Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/-(a)is
 |
This Proto-Celtic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence. |
Proto-Celtic
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Often believed to originate as the neuter of Proto-Indo-European *-yōs used adverbially; many Celticists believe that the neuter of that suffix was *-is, not *-yos.
The -a- in the suffix originally was from the rebracketing of *mais (adverbial/neuter comparative of *māros).
Suffix
[edit]*-(a)is
- Forms adverbs that act as the comparative degree to certain common adjectives.
Usage notes
[edit]- Given how -(a)is comparatives are underlyingly adverbs, they can only be used predicatively, not attributively, unlike *-yūs.
- This suffix was apocopated in Brittonic.
Descendants
[edit]- Old Irish: -a