*-(i)jaz¹
Runic: (ᛁ)ᛃᚨᛉ Pronunciation: /i.jɑz/suffix · forms nouns · masculine · ja-stem
Function
forms masculine agent nouns, denoting a person characterized by an action, occupation, office, role, or sphere of activity; ‘one who …’; like English ‘-er’
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *-yó-s, with Sievers-law allomorph *-iyó-s, a broad adjectival and nominal suffix that could form substantivized masculine personal nouns, including agentive nouns. In Proto-Germanic, the simple agent suffix *-jaz/*-ijaz survived mostly in relic formations, while productive personal agent nouns were increasingly formed with the n-stem extension *-(i)jô. The suffix was not primarily agentive in PIE; the PGmc agent use represents a specialization of the wider *-yó- adjectival/nominal formation (Krahe & Meid 1969: 70–72; Ringe 2017: 325–26).
Declension
The suffix varies as *-jaz /*-ijaz based on Siever’s Law: the basic *-jaz form is used after a “light” syl-lable (a short vowel followed by a single consonant), and otherwise, the form becomes *-ijaz.
Paradigm
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | -(i)jaz | -(i)jōz, -(i)jōs |
| Acc. | -(i)ją | -(i)janz |
| Gen. | -(i)jas, -īs | -(i)jǫ̂ |
| Dat. | -(i)jai | -(i)jamaz |
| Inst. | -(i)jō | -(i)jamiz |
| Voc. | -ī | -(i)jōz, -(i)jōs |
Descendants
-
-ᛃᚨᛉ (-jaʀ) (Proto-Norse)
- -ir (Old Norse)
- -𐌴𐌹𐍃 (-eis) (Gothic)