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. 1.1 At the end of his paper, Schindler mentioned that there could have been s-stems of the acrostatic type B (i. e. R(ḗ)-S(ø) : R(é)-S(ø)-)2 as well, considering forms that reflect lengthened grade in the root or pairs with root vowel alterna- tions such as Skt. gas ‘sin’ (: Gk. ἄγος ‘guilt, curse’), Skt. vsas ‘garment’, Skt. 1 Cf. e. g. Litscher 2007; Hartmann 2012. 2 Cf. for this type Eichner 1973: 68f. 10.1515/if-2014-0016 Bereitgestellt von | Vienna University Library / University of Vienna Angemeldet Heruntergeladen am | 17.12.14 13:33 294 Stefan Höfler vhas ‘conveying’, Gk. γῆρας ‘old age’ (: γέρας ‘gift of honour’), Gk. ἦϑος ‘custom, habit’ (: ἔϑος ‘id.’), Gk. μήδεα and μέδεα pl. ‘male genitals’, Gk. ῥῆγος (also ῥέγος) ‘rug, blanket’, and OIr. síd (*sḗdos) ‘fairy mound’.3 These root vowel alternations can, in principle, be explained as a result of a paradigmatic split: The long vowel forms are believed to be the continuants of the strong stem, while the words reflecting a short vowel would then continue the root ablaut of the oblique stem. In terms of heuristics, this scenario is parallel to the root vowel alternation ĕ : ø that we find in a pair like Ved. váras- ‘width’ : Ved. úras- ‘breast’, whose existence can be explained via a paradigmatic split of the underlying proterokinetic s-stem *(h₁)u̯érH-os : *(h₁)u̯r̥H-és-.4 In the following years, some of these “acrostatic” s-stems have been more plausibly explained through various phonological or morphological develop- ments, and/or different etymologies (cf. Höfler 2012 for an exhaustive overview). However, Schindler’s mere mentioning the possibility of their existence has con- sequently led to a broad acceptance of this type of neuter s-stems among many scholars to this day.5 One can, however, raise several objections against “acrostatic” neuter s-stems, or at least against the notion of “acrostatic”6 used for the group of s-stems that seemingly reflect an ē : e root ablaut. First, and maybe worst of all, is the basis on which this assumption was arrived at, namely the mere vowel alternation7 ē : e. It is true that this vowel alternation is crucial to the identification of words that we categorize as acrostatic nouns of the type B. Additionally however, these words usually reflect the expected zero grade of the suffix, as in *ḗku̯-r̥ :*éku̯-n̥-s ‘liver’, where the root ablaut as well as zero-grade suffix *-r̥ in the nom.-acc. sg. are 3 Examples cited after Schindler 1975c: 267. 4 Cf. Nowicki 1976: 27; Stüber 2002: 186. 5 Cf. for example, more or less unanimously, Schaffner 2001: 77f. and 587; Stüber 2002: 22 and passim; Widmer 2004: 50; Casaretto 2004: 553f.; Hartmann 2012: 79. 6 It is unwise and misleading to use the term “acrostatic” not only for the accent-ablaut classes acrostatic A (viz. R(ó)-S(ø):R(é)-S(ø)-) and acrostatic B (viz. R(ḗ)-S(ø):R(é)-S(ø)-) of the standard model (for this cf. Eichner 1973: 91 note 33; Schindler 1975c: 262–4; and also Meier-Brügger 2002: 203ff. for a historical overview, as well as Widmer 2004: 49ff.), but also for nouns with a columnal accent on the root syllable as a result of secondary remodeling, e. g. the s-stems following the standard paradigm (as done by Hartmann 2012: 52 et passim). 7 It would, in turn, be bold to assume the existence of s-stems of the acrostatic type A, that is with the root ablaut o : e, only because of the root vowel alternation of pairs like Gk. ὄχος ‘chariot’ and the Hesychius gloss ἔχεσφι · ἅρμασιν (dat. pl.), where the o-vocalism of the former is best explained through analogy after a thematic noun of the same meaning ὄχος m. (e. g. h.Cer. 19) or *ὄχᾱ f. (Myc. wo-ka; cf. Panagl 1982: 154–6). For similar analogical processes within Latin see also below note 28. Bereitgestellt von | Vienna University Library / University of Vienna Angemeldet Heruntergeladen am | 17.12.14 13:33 Notes on three “acrostatic” neuter s-stems 295 confirmed by Gk. ἧπαρ and Av. yākarə (< *ḗku̯-r̥), and Ved. yákṛ-t, Lat. iecur and NPers. ǰigar (< *éku̯-r̥). The zero-grade suffix of the oblique is reflected by gen. sg. Ved. yaknás, Gk. ἥπατος, Lat. *iecinis (< *éku̯-n-es) and the stem of the remodeled fem. pl. OLith. jẽknos.8 Our group of “acrostatic” s-stems, however, lacks this im- portant feature.9 Instead, we find the plain o : e suffixal ablaut, that we know from the standard paradigm of neuter s-stems. In fact, there seems to be no difference at all between the descendants of the proterokinetic type s-stems and our group of “acrostatic” ones. One could, of course, argue that both inflectional types had already merged into the standard pattern in Proto-Indo-European times, but we would then hope for at least some evidence, other than the long vowel, to support the assumption of “acrostatic” s-stems in the first place. In fact, we do have s-stems other than the proterokinetic standard ones and the unjustly labeled “acrostatic” ones, but there is hardly any trace whatsoever of the fact that some of those coalesced into one category in PIE or in einzelsprach- lich times. There are hysterokinetic s-stems, appearing predominantly as second 8 Reconstruction and forms after Eichner 1973: 68f.; Schindler 1975b: 5f.; Schaffner 2001: 77. Cf. NIL: 392–95 for a collection of various other suggestions (with lit.), and also for the peculiar occurrence of R(o), as in Lat. gen. sg. iocineris, iocinoris etc. De Vaan (2003: 68f.) argues that Av. yākarə might only be an error or occasional lengthening in the manuscript. 9 The only s-stem for which such an analysis is in principle acceptable is the pair Gk. γῆρας ‘old age’ (Il.+) and γέρας ‘gift of honour’ (Il.+), which could individually continue the strong and the weak stem of an acrostatic neuter *ǵḗrh₂-s :*ǵérh₂-s-. However, it is far more plausible that the form with the lengthened vowel is an inner-Greek innovation. Greek must have inherited regular γέρας < *ǵérh₂-s meaning ‘old age’ (for which cf. also γεραιός ‘old’ [Il.+], later analogically γηραιός [Hes.+], and also Ved. jarás- [m. or] f. ‘old age’ [RV+]), which was remodeled in analogy to the aorist ἐγήρᾱ (for which cf. Peters 1980: 314 note 259) to γῆρας. The original form γέρας was consequently restricted to the specialized meaning ‘gift of honour’ (thus also Stüber 2002: 83f.; Meissner 2006: 82). This instance of analogical interference can be compared to the pair βένϑος ‘depth’ (Il.) : βάϑος ‘id.’ (Ion.-Att.), where the former is the regular variant in the Iliad but later only found in poetry, while the latter is absent in Homer but later on appears very frequently (cf. Meissner 2006: 65–67 for the attestations) and owes its shape to the associated adjective βαϑύς ‘deep, high’ (Il.+) in which the zero grade is regular. An even closer example might be the pair πένϑος ‘grief, sorrow, mourning’ (Il.+) : πάϑος ‘suffering; incident, experience, impression’ (Aesch.+), semantically overlapping but not synonymous (cf. Meissner 2006: 67f. for the attestations and semantics), the latter of which seems to have been influenced by the aorist ἔπαϑον (thus Stüber 2002: 46). There are several more examples like these (cf. also Stüber 2002: 46–50; Meissner 2006: 65–72) that collectively suggest that a secondary remodeling of γέρας to γῆρας after ἐγήρᾱ etc. is fairly reasonable. Bereitgestellt von | Vienna University Library / University of Vienna Angemeldet Heruntergeladen am | 17.12.14 13:33 296 Stefan Höfler members of compounds,10 and amphikinetic s-stems, mostly as collectives,11 both of which seem systematically connected to the proterokinetic ones via internal derivation. There is no indication of a comparable derivational dependence con- cerning the “acrostatic” s-stems.