From Proto-Germanic *watΕr, the stem of which alternated between ending in -r and -n. Note that the stem in Gothic has undergone some changes, losing the final -r in the nominative and accusative singular (presumably to resemble the inflection of neuter an-stem nouns more closely). The contracted plurals, however, are preserved. Gothic also preserves the alternate -n stem for the oblique cases; this contrasts with both the West Germanic languages, which instead regularized the -r stem (cf. Old English wΓ¦ter, genitive wΓ¦teres), and the North Germanic languages, which extended the -n stem to the nominative and accusative cases (cf. Old Norse vatn).
π π°ππ β’ (watΕ) n
Neuter an-stem, contraction in plural | ||
---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | π
π°ππ watΕ |
*π
π°ππ½π° *watna |
Vocative | π
π°ππ watΕ |
*π
π°ππ½π° *watna |
Accusative | π
π°ππ watΕ |
*π
π°ππ½π° *watna |
Genitive | π
π°ππΉπ½π watins |
*π
π°ππ½π΄ *watnΔ |
Dative | π
π°ππΉπ½ watin |
π
π°ππ½π°πΌ watnam |