Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/selbaz

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 *selbʰ- (“one's own”), probably from the reflexive pronoun *swé (“self”). Compared with Venetic sselb-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsel.βɑz/

Pronoun

*selbaz

1. self

Inflection

Although the word was clearly an a-stem, in Gothic only the weak inflection was used, and West Germanic the weak inflection was mostly used as well. Old Norse uses only the strong inflection. It's unknown what the Proto-Germanic usage was, and what the difference in meaning was, if any.

Declension of *selbaz (a-stem)

Strong declension
Case	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*selbaz	*selbai	*selbō	*selbôz	*selbą, -atō	*selbō
Accusative	*selbanǭ	*selbanz	*selbǭ	*selbōz	*selbą, -atō	*selbō
Genitive	*selbas, -is	*selbaizǫ̂	*selbaizōz	*selbaizǫ̂	*selbas, -is	*selbaizǫ̂
Dative	*selbammai	*selbaimaz	*selbaizōi	*selbaimaz	*selbammai	*selbaimaz
Instrumental	*selbanō	*selbaimiz	*selbaizō	*selbaimiz	*selbanō	*selbaimiz
Weak declension
Case	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*selbô	*selbaniz	*selbǭ	*selbōniz	*selbô	*selbōnō
Accusative	*selbanų	*selbanunz	*selbōnų	*selbōnunz	*selbô	*selbōnō
Genitive	*selbiniz	*selbanǫ̂	*selbōniz	*selbōnǫ̂	*selbiniz	*selbanǫ̂
Dative	*selbini	*selbammaz	*selbōni	*selbōmaz	*selbini	*selbammaz
Instrumental	*selbinē	*selbammiz	*selbōnē	*selbōmiz	*selbinē	*selbammiz

Descendants

• Old English: self, seolf, sylf, selfa
  • Middle English: self, silf, sulf
    • Scots: sel
    • English: self
• Old Frisian: self, selva
  • North Frisian: selv, siälv
  • Saterland Frisian: säärm, sälven, sääuwen
  • West Frisian: sels
• Old Saxon: self, selvo
  • Middle Low German: self, sulf
    • German Low German: sülvst
    • Low German: sulv
• Old Dutch: selvo
  • Middle Dutch: selve
    • Dutch: zelf
      • Afrikaans: self
    • Limburgish: zèlf
• Old High German: selb, selbo
  • Middle High German: sëlb, sëlp
    • Bavarian: söbe, söber
    • German: selbst, selb, selbe, selber
    • Luxembourgish: selwer
    • Yiddish: זעלב (zelb)
• Old Norse: sjalfr, *sealfʀ — Old East Norse, sjálfr — younger western form
  • Icelandic: sjálfur
  • Faroese: sjálvur
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sjølv; (dialectal) sjølv'u, sjålv, sjav'e, sjåv, sjelv
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sjøl
  • Elfdalian: siuov
  • Old Swedish: sialver, siælver, sialfr, siælfr
    • Swedish: själv, (dialectal, Finland) sjölv
  • Old Danish: sialfær, sialf, siælf, sælf
    • Scanian: sælver
    • Danish: selv
      • Norwegian Bokmål: selv
    • Jutish: sjæl
• Gutnish: självar
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰 (silba)