitt. am-,Ved. a(n)-,Gk. a(n)-,Lat. in-,Alb. e-,Eng. un-,[7]Gm. un- |
| *meh₁ | negator for commands | Ved. mā,Per ma-,Gk. mē (Doric mā)[7] |
Adverbs derived from adjectives (like Englishbold-ly,beautiful-ly) arguably cannot be classified as particles. In Proto-Indo-European, these are simply case forms of adjectives and thus better classified asnouns. An example is*meǵh₂ "greatly", a nominative-accusative singular.[8]
The followingconjunctions can be reconstructed:[9]
| Particle | Meaning | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|
| *kʷe | and,word or phrase connector† | Hitt. -ku,Ved. ca,Av. ca,Gk. te,Lat. -que,Celtib. kue,Per ke |
| *wē | or,word or phrase disjunctor† | Ved. vā,Gk. -(w)ē,Lat. -ve |
| *de | and,sentence connector | Gk. dé,Alb. dhe,Russ. da "and" |
| *nu | and,sentence connector | Hitt. nu,Ved. nú,Gk. nú,Toch. ?/nu,Ir. no-/?,OCS nŭ(but see theadverbs above) |
†Placed after the joined word, as in LatinSenatus populus-que Romanus ("Senate and people of Rome"),-que joiningsenatus andpopulus.
There is only one PIEinterjection that can be securely reconstructed; the second is uncertain.
| Particle | Meaning | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|
| *wai! | expression of woe or agony | Hitt. uwai,Lat. vae,Welsh gwae,Breton gwa,Eng. woe,ON. vei,Pers. vai,Kurd. wai,Ved. uvē,Gk. aī, aī aī (woe!, alas!),Lith. vajé,Ltv. ai, vai,Arm. vai |
| *ō! / *eh₃! (?) | oh! | Gk. ō,Lat. ō,Eng. oh!,Gm. oh!,Russ. o!,[10]Pers. e!, |
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