Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hamaraz

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.

Traditionally treated as derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éḱmō (“stone”) (compare Sanskrit अश्मन् (aśman, “stone”)), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”), via a formation like *h₂eḱmoros (compare Sanskrit अश्मर (aśmará, “stony”)). But the phonology is problematic; even the metathesis of *h₂ and ḱ assumed to underlie Proto-Balto-Slavic *kā́ˀmō does not account for the Germanic short vowel. Hyllested instead suggests borrowing from Proto-Finnic *hamara (“butt of an axe, back of a knife”).

*hamaraz m

1. hammer

• Proto-West Germanic: *hamar
  • Old English: hamor, hamer, homer
    • Middle English: hamer, hamber
      • Scots: hamer, hammer, hemer, hemmer, haimmer
      • English: hammer
        • → Fiji Hindi: haamaa
        • → Japanese: ハンマー
        • → Sranan Tongo: amra
  • Old Frisian: hamer, homer
    • Saterland Frisian: Hoomer
    • West Frisian: hammer
  • Old Saxon: hamar, hamur
    • Middle Low German: hāmer
      • Low German: Hamer
      • Plautdietsch: Homa
  • Old Dutch: *hamar
    • Middle Dutch: hamer
      • Dutch: hamer
        • Afrikaans: hamer
      • West Flemish: oamer
  • Old High German: hamar
    • Middle High German: hamer
      • Bavarian: Håmmer
      • German: Hammer
      • Luxembourgish: Hummer
      • Yiddish: האַמער (hamer)
• Old Norse: hamarr
  • Icelandic: hamar
  • Faroese: hamar, hamari
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hamar, hammar
    • → Norwegian Bokmål: hammar
  • Elfdalian: åmår
  • Old Swedish: hamar
    • Swedish: hammare, hammar
  • Old Danish: hamær, hambær
    • Danish: hammer
      • Norwegian Bokmål: hammer
  • Gutnish: hammare, hamar

• Hyllested, Adam (2014) Word Exchange at the Gates of Europe: Five Millennia of Language Contact (Thesis)‎, Det Humanistiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet