ma-

Mutter

Synonym: *ǵénh₁trih₂ (*ǵénh₁trih₂)

In older literature usually reconstructed de-laryngealized as *mātēr and explained as a combination of a nursery word *ma (“mother”) and the agentive nominal suffix *-tēr. However, Balto-Slavic forms have acute accent and require a root laryngeal and a short vowel, reflecting *méh₂- (as opposed to *mḗh₂- which would have yielded a circumflexed vowel). Also, no trace of a lengthened grade in the root can be found: in no language did Eichner's law operate (which predicts non-coloration of the *ē in *mḗh₂-tr).

(*ma-)