Re: PIE i- and u-stems again

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "bmscotttg" <BMScott@...> wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@> wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > It occurred to me:
> > 1) kvinna/kona is the only word in ON to act up this way.
>
> Exactly what way do you have in mind?

I should have said 'noun'.

> The verb <sofa> 'to sleep' (søfr, svaf, sváfu, sofinn) shows a
> similar alternation. OE has swefan, swæf, swæ:fon, and if memory
> serves, there are a few other examples of *Cwa-, *Cwe- > *Cwo- > Co-
> in ON.
>

kom- for kwem- is pan-Germanic. I like to imagine those present stems
are from the zero grade pres. pl. which is otherwise almost lost in
Germanic.


Torsten