*-iz¹

Runic: ᛁᛉ Pronunciation: /iz/

suffix · forms adverbs

Function

forms comparative adverbs, equivalent to English “-er” or ‘more’, with the sense ‘more X, X-er, rather X’

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *-is-, the zero-grade of the inherited comparative/elative suffix *-yos- ~ *-is-. In adverbs it was uninflected. Compare Latin magis, which preserves the same inherited adverbial use of the suffix. There is also a similar, parallel comparative adverbial suffix in Proto-Germanic, *-ōz. PGmc *-iz was used with adverbs derived from i-, u-, and ja-stem adjectives, while *-ōz was used primarily with adverbs derived from a/ō-stem adjectives. But note that the distribution of these suffixes in adverbs based on a/ō-stem adjectives was both lexical and analogical and not completely predictable (Fulk 2018: 218–20).

Descendants

  • *-iʀ (Proto-West Germanic)
    • -ir, -er (Old Dutch)
      • -er (Middle Dutch)
        • -er (Dutch)
  • *-iʀ (Proto-West Germanic)
    • -ra (Old English)
      • -er (Middle English)
        • -er (English)
  • *-iʀ (Proto-West Germanic)
    • -ra (Old English)
      • -er (Middle English)
        • -ar, -ir (Middle Scots)
          • -er (Scots)
  • *-iʀ (Proto-West Germanic)
    • -er (Old Frisian)
      • -er (West Frisian)
  • *-iʀ (Proto-West Germanic)
    • -ir (Old High German)
      • -er (Middle High German)
        • -er (German)
  • -r (Old Norse)
    • -ur (Faroese)
    • -ur (Icelandic)
  • -𐌹𐍃 (-is) (Gothic)

Explore/search these descendants

View on Wiktionary

Entries that mention this word