 | ThisProto-Indo-European 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. |
The roots*h₂ep-(“(body of) water”) and*h₁egʷʰ-(“to drink”) are probably unrelated. A connection to*h₁eḱ-(“swiftness, celerity”) has been proposed, in which case the semantic development would be "that which is swift" > "river" (as attested in Germanic) > "water" (as in Latin).
*h₂ékʷeh₂ f(Western Indo-European)
| Thematic in*-eh₂ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | |||
| nominative | *h₂ékʷeh₂ | ||
| genitive | *h₂ékʷeh₂s | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative | *h₂ékʷeh₂ | — | — |
| vocative | *h₂ékʷeh₂ | — | — |
| accusative | *h₂ékʷām | — | — |
| genitive | *h₂ékʷeh₂s | — | — |
| ablative | *h₂ékʷeh₂s | — | — |
| dative | *h₂ékʷeh₂ey | — | — |
| locative | *h₂ékʷeh₂,*h₂ékʷeh₂i | — | — |
| instrumental | *h₂ékʷeh₂h₁ | — | — |
The particular meaning in contrast to more widespread synonyms is sometimes estimated as“running water”, but this is difficult to determine.