Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bijǭ

This Proto-Germanic 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-Germanic

Alternative forms

• *bijō, *bīwō

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *bʰey- (“bee”). Cognate with Latin fūcus (“drone”), Old Irish bech (“bee”), Lithuanian bitė (“bee”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbi.jɔː/

Noun

*bijǭ f

1. bee

Inflection

Ablauting n-stem, alternating between e-grade stem *bijōn- and zero-grade stem *bin-.

feminine on-stemDeclension of *bijǭ (feminine on-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*bijǭ	*bijōniz
vocative	*bijǭ	*bijōniz
accusative	*bijōnų	*binunz
genitive	*biniz	*binǫ̂
dative	*binini	*bijummiz
instrumental	*binē	*binōmiz

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *bijā
  • Old English: bēo, bēom, bīom
    • Middle English: bee, be, beo, bey
      • English: bee
      • Fingallian: bee
      • Scots: bee, be, beye, bie, bea
      • Yola: been (plural)
  • Old Frisian: *bē
    • West Frisian: bij
  • Old Saxon: *bīa
    • Middle Low German: bîe, bê, beie
      • Low German: Bee, bigge
      • Plautdietsch: Bie
  • Old Dutch: *bīa
    • Middle Dutch: bië
      • Dutch: bij
        • Afrikaans: by
      • West Flemish: bie
      • Zealandic: bie, bieë
  • Old High German: pīa, bīa
    • Middle High German: bīe
      • Alemannic German: Bii
      • Central Franconian: Bei
      • German: Beie (obsolete)
      • Luxembourgish: Bei
• Proto-West Germanic: *bini (< genitive singular *biniz)
  • Old Saxon: bini; bina, *bīna
    • Middle Low German: bīne, bēne, bēn, beine
  • Old High German: bini; bīna (latter from a merger with *bijō)
    • Middle High German: bin, bine; bīn
      • Bavarian: Bein
      • German: Biene
      • Hunsrik: Bien
      • Rhine Franconian: Beene, Bie
      • Vilamovian: byn
      • Yiddish: בין (bin)
• Old Norse: bý
  • Icelandic: bý
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bie
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: bie
  • Old Swedish: bī, bȳ
    • Swedish: bi
  • Old Danish: bī
    • Danish: bi
  • Gutnish: bei
  • ⇒ Faroese: býfluga
  • ⇒ Icelandic: býfluga