Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wai

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

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *wáy (“woe! (interjection)”). Compare Latin vae, Lithuanian vaĩ, vái, Russian увы́ (uvý, “alas”), Middle Irish fáe, Welsh gwae (“woe”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬫𐬋𐬌 (vayōi), Sanskrit उवे (uvé), Persian وای (vây).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɑi̯/

Interjection

*wai

1. woe! alas! (expression of grief or anguish)

Related terms

• *wainagaz
• *wainōną
• *waiwô
• *waiwō
• *waja-

Descendants

Note: In most descendant languages this interjection becomes additionally used as a noun with the meaning “hurt, anguish”.

• Proto-West Germanic: *wai
  • Old English: wā, wei, wǣ
    • Middle English: wa, wo, woo
      • English: woe
      • Scots: wa, wae
  • Old Frisian: wach, *wē
    • West Frisian: wee, wea
  • Old Saxon: wah, wē
    • Middle Low German: wach, wê
  • Old Dutch: *wē
    • Middle Dutch: wee
      • Dutch: wee
  • Old High German: wah, wa, wē
    • Middle High German: wāch, wē
      • Cimbrian: bèa
      • German: weh, Weh, wehe, Wehe
      • Yiddish: וויי (vey)
        • → English: vey
  • → Vulgar Latin: *wai, *guai
    • Catalan: guai
    • Emilian: ouais (Modenese)
    • Old French: gway, gwai, guai, way, wai
      • Middle French: vé, vee (merger with or from Latin vae)
        • French: vé (dialectical, Montbéliard)
    • Italian: guai
    • Piedmontese: guaj
    • Portuguese: guai (obsolete)
    • Old Spanish: guay
      • Spanish: guay, guais (plural)
      • Ladino: guay, uay
    • Sicilian: vai
• Proto-Norse: *ᚹᚨᛁ (*wai), ᚹᚨᛃᛖ- (waje-)
  • Old Norse: vei, væ, ve-
    • Icelandic: vei, væ
    • Faroese: vei, veiggj
    • Norwegian: ve
    • Old Swedish: vē
      • Swedish: ve
    • Danish: ve
    • → Middle English: waȝȝ, wæi, wei, weye, wai
      • ⇒ Middle English: weylaway, wailewaie
        • English: welaway, wellaway
    • ⇒ Old Norse: væla (“to wail”)
      • → Middle English: weilen, waylen (“to wail, cry, sob”)
        • English: wail
      • Icelandic: væla
      • Elfdalian: wäla
      • ⇒ Old Norse: væl (“wail”, noun)
        • Icelandic: væl
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai)

Further reading

• Martin Findell Phonological Evidence from the Continental Runic Inscriptions (2012), citing Schneider (1980) (reconstructs *wai and notes the Gothic, ON, OE, OS and OHG descendants)