Indo-European Family Reunion

This is an explanation of the answers to this Sporcle quiz about Indo-European roots that have come into English through four different pathways (Romance, Greek, Sanskrit, and English's own family, Germanic).

Proto-Indo-European
Latin
Greek
Sanskrit
Anglo-Saxon
*meǵh₂ - great - This term has been fairly well preserved in many Indo-European branches, retaining both form and meaning. magnum - large or great - a declined form of the word 'magnus', meaning large or great mega - large, much, or million mahatma - "great spirit" - From Sanskrit महात्मन् (mahātman), the prefix "maha" is also seen e.g. in "maharaja" or "great king". much - similar in form and meaning to the others
kʷékʷlos - wheel - The existence of a common root for the word 'wheel' is one way we know that the Proto-Indo-European people had the wheel by the time they diverged into other people. The /kʷ/ is the reconstructed phoneme thought to represent a labialized velar stop. In Latin, this is very often represented as "qu", while in English, it is often represented by "wh". The similarity makes the most sense if you insist on pronouncing the latter with an /h/ sound. Most of the interrogative pronouns of English begin with "wh" while those of Latin usually begin with "qu". The word appears to be a reduplication of the root *kʷel-, meaning "to turn" or "to bend" collar - from Latin "collum" meaning "neck", this comes from PIE *kwol-o-, which also means neck, but derives from *kwel- in reference to being that on which the head turns/bends. The initial version of this used the word "circle" which appears to be erroneous, as it seems to trace back to another (possibly related?) root *(s)ker, which also means "to turn or bend". It would admittedly be a less satisfying example, since it comes through Ancient Greek rather than proto-Italic, as does "collar". cycle - circle, ring - from Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos) chakra - wheel - From Sanskrit चक्र (ćakrá) - The word is mostly known in the west because of the wheel-like "chakra" points that are studied in subjects such as yoga and Ayurvedic medicine. wheel - This is a wonderful example of how superficially different a word can look while having a demonstrable relation to others. This derives from the Old English word hwēol which is in turn derived from the Proto-Germanic *hwehwlą, which much more closely resembles the PIE root. The conversion of stop consonants like "kʷ" into fricatives like "hw" is part of "Grimm's Law" which describes the sound shifts that defined proto-Germanic languages.
*dʰer- - to hold firm - From "firmus" meaning "stable, strong" derived from PIE *dʰer-mo-s meaning "holding" throne - From Ancient Greek "θρόνος" (thrónos), meaning "chair" or "seat", presumably derived from something that holds someone sitting. dharma - From Sanskrit धर्म (dharma) meaning "that which upholds or supports" and referring to law, morality, and/or virtue tarnish - This word actually came to English via Middle French, but derives from the Germanic Frankish language. It is cognate with Old English "dyrnan" meaning "to keep secret, conceal, hide, restrain, or repress", which in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *darnijaną with similar meaning. Presumably the modern sense of the word comes from the idea of covering something up, while this sense derives from the idea of holding something back. A word derived from the Old English root would be "darn" as in "darning needle".
*ten- - to stretch, draw, extend tenant - ultimately from participial form of the Latin "tenēre" meaning "to hold, keep", which may derive from the idea of holding something while stretching it. The modern sense of the word seemingly came about in reference to the idea of someone holding onto a property. tone - From Ancient Greek "τόνος" (tónos) meaning "rope" or "cord", and derived from "τείνω" (teíno) "I stretch", the word came to be associated with musical notes, possibly via string instruments and/or vocal cords. This is also related to the word "tension", for example. tantra - or तन्त्र in Devanagarified Sanskrit, meaning "loom" but also referring to esoteric religious texts perhaps because of the association of weaving with building a framework, as such texts do for so-called tantric philosophies. thin - From Old English "þynne", also meaning "thin" via a Proto-Germanic root meaning to stretch or spread out.
*men- - to think mental - From Latin 'mens" for "the mind" mnemonic - From Ancient Greek "μνημονικός" (mnemonikós) "of memory" mantra - or मन्त्र in Sanskrit, which loosely means "instrument of thought"‎ mind - pretty much seems to have retained its form and meaning
*h₃reǵ - right, just; to straighten, right oneself, or its related root h₃rḗǵs - ruler reign - Ultimately from Latin "rex" for "king" via the verb "rēgnāre" meaning "to rule" anorexia - From Ancient Greek "ἀν" (án "without") + ὄρεξις (órexis "yearning, appetite"). The latter derives from ὀρέγω meaning "I stretch" seemingly from the sense of stretching out (or straightening) ones hand to reach for something raja - From राजन् (rājan) meaning "king" or "prince" right - From Old English "riht", it retains a similar form and also the sense of straightening something
*weyd- - to know, see video - From Latin "video" or "I see" history - from ἵστωρ (hístor), "a wise man" from the PIE form *widstōr which likewise refers to a "knower" or "wise man" Veda - From वेद meaning "knowledge". Largely familiar due to the term's application to Hindu holy texts. Wit - From Old English "witt" meaning "understanding, intellect, sense, knowledge"
*yewg- - to join join - From Latin "iungō" meaning "yoke" or "join" via Old French "joindre" zygote - From "ζυγωτός" (Zugotós) meaning "yoked" or "joined" in the sense that a sperm and egg join together to form a zygote yoga - From Sanskrit योग meaning "yoking" or "union", probably from the sense of the practice aiming to join and/or harmonize the body and mind. yoke - via Old English "ġeoc", the meaning is pretty much the same as the root.
*deywós- god deity - From Latin "deitās" for "divinity" or "god" Zeus - From Ζεύς. King of the gods and all, so not surprising that his name just means "god". deva - From देव meaning a god or deity. Specifically, these are considered benevolent beings in Hinduism, as opposed to Asuras, which are often more malevolent. Interestingly, in the related ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, beings called ahuras are considered benevolent, while daevas are more antagonistic. Tuesday - Named for Týr, the Old Norse god of war whose name comes from the Proto-Germanic word *Tīwaz, simply meaning "god"
*sīw- - sew suture - from Latin "sūtūra" hymen - from Ancient Greek "ὑμήν" (humḗn) for "skin" or "membrane", the pronunciation results from a shift of initial /s/ sounds to the heavy breathing (h) sound in the precursor to Greek. sutra - Possibly a reference to holding things together, or the fact that sutras were often written on palm leaves sewn together with threads sew - From Old English "sīwian" meaning "to sew"
*bʰer- - to bear, carry infer From Latin in- ‎(“in, at, on; into”) +‎ ferō ‎(“bear, carry; suffer”) metaphor From Ancient Greek μετά ‎(metá, “with, across, after”) + φέρω ‎(phérō, “I bear, carry”) Bharat A name for India from the name of the emperor Bharata, and in turn deriving from an epithet for the god of fire, Agni. The term derives from भरति (bhárati) meaning to bear, carry, support, or maintain. bearer From Old English "beran" meaning "to bear, carry, bring"
*terh₂- - through trans - From Latin "trāns" meaning "through" or "on the other side of" nectar - From "νέκταρ" which is in turn from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- ‎(“perish, disappear”) + *-tr̥h₂ ‎(“overcoming”) the latter derived from from *terh₂- ‎meaning “to overcome, pass through, cross over”. avatar - From अवतार (ava-tāra), refers to an incarnation of a deity from Proto-Indo-European *aw- ‎(“off, away”) + *terh₂- ‎(“to cross over”) through - From Old English "þurh" meaning "to pass through"
*mer- - to die mortician - From the Latin word "mors" meaning "death" ambrosia - From "ἀμβροσία" (ambrosía, "immortality"), derived from ἀ- ‎(a-, “not”) + βροτός ‎(brotós, “mortal”), via the Proto-Hellenic *mrotós for "dead". Presumably the food of the gods would confer immortality. mara - From Sanskrit मार, meaning "killing, destroying", a term that refers to a kind of malevolent deity that acts as an obstacle or hindrance murder - From Old English "morþor" whose meaning is the same as the modern sense
*gʷṓws - cow bovine - From Latin "bovīnus" meaning "relating to cattle", derived from "bōs" meaniong "ox" bulimia - From βουλῑμία (boulimía) or "ravenous hunger", which in turn derives from "βοῦς" (boús, "ox") + λῑμός ‎(limós, “hunger”) Gurkha - From गोर्खा (gorakṣa), meaning "cow protector" or "cowherd" and referring to the main ethnic group of Nepal cow - From Old English "cū" with the same meaning
*dwóh₁ - two duo- Latin for two dyad - From Ancient Greek δυάς (duás) meaning a set of two things dvandva - From द्वंद्व (dvaṃdvá), refers to a pair of opposites, such as male and female, hot and cold, yin and yang, lingam and yoni, etc. two - From Old English "twā"

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