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  1. Word Family - Year

    Introduction

    The PIE word *yóh₁r̥: "year" becomes both the native English "year" and also the Latinate "hour". Fascinatingly, Greek ὥρᾱ hṓrā (whence the Latin) is also borrowed, post-Alexander, into Classical Sanskrit along with the Hellenistic-Babylonian astronomy/astrology, eventually giving such descendants as Thai โหร hǒon: "astrologer, prophet, magician"!

    Teaser

    year …

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  2. Word Family - Fee

    Teaser

    fee, feudal, cyclops, peculiar, fight, Shadowfax

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- wool, livestock, wealth
      • Proto-Indo-European *péḱu
        • Old Armenian ասու asu fleece, wool
          • Armenian ասր asr fine fleece
        • Balto-Slavic *péku
          • East Baltic
            • Lithuanian pẽkus
          • West Baltic
            • Old Prussian pecku cattle
        • Germanic *fehu wealth, cattle, the rune ᚠ
          • East Germanic
            • Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 faihu property …
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  3. Word Family - Venom

    November theme: Spiders 🕷️

    Teaser

    win, wish, Venus, Darwin, vanadium, venom, wonder, winsome

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- to love, to want
      • Proto-Indo-European *wn̥h₁néwti?
        • Germanic *winnaną to strive, to work, to gain, to win
          • East Germanic
            • Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 winnan to suffer
              • Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰 winna suffering, passion, the letter 𐍅
          • North Germanic
            • Old Norse …
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  4. Word Family - Diurnal

    December theme: Religion 📿

    Introduction

    We start religion words with *dyḗwos ph₂tḗr, Old Father Shining-Sky himself.

    Interestingly English "day" is not from this root, despite similarity to many IE words for day, e.g. Latin diēs, etc. Germanic d corresponds to Latin f (PIE ); Latin d corresponds …

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  5. Word Family - Equus

    March theme: March of Horses 🐎

    Teaser

    hippopotamus, equestrian, zebra

    Full Text

    • Proto-Indo-European *h₁eḱ- swift, fast [1]
      • Proto-Indo-European *h₁oh₁ḱus a *o-∅-us reduplicative adjective form
        • Hellenic
          • Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ς ōkús fast, swift
            • Ancient Greek ποδώκης podṓkēs swift-footed
            • Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ροος ōkúroos swift-flowing
              • Ancient Greek Ὠκυρόη Ōkuróē Swift-Flowing (personal name), river divinity …
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