Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kʷ-

This Proto-Indo-European 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.

Theorized by some linguists, particularly proponents of the Indo-Uralic hypothesis, to be related to Proto-Uralic *ku-. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

*kʷ-

1. The primary interrogative root.

• *kʷi-
  • *kʷís (“who? what?”)
• *kʷo-
  • *kʷo-dʰe / *kʷó-dʰi / *kʷo-dʰey
    • Proto-Balto-Slavic:
      • Proto-Slavic: *kъde (“where?”) (see there for further descendants)
    • Proto-Hellenic: *kʷótʰi
      • Ancient Greek: πόθῐ (póthi, “where? whither?”)
    • Proto-Italic:
      • Latin: (c)ubī (“where? what place?”) (see there for further descendants)
    • Proto-Indo-Iranian: *kudʰa
      • Proto-Iranian:
        • Avestan: 𐬐𐬎𐬛𐬁 (kudā, “where?”)
      • Proto-Indo-Aryan:
        • Sanskrit: कुह (kuha, “where?”)
  • *kʷo-h₁ (old ablative?)
    • Proto-Germanic: *hwō (“how”, instrumental) (see there for further descendants)
    • Proto-Hellenic: *kʷō
      • Ancient Greek: πω (pō), πώ (pṓ, “up to now, yet, ever”)

        Ionic Greek: κω (kō)

    • Proto-Italic: *kʷō
      • Latin: quō (“whereto; to what end, why”) (see there for further descendants)
  • *kʷo-r, *kʷóri
    • Proto-Germanic: *hwar (“where?”) (see there for further descendants)
    • Latin: cur (“why”), quirquir
    • Sanskrit: कर्हि (karhi, “when? what time?”)
    • ⇒ *kʷoryos
      • Proto-Germanic: *hwarjaz (“which of many?”) (see there for further descendants)
  • *kʷo-s (“which? what?”)
  • *kʷó-teros (“which of two?”)
• *kʷeh₂-
  • *kʷeh₂lis
    • Ancient Greek: πηλί-κος (pēlí-kos, “how great?”) (with adjectival -κός (-kós) extension)
    • Latin: quālis (“what kind?”) (see there for further descendants)
• *kʷú-só-
  • Proto-Albanian: *kusa
    • Albanian: kush (“who”)
  • Messapic: kos (“someone”)
  • Proto-Tocharian: *kuse
    • Tocharian A: kus
    • Tocharian B: kᵤse (“who”)
• >? *ku, *kū (“where”) (*kʷu not expected; see boukólos rule)
  • Proto-Albanian: *ku
    • Albanian: ku (“where”)
  • Proto-Indo-Iranian: *ku, *kū
    • Proto-Iranian: *kū
      • Avestan: 𐬐𐬏 (kū, “where”)
    • Proto-Indo-Aryan: *ku, *kū
      • Sanskrit: कु (ku), कू (kū, “where?”) (also कुत्र (kútra, “whereto”))
  • ⇒ *kur
    • Proto-Albanian: *kur
      • Albanian: kur (“when”)
    • Old Armenian: ուր (ur, “where”)
      • Armenian: ուր (ur, “where”)
    • Proto-Baltic: *kur
      • Latvian: kur (“where”)
      • Lithuanian: kur̃, kur (“where”)

• Unsorted formations:
  • Cretan Greek: ὀπυι (opui, “whither”)
  • Proto-Germanic: *hwilīkaz (“what kind?”) (see there for further descendants)