Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hwat

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.

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), *kʷod, neuter form of *kʷós (“who”), *kʷós, *kʷis.^[1]

*hwat

1. nominative/accusative singular neuter of *hwaz

• Proto-West Germanic: *hwat
  • Old English: hwæt, huæt, huæd, huædd, huætd, huædt, hwet, wæt, whæt, hwat
    • Middle English: what, whad, whote, watte, wath, wad, qhat, whæt, whæht, waht, waet, wæht, weht, hweat (Southern West Mid)
      • English: what
      • Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at
      • Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad
  • Old Frisian: hwet
    • Saterland Frisian: wät
    • West Frisian: wat
  • Old Saxon: hwat
    • Middle Low German: wat
      • Low German: wat
  • Old Dutch: wat
    • Middle Dutch: wat
      • Afrikaans: wat
      • Dutch: wat
      • Limburgish: waat
  • Old High German: waz, whaz, hwaz, hwat
    • Middle High German: waz, wat
      • Alemannic German: waas, waa, was, wa (unstressed)
      • Central Franconian: wat
      • Cimbrian: bas, baz (Luserna)
      • Hunsrik: was
      • German: was
      • Luxembourgish: wat
      • Yiddish: וואָס (vos)
• Old Norse: hvat
  • Icelandic: hvað
  • Faroese: hvat
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kva, kvat; (dialectal) k(v)att, kåt, ka, ke, ko, kø, hot, høt, hø, ho
  • Jamtish: hut, hvuð
  • Old Swedish: hvat, hvadh
    • Swedish: vad, hvad (pre-1906 spelling)
  • Old Danish: hwat
    • Danish: hvad
      • Norwegian Bokmål: hva