Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/skrifti

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

Etymology

From Latin scriptum, reinterpreted as an abstract noun in *-ti (Proto-Indo-European *-tis). The -ft- may be due either to still active Primärberührung or to analogy.

Noun

*skrifti f

1. writing, scripture

Inflection

i-stem
	Singular
Nominative	*skrifti
Genitive	*skriftī
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	*skrifti	*skriftī
Accusative	*skrifti	*skriftī
Genitive	*skriftī	*skriftijō
Dative	*skriftī	*skriftim, *skriftijum
Instrumental	*skriftī	*skriftim, *skriftijum

Notes

Old Frisian has the feminine for “writing” and a masculine for “penance”. Only the latter is attested in Old English. This might point to an inherited Anglo-Frisian masculine variant. Neuter use in some younger languages is secondary.

Related terms

• *skrīban

Descendants

• Old English: scrift m
  • Middle English: shrift
    • English: shrift
• Old Frisian: skrift f, skrifta m
  • West Frisian: skrift n
• Old Saxon: *skrift
  • Middle Low German: schrift f
    • Low German: Schrift f
    • → Old Norse: skript f
      • Danish: skrift c or n
      • Icelandic: skrift f
      • Norwegian: skrift f or n
      • Swedish: skrift c
• Old Dutch: *skrift f (attested as genitive scriphte)
  • Middle Dutch: schrift, schricht f or n
    • Dutch: schrift n (f for “holy scripture”)
      • Afrikaans: skrif
      • Berbice Creole Dutch: skrifu
      • Negerhollands: skrift
      • → Caribbean Javanese: sekrip
      • → Indonesian: skrip
      • → Papiamentu: skref, skrif
• Old High German: scrift f
  • Middle High German: schrift f
    • German: Schrift f
    • Luxembourgish: Schrëft f
    • Yiddish: שריפֿט f (shrift)