 | ThisProto-Germanic entry containsreconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directlyattested, but are hypothesized to have existed based oncomparative evidence. |
FromProto-Indo-European*h₂én(“up, on high”), but the exact formation is disputed due to the final vowel in descendants that reflect*ana. According to Kroonen, who derives both*an and*ana from a pre-Germanic*h₂enh̥₂, the final vowel was lost by regular sound change but remained in compound forms, whence it was restored in some of the daughter languages.[1] Alternative explanations for the final vowel include a fossilized suffix*-o/*-ó of uncertain (allative?) function, as in*anda.
*an[1]
*an[1]