Blowin' in the wind

The root is *h2weh1- 'to blow' (becoming *we:- in most branches, but note Hittite huwant- 'wind', showing the initial laryngeal); cf. Ger. wehen < *we:-j-an-, Slavic *ve^-ja-ti 'blow' and *ve^-trU < *we:-tro- 'wind', Skt. va:-ti 'blows', etc.

The *-nt- suffix is that of the present participle ('wind' = 'blowing (element)'). In Germanic, Grimm's and Verner's Laws changed this *-nt- into *-nd-, originally in forms with non-initial stress.

Piotr

----- Original Message -----
From: <alexmoeller@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2003 7:45 PM
Subject: [tied] cluster "nd/nt"


> PIE radicals for wind= *ue, for "see"= *ueid, *uid"
>
> Actual forms in IE languages:
>
> wind: *ue
> Gothic "winds", Latin, "ventus"
> Greek "afeni", Sanskrit "vati" but too "vant "
>
> to see: *ueid, *uid
> Gothic "witan", Latin "video"
> Greek "eidon", Sanskrit "veda "
>
> I wonder about the cluster "nd/nt". If this should have been just in
> "European" area one will think this cluster is an innovation of European
> IE languages even if missed in Greek (but in Greek is "n" too)
> But there is in Sanskrit too, that will mean what? Separate innovations
> or a common way of developing the language until a given point?
> And how did this "n" appeared ?
>
> Regards,
>
> Alex