Re: PIE genitive plural *-o:m, a possible analysis

There are many reasons to believe that the distinction singualar-dual-
plural was poorly developed in the earliest faces of IE, except in the
nominative.

There are also reasons to believe that in this early faces, there
existed more case endings or postpositions with related meaning.

In a later face two case endings or postpositions with a genitive-like
meaning could be differentiated as a singualar and plural ending.

Furthermore the genitive endings attested, seem to be a contraction of
something formally more ample.

Let us suppose as a working hypothesis that there existed two genitive-
like endings -h2es and -h2em

The first could be diiferentiated to a singular ending and the other
to plural ending.

Later they were contracted.

In thematic stems: e-h2es > eh2s > o:s, e-h2em > e-h2m > o:m (with the
accent on thematic wowel.

In atematic stems: -h2es > h2s > &s > -os, -h2em > -h2m > &m >-om


The particularities I sketch out here are not thoroughly worked out,
but I think that something like this could be a good starting
hypothesis.