Narten Present.

What is a "Narten present"?

Mary Niepokuj uses this term in her article "Hang" in EIEC, p. 255.

She is referring to *konk (circumflex over k), which gives English 'hang' and 'hinge', Latin cunctor 'delay'. When speaking of Old Indic sankate 'doubts, fears', and the possible TochB reflex, sank- '+/- delay hesitate' she writes:

This form is securely reconstructible; both Latin and and Old Indic show a shift from immobility to a state of emotional uncertainty. If the Tocharian form belongs here, we have have evidence for a Narten present, strong-grade *konk, weak-grade *kenk.

I'm beginning to fully understand the distinction of zero grade, full grade, lengthened grade (ablaut variations giving the daughters different reflexes of the same word), but wonder about weak and strong grade. And what, pray, is a Narten present.

In any event, the semantic value in Germanic (Old Norse, OHG, OE, Gothic) vs. the others is interesting. The sense is 'to be somehow connected and supported from above'. This seems the original sense (cf Hittite kank 'hang').

Mark.