Some thoughts on the Proto-Indo-European cardinal numbers
- Author(s): Allan R. Bomhard 1
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsAffiliations:1 Charleston, SC, USA
- Source: In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory , pp 213-221
- Publication Date December 2008
This paper takes a fresh look at the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European cardinal numbers. Evidence is presented that the earliest form of the number “two” was (in traditional reconstruction) *do- and that the form usually given in the standard handbooks, namely, *duwō/*dwō, was a later borrowing, probably from Northwest Caucasian. Moreover, the earliest form of the number “four” was *Hokh-tho-. It is preserved in the number “eight”, *Hokh-thoH(w), which is a later dual form meaning “two fours”. The forms *meyu- “four”, found in the Anatolian branch, and *kwhéth-wor- “four”, found in the non-Anatolian daughter languages, are both later innovations. Finally, the number “ten”, de-kmo t-, is taken to be an old compound meaning “two hands”, as often suggested in the literature.
- Affiliations: 1: Charleston, SC, USA
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