--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alexandru_mg3" <alexandru_mg3@...> wrote:
>
> Could somebody tell me what class of nouns forms the nominative with long o:?
>
> What is the origin of this long wovel?
>
> Do we have for the same class a zero-grade genitive in R(zero)-'os?
>
>
> Many thank,
>
> Marius
>
In Greek, nouns with the nominative in -o: are few (or perhaps only one), and come from a stem in -oi (I'm not sure why the nominative has -o: from the stem -oi, but probably it either has the ending of the accusative, where -o: is regular, or it is a shortening of original -o:i, with lengthening of an origin I don't know -- but note the vocative has the full long diphthong, below). Declension below:
peitho:, "persuasion" (singular only)
Nom. peithó:
Acc. peithó: (*peithóa < *peithóia)
Dat. peithôi (*peithoï < *peithoii)
Gen. peithoûs (*peithóos < *peithóios)
Voc. peithoî
They correspond to the Sanskrit noun <sakha:> "friend" below, with -a: in the nominative singular similarly from IE *-o:i originally:
Sg. Pl. Du.
Nom. sákha: sákha:yah. sákha:ya:u
Acc. sákha:yam sákhi:n sákha:ya:u
Dat. sákhye: sákhibhyah. sákhibhya:m
Gen. sákhyuh. sákhi:na:m sákhyo:h.
Abl. sákhyuh. sákhibhyah. sákhibhya:m
Inst. sákhya: sákhibhih. sákhibhya:m
Loc. sákhya:u sákhis.u sákhyo:h.
Voc. sákhe sákha:yah. sákha:ya:u
The nouns in Latin that end in -o: are members of the n-declension, and represent (in the nom. sg.) -o:<*-o:n<*-ons. They have both masculine and feminine members, and within Latin the declension varied somewhat. Masculine examples are <homo:> "man, human" and <leo:> "lion" below (the <leo:> declension is much more frequent):
Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl.
Nom. homo: homine:s leo: leo:ne:s
Acc. hominem homine:s leo:nem leo:ne:s
Dat. homini: hominibus leo:ni: leo:nibus
Gen. hominis hominum leo:nis leo:num
Abl. homine hominibus leo:ne leo:nibus
Voc. homo: homine:s leo: leo:ne:s
The feminines are declined identically. The nominative ending -o: could also be shortened to -o (and very often was in classical Latin).
Apart from these, I don't know any other sources of -o: in the nominative singular in IE languages. As for the zero-grade genitive, see the declensions above.
Andrew