*u̯és-to-

Comparing the Luwian medio-passive verb wašš- ‘to wear’ with Hitt. wešš- ‘id.’ (e.g. 3sg. ú-e-eš-ta), we may reconstruct a Proto-Anatolian medio-passive root verb, i.e. PAnat. *u̯és-to- (Oettinger 1979a:303-305, EDHIL:1005). On the peculiar geminate -šš- in the Hittite 3pl. ú-e-eš-ša-an-da, cf. Melchert 1994a:151-153 “in heterosyllabic clusters” and EDHIL:1005-1007 “due to contact with the -n- in *u̯ésn̥to”.For the Luwian verb, one can use use Čop’s Law, but this is not valid for Hittite. Cuneiform Luwian also shows an active verb waššanti ‘they dress’, whose stem formation in unclear but cf. Hitt. wēššanzi and the related participle waššānt(i)- ‘dressed’ as evidence for the existence of an active root verb (see PIE lemma below). As pointed out under the lemma, it cannot be equated to the hypothetical Hittite causative-iterative wašše/a-^(mi) ‘to clothe (someone)’ < *u̯(o)s-éi̯e/o- (see Jasanoff 2003a:14 with further literature) nor to the formation in *-i̯e/o-, i.e. Hitt. waššiye/a-^(mi) ‘id.’ < *u̯_ǝs-i̯é/ó- (cf. Oettinger 1979a:304f., EDHIL:1005-1007).

One should also take notice of the often-neglected Hittite nominal formation ^TÚGwaššutri- n. ‘(a piece of clothing)’ << *u̯_ǝs-u-d^hro- n. (Rieken 2009b:152, HEG W-Z:421).

[D.S.]

Hitt. wēšta, Ved. váste, OAv. vastē, and. Gk. εἷται all attest a stative meaning ‘wears’ for *u̯és-toi̯ cf. Eichner 1970b:5, Kümmel 1996a:99 note 180 with references, while the causative *u̯os-éi̯e-, reflected by Hitt. waššezzi/waššanzi, Ved. vāsáyati, *wazjan-, Alb. vesh, denotes ‘to clothe (act. someone/mid. oneself)’ cf. Eichner 1970b:5. The middle present is (or can be) transitive in all branches with the direct object being the item of clothing that is being worn cf. Grestenberger 2016a:132–134. On the active forms Hitt. 3pl. wēššanzi, CLuw. waššanti see below.

The full-grade root present middle *u̯és-toi̯ (Hitt. wēšta, Ved. váste, OAv. vastē, Gk. εἷται) is taken by LIV¹:692f. to replace an earlier “stative” formation, the only tangible evidence for which is seen in the Ved. imperfect avasran ‘were wearing’ (RV 4.2.19; see also Kümmel 1996a:97–99; Werba 1997a:419, Jamison & Brereton 2020a: ad loc.) exhibiting the characteristic secondary ending -ran of the 3rd pl. that is associated with the PIE “stative” Kümmel 1996a:5. However, in the RV passage 4.2.19b ṛtám avasrann uṣáso vibhātī́ḥ, the subject of avasran are the uṣáso vibhā́tīḥ ‘the radiant dawns’, which makes the traditional interpretation of the verb as an aorist of VAS² ‘shine’ (thus Whitney 1896a:301, Grassmann 1996a: s.v. 1. vas, uṣ ‘aufleuchten, hell werden, leuchten’, EWAia II:530 s.v. VAS² ‘leuchten, aufleuchten, hell werden’) a semantically preferable option: while verbal forms of VAS² ‘shine’ are frequently paired with uṣás- ‘dawn’ (sg. or pl.) as their subject (a figura etymologica), no such use is attested for VAS¹ ‘put on, wear’ apart from the verse in question. In addition, the object of the sentence would have to be ṛtám ‘truth’ which is otherwise never ‘worn’ or ‘put on’ (but cf. ṛtám as an adv. ‘properly’).

Alternatively, *u̯és-toi̯ can be interpreted as the middle of an active Narten root present *u̯ḗs-ti. As these Narten presents are typically paired with standard root aorists, one could project such an aorist *u̯és-t, *us-tó as the nucleus of the whole averbo. Indeed, as per Malzahn 2010a:897, the Tocharian facts point to precisely such a scenario: according to her, Toch. B wäs- “clearly points to an origin from a non-Narten root aorist *us-to” (Malzahn 2010a:897; skeptical Grestenberger 2016a:132f.) while the Toch. A gerundive waṣlaṃ reflects a root vocalism *ē that can only reasonably be explained as the reflex of a Narten root present *u̯ḗs-ti (Malzahn 2010a:365f.). But Toch. A waṣlaṃ is not the only formation exhibiting a root allomorph *u̯ēs-: Toch. B yesti ‘garment’ (< *uēstoi̯- Malzahn 2002a), Ved. vā́sas- n. ‘clothes, dress, garment; blanket’ (for which an analysis as an acrostatic s-stem is hardly tenable cf. Höfler 2014a:296), and MW guisc, ModW gwisg, OCorn. guisc, Bret. gwisk ‘clothes, garment, dress’ (*u̯ēsko- or *u̯ēskā) all feature a lengthened grade that is unexpected in the respective word-formation types but can be explained as analogical to the active Narten present (rather than pointing to a “Narten root” as in the definition by Schindler 1994a:398). Formally, the Vedic participle uṣāṇá- (RV. 4.16.14) could be seen as a remnant of the root aorist *us-tó, though the form is generally (despite its unique zero grade) regarded as an analogical formation Gotō 1987:294f., Joachim 1978a:152f., Werba 1997a:419.

Based on the existence of a root aorist, the basic meaning of *u̯es- might be reconstructed as punctual ‘cover, put on’ whence durative ‘wear’ as the meaning of the characterized Narten present qua “durative Folgehandlung” as per Kümmel 1998a:205 in the same way as the root aorist *k^u̯i̯éu̯-, *k^u̯i̯u- ‘to put oneself in motion’ (Gk. ἔσσυτο, σύτο ‘rushed off, gushed out’) has a Narten present *k^u̯i̯ḗu̯-, *k^u̯i̯éu̯- beside it with a durative meaning ‘is in motion’ (Ved. participle cyávāna- ‘in motion’) Kümmel 1998a:195–7, Höfler 2014a:296f. note 14. Indirect evidence for this scenario comes from Ved. vā́sas- n. which not only means ‘garment’ but also ‘blanket (for horses)’ in RV 1.162.16, which is in line with the purported meaning of a Narten root present *u̯ḗs-ti ‘covers (sth.)’ (compare the use of Hitt. waššā(i)-, waššiye/a- ‘to cover (a horse)’ in the hippological Kikkuli texts Eichner 1970b:20). Old Norse ver n. ‘cover’ < *waza-, too, points in this direction as it probably continues a substantivized τομός-type adjective *u̯os-ó- ‘covering’. And while the continuants of the root present show middle inflection in all languages including Anatolian (Hitt. wēšta, CLuw. 3pl. pres. ind. med. waššantari), both Hittite and Luwian also attest active forms (Hitt. 3pl. wēššanzi, CLuw. waššanti, see above) that are used in hippological context in the meaning ‘cover (with a blanket)’ and could therefore be seen as the avatar of the old active root aorist *u̯és-t ‘covered’.

[S.H.]

Ved. váste ‘wears’ (RV+), part. vásāna- (RV+), uṣāṇá- (RV. 4.16.14), uṣámāṇa- (RV 4.22.2Gotō 1987:294f., Joachim 1978a:152f.), perf. vāvase, part. vāvasāná- (RV), aor. avasiṣṭa (RV), causat. vāsáyati ‘clothes (someone)’ (RV+); vásana- n. ‘dress’ (RV+), vástra- n. ‘garment, dress’ (RV+), vásman- n. ‘clothing’ (RV), vā́sas- n. ‘clothes, dress, garment; blanket’ (RV+), etc.Cf., e.g., EWAia II:529f. s.v. VAS¹, Narten 1964a:238f., Eichner 1970b:6f., Werba 1997a:419f.

OAv. vastē, YAv. vaste ‘wears’, Part. vaŋhāna-, maṣ̌iiō.vaŋha- ‘serving man as clothing’, vaŋhana- n. ‘clothes’, vastra- n. ‘dress, garment’, etc.Cf., e.g., EWAia II:529f. s.v. VAS¹, ALF:203f., Eichner 1970b:7.

1sg εἷμαι, 2sg ἕσσαι, 3sg εἷται ‘wear’ (with εἷ- taken over from 1sg εἷμαι, participle εἱμένος < *u̯esm°, the expected ἕσται is attested in ἐπι-έσται ‘is covered’ Hdt. 1.47); functions as the perfect of pres. ἕννυμι ‘clothe oneself in, put on, wear’ (Il.+), Ion. εἵνυμι, -μαι, imperf. κατα-είνυον ‘they covered’ (Il. 23.135) (< *u̯es-nu-), ἑανός m. ‘robe’ (Il.+; cf. Myc. dat. pl. we-a₂-no-i), Ion.-Att. εἷμα n. ‘garment; carpet’ (Il.+), Cret. ϝῆμα (Leg. Gort.), Lesb. ἔμμα (Alc.), εὐ-, κακο-, δυσ-είμων ‘well-, badly-dressed’, ἔσθος n. ‘garment’ (Il., Ar.), ἐσθής, -ῆτος f. ‘clothing, clothes’ (Od.+), Att. ἱμάτιον n. (with early change of <ει> /ẹ̄/ to <ῑ> /ī/), Ion. εἱμάτιον (εματιοις Keos), Dor. ἡμάτιον (Cyrene) ‘outer garment; cloth’ (diminutive of εἷμα), γέστρα (read ϝέστρα) ‘garment’ (Hsch. γ 455 Latte-Cunningham), ἐφεστρίς f. ‘upper garment, soldier’s cloak’ (X., Ath., Plu.), βεστόν (read ϝεστόν) ‘garment’ (Hsch. β 539 Latte-Cunningham).Cf., e.g., GEW I:521f. s.v. ἕννυμι, I:432 s.v. ἑᾰνός, I:725 s.v. ἱμάτιον, DELG:350f. s.v. ἕννυμι, 308 s.v. ἑᾰνός,  EDG:428f. s.v. ἕννυμι, 366 s.v. ἑᾰνός, 590 s.v. ἱμάτιον, DMic II:414 s.v. we-a₂-no-i, Eichner 1970b:8

Lat. uestis, -is f. ‘clothing, clothes’ (Andr.+), uestīre ‘to clothe, to dress’ (Pl.+), etc.Cf., e.g., WH II:775f., EDLIL:671f.

Arm. pres. z-genowm ‘clothe myself’ (*u̯es-nu-), aor. z-gecʿaw ‘put sth. on’ (*u̯es-s-), z-gest, -ow ‘garment’ (*u̯es-tu-).Cf., e.g., Klingenschmitt 1982a:248, 285, Olsen 1999a:108, Schmitt 2007a:66, EDAIL:274.

MW guisc, ModW gwisg, OCorn. guisc, Bret. gwisk ‘clothes, garment, dress’ (*u̯ēsko- or *u̯ēskā-), MW guiscav, ModW gwisgaf, gwisgo, Corn. guyske, gwysca, MBret. guisquaff, gwiskañ ‘to dress, clothe; put on, wear; clothe oneself’.Cf., e.g., GPC:1670f., Schrijver 1995:415, Klingenschmitt 2008b:196.

PGmc. *wazjan- ‘to dress’ (Goth. wasjan, OHG werian, ON verja ‘to dress’, OE werian ‘to dress, to wear’, etc.), MHG wester ‘christening robe’, wester-barn, -kint ‘baptizand’, ON vesl n. ‘outer garment, cloak’, ON ver n. ‘cover’ (*waza-).Cf., e.g., Eichner 1970b:9–11; de Vries 1977a: 654 s.v. ver, Kroonen 2013a:576 s.v. *wazjan-.

Toch. B wäs- ‘don, wear (clothes)’ (e.g., pres. 3.pl. mid. yäskeṃtär, subj. 3.sg. mid. wastär), inf. wastsi ‘to wear’, also ‘clothes, garment’, yesti ‘garment’ (*u̯ēstoi̯-; cf. Malzahn 2002a), A wäs- ‘don, wear (clothes)’ (e.g., subj. 1.sg. opt. wsīmār, 2.sg. wsitār, gerund. waṣlaṃ), wsāl ‘garment’.Cf., e.g., Hackstein 1995a:264–270, Adams 1999a:597 s.v. ¹wäs-, Malzahn 2010a:896f., Grestenberger 2016a:132f.

Alb. vesh ‘I clothe, I dress’, refl. víshem ‘I clothe myself’ (*u̯os-ei̯e-), aor. vesha.Cf., e.g., Demiraj 1997a:416.