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    <fileDesc>
      <titleStmt>
        <title type="main">Wurdahuzdą: Proto-Germanic dictionary — *mēkijaz</title>
        <author>Scott K. Shay</author>
      </titleStmt>
      <publicationStmt>
        <publisher>Wardja Press</publisher>
        <date when="2026-10-01"/>
        <idno type="URL">https://protogermanic.org/pgmc_mēkijaz</idno>
      </publicationStmt>
      <sourceDesc>
        <p>Single-entry extract from the dictionary. Cross-references to other entries point to their identifiers in the full dictionary.</p>
      </sourceDesc>
    </fileDesc>
  </teiHeader>
  <text>
    <body>
      <list type="cognates">
        <item xml:id="cog_ine-x-proto_megeyos" xml:lang="ine-x-proto" type="etymon">
          <orth>*mēǵeyos</orth>
          <def>cutter, sword</def>
        </item>
        <item xml:id="cog_sla-x-proto_mec" xml:lang="sla-x-proto" type="cognate">
          <orth>*mèčь</orth>
          <def>sword</def>
        </item>
      </list>
      <div type="dictionary">
        <entry xml:id="pgmc_mekijaz" type="noun" corresp="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mēkijaz">
          <form type="lemma">
            <orth>mēkijaz</orth>
            <pron notation="ipa">ˈmɛː.ki.jɑz</pron>
            <form type="runic">
              <orth>ᛗᛖᚲᛁᛃᚨᛉ</orth>
            </form>
          </form>
          <gramGrp>
            <pos>noun</pos>
            <gram type="gender">masculine</gram>
            <gram type="stem">ja-stem</gram>
          </gramGrp>
          <sense n="1">
            <def>sword</def>
          </sense>
          <etym>
            <seg type="p">Of unclear origin.</seg>
            <seg type="p">"To cut" hypotheses reconstruct Proto-Indo-European <mentioned xml:lang="ine-x-proto" target="#cog_ine-x-proto_megeyos"><ref target="#cog_ine-x-proto_megeyos">*mēǵeyos</ref></mentioned> (‘cutter, sword’), from some root as *(s)meh₂- (‘to beckon’) (&gt; *meh₂y- &gt; *meyh₂ &gt; *mē(h₂)- &gt; *mēǵ-), *(s)meh₁- (‘to cut’), *(s)mēy(H)- (‘to cut, hew’) and such. However, none of these are standard sound changes in the development of Proto-Germanic, and as such cannot be taken seriously as historical developments in the history of this word; contravention of the standard pillar of historical linguistics — the exceptionlessness of sound change — should only be done as a last resort.</seg>
            <seg type="p">Orel prefers taking the Germanic as a borrowing from some North Caucasian language, as represented by Proto-Northeast Caucasian *miqᶜV (‘chisel, hoe, knife’), whence Avar *maqᶜala. See the potentially-related Proto-Slavic <mentioned xml:lang="sla-x-proto" target="#cog_sla-x-proto_mec"><ref target="#cog_sla-x-proto_mec">*mèčь</ref></mentioned> (‘sword’) for more theories.</seg>
            <seg type="p">Some reconstruct *mēǵ/g-yos and connect it with Proto-Germanic *mekaną (‘to support’) as "secondary functional o-grade".[²]</seg>
          </etym>
          <re type="paradigm">
            <form type="inflected" ana="#sg #nom">
              <orth>mēkijaz</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#pl #nom">
              <orth>mēkijōz, mēkijōs</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#sg #acc">
              <orth>mēkiją</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#pl #acc">
              <orth>mēkijanz</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#sg #gen">
              <orth>mēkijas, mēkīs</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#pl #gen">
              <orth>mēkijǫ̂</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#sg #dat">
              <orth>mēkijai</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#pl #dat">
              <orth>mēkijamaz</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#sg #instr">
              <orth>mēkijō</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#pl #instr">
              <orth>mēkijamiz</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#sg #voc">
              <orth>mēkī</orth>
            </form>
            <form type="inflected" ana="#pl #voc">
              <orth>mēkijōz, mēkijōs</orth>
            </form>
          </re>
          <re type="descendants">
            <list>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-West Germanic</lang>
                  <orth>*mākī</orth>
                  <form type="descendant">
                    <lang>Old Saxon</lang>
                    <orth>māki</orth>
                  </form>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-West Germanic</lang>
                  <orth>*mākī</orth>
                  <form type="descendant">
                    <lang>Old English</lang>
                    <orth>mǣċe, mēċe</orth>
                    <form type="descendant">
                      <lang>Middle English</lang>
                      <orth>meche, mache, mæche</orth>
                    </form>
                  </form>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-Norse</lang>
                  <orth>ᛗᚨᚲᛁᛃᚨ (makija)</orth>
                  <form type="descendant">
                    <lang>Old Norse</lang>
                    <orth>mækir</orth>
                    <form type="descendant">
                      <lang>Faroese</lang>
                      <orth>mæki</orth>
                    </form>
                    <form type="descendant">
                      <lang>Icelandic</lang>
                      <orth>mækir</orth>
                    </form>
                    <form type="descendant">
                      <lang>Norwegian Nynorsk</lang>
                      <orth>mækje, mækjer</orth>
                    </form>
                  </form>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-Norse</lang>
                  <orth>ᛗᚨᚲᛁᛃᚨ (makija)</orth>
                  <form type="descendant">
                    <lang>Old Norse</lang>
                    <orth>mækir</orth>
                    <form type="descendant">
                      <lang>Middle English</lang>
                      <orth>meeke</orth>
                      <form type="descendant">
                        <lang>English</lang>
                        <orth>meak</orth>
                      </form>
                    </form>
                  </form>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Gothic</lang>
                  <orth>𐌼𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (mēkeis)</orth>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Crimean Gothic</lang>
                  <orth>mycha</orth>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-Finnic</lang>
                  <orth>*mëëkka</orth>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-Slavic</lang>
                  <orth>*mьčь</orth>
                </form>
              </item>
              <item>
                <form type="descendant">
                  <lang>Proto-Slavic</lang>
                  <orth>*mečь</orth>
                </form>
              </item>
            </list>
          </re>
        </entry>
      </div>
    </body>
  </text>
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