Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-inī

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 a Pre-Germanic proterokinetic compound suffix *-én-ih₂ ~ *-n̥-yéh₂-. Compare Proto-Slavic *-yni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.niː/

Suffix

*-inī f

1. Forms nouns indicating a female individual.

Inflection

The suffix appears to have ablauted between *-inī in the nominative and *-unjō- in the rest of the paradigm.

ī/jō-stemDeclension of *-inī (ī/jō-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*-inī	*-inijôz
vocative	*-inī	*-inijôz
accusative	*-inijǭ	*-inijōz
genitive	*-inijōz	*-inijǫ̂
dative	*-inijōi	*-inijōmaz
instrumental	*-inijō	*-inijōmiz

Derived terms

Proto-Germanic terms suffixed with *-inī

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *-ini
  • Old English: -en
    • Middle English: -en
      • English: -en (fossilised, non-productive)
  • Old Frisian:
    • West Frisian: -inne
    • North Frisian: -in
  • Old Saxon: -ina, -unnia
    • Middle Low German: -inne, -in
      • Low German: -in
      • → Old Norse: -inna
        • Norwegian:
          • Norwegian Bokmål: -inne
          • Norwegian Nynorsk: -inne
        • Old Danish: -inne
          • Danish: -inde
        • Old Swedish: -inna
          • Swedish: -inna
          • → Finnish: -inna
  • Old Dutch: -inna
    • Middle Dutch: -inne
      • Dutch: -in
        • Afrikaans: -in
      • Limburgish: -in
  • Old High German: -in, -inna
    • Middle High German: -īn, -inne
      • German: -in
      • Alemannic German: -in
• Old Norse: -ynja (extended to ōn-stem, rare)
  • Icelandic: -ynja
• Gothic: -𐌹𐌽𐌹 (-ini)

Further reading

• “-inde” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog