Stefan Höfler Notes on three “acrostatic” neuter s-stems Abstract: The aim of this paper is to investigate the three possible “acrostatic” neuter s-stems *mēd-es-,*sēd-es-, and *h₁ēd-es-, and their various continuants and derivatives within the IE daughter languages. I will argue that their length- ened root vowel is neither a result of a nominal ē : ĕ ablaut pattern nor due to systematic root-inherent characteristics, but can, in principle, be explained indi- vidually as the product of a secondary remodeling in analogy to verbal formations where a lengthened grade was regular. Keywords: acrostatic, s-stems, Narten roots, μήδεα, γῆρας, síd, sætr, sēdēs, sersi, *h₁ed Stefan Höfler: Universität Wien;
[email protected] 1 Introduction The neuter s-stem nouns represent one of the best-established word formation categories within the Indo-European languages. As a distinct stem class they are preserved in Indo-Iranian, in Anatolian, in Greek, in Latin, in Old Irish and in the Slavic languages; in some of them even to this day. Usually, they reflect full grade in the root throughout the paradigm, whereas the suffix shows ablaut from o-grade in the nom.-acc. sg. to e-grade in the oblique stem. Based on his interpre- tation of different relic forms, Schindler (1975c) argued that this paradigm (hence- forth called the “standard paradigm”; e. g. *u̯éku̯-os :*u̯éku̯-es- ‘word, speech’) re- placed an older proterokinetic pattern (e. g. *u̯éku̯-s :*uku̯-és-). Even though some aspects of his argumentation have been criticized until recently,1 Schindler’s as- sumptions remain the basis for today’s communis opinio concerning the ablaut pattern of neuter s-stem nouns.