Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kūz

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

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws. This word is alternatively reconstructed as *gʷéh₃us ~ *gʷh₃éws.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kuːz/

Noun

*kūz f

cow

Inflection

The exact inflection of this word is uncertain, but likely alternated between the stems *kū- and *kwō-. The former might have originated from an earlier *kwōu- in which the long vowel was assimilated to the adjacent labials or from an analogy with *sūz (“sow”).

consonant stemDeclension of *kūz (consonant stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*kūz	*kwōiz
vocative	*kū	*kwōiz
accusative	*kwǭ	*kwōnz
genitive	*kwōiz	*kwōǫ̂
dative	*kwōi	*kwōmaz
instrumental	*kwōē	*kwōmiz

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *kū
- Old English: cū
  - Middle English: cou, cow, cowe, cu, kow, kowe, ku
    - English: cow (see there for further descendants)
    - Geordie English: coo
    - Scots: coo, coe, cou
    - Yola: keow
- Old Frisian: kū
  - North Frisian: ko, kø, kü
  - Saterland Frisian: Ku
  - West Frisian: ko
- Old Saxon: kō
  - Middle Low German: kô, ko, koo, kou, koe, koh, koy, ku
    - German Low German: Koh, Kauh, Ko, Koo, Kuh
    - Plautdietsch: Koo
- Old Dutch: cuo
  - Middle Dutch: coe
    - Dutch: koe (see there for further descendants)
    - Limburgish: ków
    - West Flemish: koe
- Old High German: kuo
  - Middle High German: kuo
    - Alemannic German: Chue
      Alsatian: Küeh
      Walser: Chua
    - Bavarian: Kuah
      Cimbrian: khua
      Mòcheno: kua
    - Central Franconian: Koh, Kuh
      Hunsrik: Kuh
      Luxembourgish: Kou
    - East Franconian: Kou, Kua, Kuu
    - German: Kuh
    - Pennsylvania German: Kuh
    - Vilamovian: kü
    - Yiddish: קו (ku)
Proto-Norse:
- Old West Norse: kýr
  - Icelandic: kýr
  - Faroese: kúgv, kú
  - Norwegian Nynorsk: ku
  - Norwegian Bokmål: ku
  - Jamtish: kú
  - Elfdalian: tjyr
- Old East Norse: *kōʀ
  - Old Swedish: kō
    - Swedish: ko
  - Old Danish: kō
    - Danish: ko
→ Proto-Samic: *kusë
- Western Samic:
  - Southern Sami: govse
  - Ume Sami: guvssa
  - Pite Sami: gussa
  - Lule Sami: gussa
  - Northern Sami: gussa
- Eastern Samic:
  - Inari Sami: kussâ
  - Skolt Sami: kuss

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Wodtko, Dagmar S., Irslinger, Britta, Schneider, Carolin (2008) Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon [Nouns in the Indo-European Lexicon] (in German), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, pages 189, 193
^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “PGm. *kō- ~ *kū- f. ‘cow’”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

[NIL-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Wodtko, Dagmar S., Irslinger, Britta, Schneider, Carolin (2008) Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon [Nouns in the Indo-European Lexicon] (in German), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, pages 189, 193

[2] Kroonen, Guus (2013) “PGm. *kō- ~ *kū- f. ‘cow’”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kūz

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