> > No, but 'ever' and 'aeternus' cause trouble.
>
> What trouble? Could you quote some examples?
That -(t)er suffix is found in
1) prepositions
2) names of close relatives
3) with some nouns (magis-ter etc)
6 *n,Wa-der "in the 'aqua'"
4) nomina agentis, plus it occurs in <x>-tar "person from <x>" in
Basque and Iberian.
6) -er occurs in pre-Saamic place names.
7) -er occurs in NWGmc place names -werd/-werder and -strut/-strother
re 2), I've long had an idea that the -ter suffix of names of
relatives are locative-marking suffixes, used originally with
impersonal verbs in a deferential expression, eg. something like
'fra-ter dicitur' "on brother's side, it is said that" (later of
course 'frater dicit').
All these uses have a locativic sense. Further, the suffix occurs in
some prepositions, and prepositions are dead nouns. Why don't those
prepositions also have traces of 'normal' cases?
And here is the answeryto your question: What is *xayw- doing in this
suspicious company (ie. with -er- and -ter- suffixes)?
Rather loose as usual, hope I can convey the suspicion.
Torsten