Wurdahuzdą: Proto-Germanic dictionary — *ahwōScott K. ShayWardja Presshttps://protogermanic.org/pgmc_ahwō
Single-entry extract from the dictionary. Cross-references to other entries point to their identifiers in the full dictionary.
The origin of Latin aqua, and of teutā ‘people’Robert S.P.BeekesJournal of Indo-European Studies263–4459–4661998Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11)GuusKroonenBrill2013Lenguas y religiones prerromanas del occidente de la Península IbéricaBlanca MariaPrósperSalamancaEdiciones Universidad de Salamanca2002From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English, 2nd edition)DonRingeOxfordOxford University Press2017Język i religia Luzytanów. Studium historyczno-porównawcze [Lusitanian language and religion. A historical-comparative studyKrzysztof TomaszWitczakLodzWydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego2005Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7)Michielde VaanBrill2008Sur l’étymologie du latin aquaRomainGarnierChristinede BuzonOdileRichard-PauchetLe corps et l’esprit en voyage: Le voyage thérapeutiqueParisClassiques Garnier55–642012ὠκύςfast, swift, quick*h₂ékʷ-eh₂running water, wateraquawaterōciorswifterआशुfast, quick, swift, rapid, going quickly*h₂ep-water; body of water*h₂éḱ-u-sharp, swift
nounfeminineō-stemstream, river, running watera body or course of water, especially one flowingTraditionally derived from pre-Germanic *ákʷā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷ-eh₂Kroonen 2013: 7Ringe 2017: 116. Cognate with Latin aqua < Proto-Italic *akʷā; de Vaan 2008: 48–49. The deeper status of the etymon is debated: it is a strong Germanic–Italic isogloss, but its limited distribution has led Beekes 1998: 459–61 to treat it as an Old European hydronymic substrate word rather than as an inherited Proto-Indo-European word; Kroonen 2013: 7 instead keeps the inherited analysis and connects it more broadly with the *h₂ep- river/water complex.Prósper 2002: 396–97 provides interesting evidence for an alternative etymon in citing several deity names and epithets associated with water, attributed to Lusitanian (e.g., AGVAECO, AQVILIANICO, and AQVITIBVS). She notes that PIE *kʷ and *kw did not merge in Lusitanian: PIE *kʷ became Lusitanian *p (similar to P-Celtic and some Italic dialects) but PIE *kw remained as Lusitanian *kw (or possibly *gw) (see also Witczak 2005: 274–76). As a result, she posits the etymon without a labiovelar consonant, and instead with a consonant cluster, *kw, thus *h₂ék-w-eh₂. This derivation coincides with Garnier’s 2012 theory, based on *h₂éḱ-u-, comparing Latin aqua and the “swift” word-family reflected by Ancient Greek ὠκύς, Sanskrit आशु, and Latin ōcior. This analysis is semantically attractive for Germanic, where *ahwō primarily denotes a river or stream, but the wider Indo-European connection remains uncertain, especially since the laryngeals of the “swift” adjective are disputed.