Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/werm-

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This Proto-Indo-European 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.

This Proto-Indo-European entry contains original research. The reconstruction in this entry is based on published research, but the specific form presented here is not found in prior works.

Proto-Indo-European

Etymology

Possibly from *wer- (“to turn”, in the sense of either curled shape or writhing/wiggling behavior) +‎ *-m-; compare perhaps Proto-Celtic *wrigants (“vermin”). Or, perhaps a metathetic variant of *mer-w- (“ant”), though the semantic development “worm, larva” > “ant” is more likely.

Root

*werm-

insect larva
worm
ant or other small insect

Reconstruction notes

Descendants of this stem which mean “ant”, such as Tocharian B warme and Sanskrit वम्र (vamrá), are sometimes considered to derive from *morw(i)- with metathesis. But the reverse is equally plausible: *morwi- could have formed already in late Proto-Indo-European as a metathesis of *wor-mi-.
Both stems *werm- and *merw- have been conflated^[1] and display phonetic irregularities in many branches of Indo-European. This is usually explained as for tabooistic reasons, but may instead point to widespread substrate influence. See for example Latin formīca (“ant”), derived terms listed at Proto-Indo-Iranian *marwíš, and Proto-Celtic *wrigants.

Derived terms

*wórm-i-s ~ *wr̥m-éy-s; *wŕ̥mis (“worm, larva”) (parallel formation to *mórwis)
- ⇒? *worm-i(H)-k- (“ant”)
  - Proto-Hellenic: *wórmikā f
    - Ancient Greek: ὅρμικας pl (hórmikas)
  - Proto-Indo-Iranian: (*warmiHkas) m
    - Proto-Indo-Aryan: (*warmiHkas)
      - >? Sanskrit: वल्मीक (valmīka, “anthill”), वल्मिक (valmika) (see there for further descendants)
  - Proto-Italic: *wormīk-
    - >? Latin: formīca f (by influence, and from *morwi-?) (see there for further descendants)
*wórm-o-s^[2]
- Proto-Balto-Slavic: *wārmas^[3]
  - Lithuanian: var̃mas (“mosquito, horse-fly, fly, bug”)
  - >? Old Prussian: warmun (“red”)
- Proto-Hellenic: *wórmos, (metathesized *wróm-o-s >) *wrómos
  - ⇒? Ancient Greek: βόρμαξ (bórmax), βύρμαξ (búrmax, “ant”)
  - Ancient Greek: ῥόμος (rhómos, “woodworm (xylophagous beetle larva)”)
- Proto-Indo-Iranian: (metathesized *womr-ó-s >) (*wamrás)
  - Proto-Indo-Aryan: (*wamrás)
    - Sanskrit: वम्र (vamrá, “ant”)
      - ⇒ वम्रक (vamraká)
- Proto-Tocharian: *warme
  - Tocharian B: warme (“ant”)

References

^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “formīca”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 234
^ Adams, Douglas Q. (2013) “warme*”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 630: “*wormo-”
^ Derksen, Rick (2015) “varmas”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 490

[EDL-1] De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “formīca”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 234

[DTB-2] Adams, Douglas Q. (2013) “warme*”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 630: “*wormo-”

[3] Derksen, Rick (2015) “varmas”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 490

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