• Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyzM
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    3 days ago

    Alternative reconstructions: *ésh₂r̥, *h₁ḗsh₂r̥

    The first one smells weird; PIE roots are typically triconsonantal and start with a consonant. That ending *-r̥ looks more like a suffix than part of the root itself.

    *h₁ḗsh₂r̥ vs. *h₁ésh₂r̥ in the meantime looks like ablaut between lengthened and full grades, but it’s hard to rely on Hittite for that - the plene spelling might be there not to indicate a hypothetically long vowel, but for the descendant of that *h₁. (Probably [h] or [ʔ].)