*ehþau
Runic: ᛖᚺᚦᚨᚢ Pronunciation: /ˈex.θɑu̯/conjunction
Meanings
or, otherwise, but if
Etymology
From *eh (‘but, except’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs/*h₁eḱ (s), (‘out’) + *þau (‘in that case’, from PIE *tó-we, (from PIE *to-, ‘this, that’ + *-we, ‘or’). The first element *eh is debated: many accounts assume *ef- matching West Proto-Germanic f-variants (e.g. Old English ofþe, Old Saxon eftha), possibly influenced by the Proto-Germanic conditional particle family (‘if’); however, Gothic aiþþau is often taken to point to an earlier *ehþau with subsequent assimilation producing *-þþ-. The second element *þau is less controversial, though there are many other competing theories on its PIE heritage.
Descendants
- eþþa (Old English)
- ettha (Old Saxon)
- ettho (Old Saxon)
-
eddo (Old High German)
-
odar (Old High German)
-
oder (Middle High German)
- oder (German)
-
oder (Middle High German)
-
odar (Old High German)
-
edo (Old High German)
-
odar (Old High German)
-
oder (Middle High German)
- oder (German)
-
oder (Middle High German)
-
odar (Old High German)
-
odo (Old High German)
-
odar (Old High German)
-
oder (Middle High German)
- oder (German)
-
oder (Middle High German)
-
odar (Old High German)
-
eða (Old Norse)
- eða (Icelandic)
- 𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌸𐌰𐌿 (aiþþau) (Gothic)