Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wai

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed words 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 *wai. Compare Latin vae, Lithuanian vaĩ, vái, Russian увы́ (uvý, “alas”), Middle Irish fáe, Welsh gwae (“woe”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬫𐬋𐬌‎ (vayōi), Sanskrit उवे (uvé), Persian ‎ (vây).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wɑi̯/

Interjection

*wai

woe! alas! (expression of grief)

Related terms

Descendants

Old English: wā
- 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
Frankish: *wai, wē
- Old Dutch: *wē
  - Middle Dutch: wee
    - Dutch: wee
- → Vulgar Latin: *wai, *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
  - Portuguese: guai (obsolete)
  - Old Spanish: guay
    - Spanish: guay, guais (plural)
    - Ladino: guay, uay
Old High German: wah, wa, wē
- Middle High German: wāch, wē
  - Cimbrian: bèa
  - German: weh, Weh
  - Yiddish: וויי‎ (vey)
    - → English: vey
Old Norse: vei, væ
- Icelandic: vei
- Faroese: vei, veiggj
- Norwegian: vei
- Old Swedish: vē
  - Swedish: ve
- Danish: ve
- Westrobothnian: väj, vaj
- → Middle English: waȝȝ, wæi, wei, weye, wai
  - ⇒ Middle English: weylaway, wailewaie
    - English: welaway, wellaway
Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai)
? Finnish: voi (“oh”), vaiti (“silently”)

References

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)

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