Thematic Vowel - Proto-Indo-European

Proto-Indo-European

Proto-Indo-European words consist of three parts:


\underbrace{\underbrace{\mathrm{root+suffix}}_{\mathrm{stem}} + \mathrm{ending}}_{\mathrm{word}}

The thematic vowel, if present, occurred at the end of the suffix (which may include other vowels or consonants) and before the ending:

  • *gʷʰér-mo-s "heat" > Ancient Greek θέρμος (thérmos)
  • *bʰér-e-ti "(he) carries" > Sanskrit bhárati, Gothic baíriþ

The thematic vowel technically belonged to the suffix and not the ending, as each suffix was inherently either thematic or athematic. It was also used in some cases to derive stems from roots directly, acting as a suffix in itself. However, when considering endings which are different for thematic and athematic inflections, it is generally included in the endings as well.

The thematic vowel appeared as either *e or *o, but the distribution differed between verbs and nominals. In verbs, the thematic vowel was *e when the following ending began with a coronal consonant (*t, *d, * or *s) and *o otherwise. In nouns, the thematic vowel was almost always *o, and only became *e when there was no ending or when followed by *h2 in the neuter nominative/accusative plural.

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