Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-janą

This Proto-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-Germanic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /(i).jɑ.nɑ̃/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *-yéti (denominative suffix) attached to athematic stems. Cognates include Ancient Greek denominatives with -y- metathesis, verbs in -ίω (-íō) and -ύω (-úō), Sanskrit denominative verbs in -यति (-yáti).

Suffix

*-(i)janą

1. Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives from adjectives.

Inflection

Following a short stem, which consists of a short vowel followed by a single consonant, the suffix is *-janą.

Conjugation of *-janą (weak class 1)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-jō	*-jaų	—	*-jai	?
2nd singular	*-isi	*-jais	*-i	*-jasai	*-jaisau
3rd singular	*-iþi	*-jai	*-jaþau	*-jaþai	*-jaiþau
1st dual	*-jōs	*-jaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*-jaþiz	*-jaiþiz	*-jaþiz	—	—
1st plural	*-jamaz	*-jaim	—	*-janþai	*-jainþau
2nd plural	*-iþ	*-jaiþ	*-iþ	*-janþai	*-jainþau
3rd plural	*-janþi	*-jain	*-janþau	*-janþai	*-jainþau
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-idǭ	*-idēdį̄
2nd singular	*-idēz	*-idēdīz
3rd singular	*-idē	*-idēdī
1st dual	*-idēdū	*-idēdīw
2nd dual	*-idēdudiz	*-idēdīdiz
1st plural	*-idēdum	*-idēdīm
2nd plural	*-idēdud	*-idēdīd
3rd plural	*-idēdun	*-idēdīn
	present	past
participles	*-jandz	*-idaz

Following a long stem, which has either a long vowel or diphthong, or a short vowel followed by multiple consonants, the suffix is *-ijaną.

Conjugation of *-ijaną (weak class 1)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-ijō	*-ijaų	—	*-ijai	?
2nd singular	*-īsi	*-ijais	*-ī	*-ijasai	*-ijaisau
3rd singular	*-īþi	*-ijai	*-ijaþau	*-ijaþai	*-ijaiþau
1st dual	*-ijōs	*-ijaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*-ijaþiz	*-ijaiþiz	*-ijaþiz	—	—
1st plural	*-ijamaz	*-ijaim	—	*-ijanþai	*-ijainþau
2nd plural	*-īþ	*-ijaiþ	*-īþ	*-ijanþai	*-ijainþau
3rd plural	*-ijanþi	*-ijain	*-ijanþau	*-ijanþai	*-ijainþau
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-idǭ	*-idēdį̄
2nd singular	*-idēz	*-idēdīz
3rd singular	*-idē	*-idēdī
1st dual	*-idēdū	*-idēdīw
2nd dual	*-idēdudiz	*-idēdīdiz
1st plural	*-idēdum	*-idēdīm
2nd plural	*-idēdud	*-idēdīd
3rd plural	*-idēdun	*-idēdīn
	present	past
participles	*-ijandz	*-idaz

Derived terms

Proto-Germanic terms suffixed with *-janą

Descendants

This suffix remained productive only in Gothic. It was preserved in Old Norse but was no longer productive in that language, its function having been taken over by *-ōną. In West Germanic, it had already almost disappeared in most languages except after -r-, and was no longer productive in those that retained it.

• Proto-West Germanic: *-jan
  • Old English: -an (merged with strong verb ending), -ian (after r).
    • Middle English: -en, -ien
      • English: -y (only after r, as in ferry, herry, etc.)
  • Old Frisian: -a (merged with strong verb ending), -ia (after r)
    • Saterland Frisian: -e, -je
    • West Frisian: -e, -je
  • Old Saxon: -ian
    • Middle Low German: -en (merged with all other verbs)
      • German Low German: -en
  • Old Dutch: -en, -ien (after r)
    • Middle Dutch: -en (merged with all other verbs)
      • Dutch: -en
  • Old High German: -en, -ien (after r)
    • Middle High German: -en (merged with all other verbs)
      • German: -en
• Proto-Norse:
  • Old Norse: -ja (only after short stems)
    • Icelandic: -ja
    • Faroese: -ja
    • Swedish: -ja
• Gothic: -𐌾𐌰𐌽 (-jan)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti (causative suffix). Cognates include most Latin -īre (fourth conjugation) verbs, some -ēre (second conjugation) verbs, Proto-Slavic *-iti causative verbs, most Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) contracted verbs, Sanskrit denominative verbs in -अयति (-ayáti).

Suffix

*-(i)janą

2. Derives causatives from basic strong verbs, with a sense of 'cause to do (the action of the verb)'. The stem vowel of the derived verb becomes that of the singular past tense, and the final consonant becomes the voiced Verner alternant.

Inflection

Following a short stem, which consists of a short vowel followed by a single consonant, the suffix is *-janą.

Conjugation of *-janą (weak class 1)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-jō	*-jaų	—	*-jai	?
2nd singular	*-isi	*-jais	*-i	*-jasai	*-jaisau
3rd singular	*-iþi	*-jai	*-jaþau	*-jaþai	*-jaiþau
1st dual	*-jōs	*-jaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*-jaþiz	*-jaiþiz	*-jaþiz	—	—
1st plural	*-jamaz	*-jaim	—	*-janþai	*-jainþau
2nd plural	*-iþ	*-jaiþ	*-iþ	*-janþai	*-jainþau
3rd plural	*-janþi	*-jain	*-janþau	*-janþai	*-jainþau
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-idǭ	*-idēdį̄
2nd singular	*-idēz	*-idēdīz
3rd singular	*-idē	*-idēdī
1st dual	*-idēdū	*-idēdīw
2nd dual	*-idēdudiz	*-idēdīdiz
1st plural	*-idēdum	*-idēdīm
2nd plural	*-idēdud	*-idēdīd
3rd plural	*-idēdun	*-idēdīn
	present	past
participles	*-jandz	*-idaz

Following a long stem, which has either a long vowel or diphthong, or a short vowel followed by several consonants, the suffix is *-ijaną.

Conjugation of *-ijaną (weak class 1)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-ijō	*-ijaų	—	*-ijai	?
2nd singular	*-īsi	*-ijais	*-ī	*-ijasai	*-ijaisau
3rd singular	*-īþi	*-ijai	*-ijaþau	*-ijaþai	*-ijaiþau
1st dual	*-ijōs	*-ijaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*-ijaþiz	*-ijaiþiz	*-ijaþiz	—	—
1st plural	*-ijamaz	*-ijaim	—	*-ijanþai	*-ijainþau
2nd plural	*-īþ	*-ijaiþ	*-īþ	*-ijanþai	*-ijainþau
3rd plural	*-ijanþi	*-ijain	*-ijanþau	*-ijanþai	*-ijainþau
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-idǭ	*-idēdį̄
2nd singular	*-idēz	*-idēdīz
3rd singular	*-idē	*-idēdī
1st dual	*-idēdū	*-idēdīw
2nd dual	*-idēdudiz	*-idēdīdiz
1st plural	*-idēdum	*-idēdīm
2nd plural	*-idēdud	*-idēdīd
3rd plural	*-idēdun	*-idēdīn
	present	past
participles	*-ijandz	*-idaz

Derived terms

Proto-Germanic terms suffixed with *-janą (causative)

Etymology 3

From Proto-Indo-European *-eh₁yéti, an innovated compound suffix from *-éh₁ti (stative verb suffix) which was originally athematic, but later extended with the thematic present suffix *-yéti based on the past participle. Cognate with Latin stative verbs in -ēre (second conjugation).

Suffix

*-(i)janą

1. Creates stative verbs either directly from roots or from other verbs.

Inflection

Following a short stem, which consists of a short vowel followed by a single consonant, the suffix is *-janą.

Conjugation of *-janą (weak class 3 j-present)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-jō	*-jaų	—	—	—
2nd singular	*-aisi	*-jais	*-ai	—	—
3rd singular	*-aiþi	*-jai	*-jaþau	—	—
1st dual	*-jōs	*-jaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*-jaþiz	*-jaiþiz	*-jaþiz	—	—
1st plural	*-jamaz	*-jaim	—	—	—
2nd plural	*-aiþ	*-jaiþ	*-aiþ	—	—
3rd plural	*-janþi	*-jain	*-janþau	—	—
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-dǭ	*-dēdį̄
2nd singular	*-dēz	*-dēdīz
3rd singular	*-dē	*-dēdī
1st dual	*-dēdū	*-dēdīw
2nd dual	*-dēdudiz	*-dēdīdiz
1st plural	*-dēdum	*-dēdīm
2nd plural	*-dēdud	*-dēdīd
3rd plural	*-dēdun	*-dēdīn
	present	past
participles	*-jandz	*-daz

Following a long stem, which has either a long vowel or diphthong, or a short vowel followed by several consonants, the suffix is *-ijaną.

Conjugation of *-ijaną (weak class 3 j-present)

	active voice			passive voice
present tense	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-ijō	*-ijaų	—	—	—
2nd singular	*-aisi	*-ijais	*-ai	—	—
3rd singular	*-aiþi	*-ijai	*-ijaþau	—	—
1st dual	*-ijōs	*-ijaiw	—	—	—
2nd dual	*-ijaþiz	*-ijaiþiz	*-ijaþiz	—	—
1st plural	*-ijamaz	*-ijaim	—	—	—
2nd plural	*-aiþ	*-ijaiþ	*-aiþ	—	—
3rd plural	*-ijanþi	*-ijain	*-ijanþau	—	—
past tense	indicative	subjunctive
1st singular	*-dǭ	*-dēdį̄
2nd singular	*-dēz	*-dēdīz
3rd singular	*-dē	*-dēdī
1st dual	*-dēdū	*-dēdīw
2nd dual	*-dēdudiz	*-dēdīdiz
1st plural	*-dēdum	*-dēdīm
2nd plural	*-dēdud	*-dēdīd
3rd plural	*-dēdun	*-dēdīn
	present	past
participles	*-ijandz	*-daz

Derived terms

Proto-Germanic class 3 weak j-present verbs

Descendants

This suffix was no longer productive in any of the daughter languages, and in West Germanic it quickly became a relic class and mostly merged with the second weak class, except in Old High German where it was preserved longer. In Old High German and Gothic, the class of verbs formed by this suffix merged with those derived with *-āną, creating a single unified third weak class.

• Proto-West Germanic:
  • Old High German: -ēn
    • Middle High German: -en (merged with all other verbs)
      • German: -en
• Proto-Norse:
  • Old Norse: -ja (only after short stems)
    • Icelandic: -ja
    • Faroese: -ja
• Gothic: -𐌰𐌽 (-an)