*asnijaz

From the *asn- allomorph of the Germanic ‘harvest’ stem reflected in *azaniz + *-(i)jaz¹, hence pre-Germanic *as-n-iyó-s > *asnijaz, originally ‘one associated with the harvest’ > ‘harvest-worker, hired laborer’ (Krahe & Meid 1969: 72; Lehmann 1986a: s.v. asneis; Miller 2014: 139–41; Orel 2003: s.v. *asnjaz; Ringe 2017: 325–26). The suffix continues PIE *-(i)yó-s, originally relational rather than specifically agentive. Compare *asnō, another formation belonging to the same Germanic ‘harvest’ word family (Pooth 2018: 1–4). For its deeper PIE etymology and Indo-European cognates, see *azaniz and *asnō.