Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/maȷ́ʰā́

This Proto-Indo-Iranian 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-Indo-Iranian

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”).^[1]

Adjective

*maȷ́ʰā́ (comparative *maȷ́ʰyas, superlative *maȷ́ʰištʰas)^[2]

big, great

Descendants

Proto-Indo-Aryan: *maźʰā́
- Sanskrit: महत् (mahát), महा (mahā́)
  - → Hindi: महा (mahā)
Proto-Iranian: *majā́
- Avestan: 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬀 (maza)
- Northern Kurdish: mezin
- Old Persian: *maθah
  - Middle Persian:
    Book Pahlavi script: [Book Pahlavi needed] (ms /⁠meh⁠/, “great(er)”)
    
    Manichaean script: 𐫖𐫏𐫆 (myẖ /⁠meh⁠/)
    - Persian: مه (meh)
    - Northern Luri: مںس (məs, “big, fat”)

References

^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) “mahā́nt- (line 2: mahát)”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 337-339
^ Kümmel, Martin Joachim (2015) “Suppletive Phenomena in Older Indo-Iranian Noun Inflection”, in Diachrony and Suppletion‎^[2]

[1] Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) “mahā́nt- (line 2: mahát)”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 337-339

[2] Kümmel, Martin Joachim (2015) “Suppletive Phenomena in Older Indo-Iranian Noun Inflection”, in Diachrony and Suppletion‎^[2]

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