Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/klaibrā

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

Alternative forms

*klaibʀā

Etymology

Unknown; suggested to be from earlier *klaiwʀā, in which the sequence *-wʀ- developed into *-bʀ-, syncopated from an original z-stem *klaiw ~ *klaiwiʀi^[1],^[2] whence a-stem *klaiw, perhaps of substrate origin^[3].

Noun

*klaibrā f

clover
Synonym: *klaiw

Inflection

ōn-stem
	Singular
Nominative	*klaibrā
Genitive	*klaibrōn
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*klaibrā	*klaibrōn
Accusative	*klaibrōn	*klaibrōn
Genitive	*klaibrōn	*klaibrōnō
Dative	*klaibrōn	klaibrōm, klaibrum
Instrumental	*klaibrōn	klaibrōm, klaibrum

Derived terms

*klaibrijā

Descendants

Old English: clāfre, clǣfre (< *klaibrijā)
- Middle English: clafre, claver, clovere, clevre
  - Scots: claver, clavir, clever
  - English: clover
Old Frisian: *klāvere, *klēvere
- Saterland Frisian: Kleeuwer
- West Frisian: klaver
Old Saxon: *klēvera, klefe
- Middle Low German: klêver, kleiver, klaver, kleve
  - Low German: Klever, Klewer, Kleeber, Klief, Kliev
  - German Low German: Klaver
  - → Danish: kløver, klør
  - → Russian: кле́вер (kléver)
  - → Swedish: klöver
  - → Norwegian: kløver
Old Dutch: *klēvara
- Middle Dutch: clevere, clavere (only in coastal areas, so possibly a loan from Old Frisian)
  - Dutch: klêver (dialectal), klaver

References

^ Van den Berg, B. (1954) “De namen van de klaver”, in Nomina Geographica Neerlandica, volume 14, number 1
^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “*klaiwiz-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 291-292
^ Schrijver, Peter (1997) “Animal, vegetable and mineral: some Western European substratum words”, in Lubotsky, A., editor, Sound Law and Analogy‎, Amsterdam/Atlanta, pages 293–316

[1] Van den Berg, B. (1954) “De namen van de klaver”, in Nomina Geographica Neerlandica, volume 14, number 1

[2] Guus Kroonen (2013) “*klaiwiz-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 291-292

[3] Schrijver, Peter (1997) “Animal, vegetable and mineral: some Western European substratum words”, in Lubotsky, A., editor, Sound Law and Analogy‎, Amsterdam/Atlanta, pages 293–316

[1]

[2]

[3]