*waya-

The reconstructed nominal base *waya- (see the lemmata under Derivatives) should mean something like ‘life’, so that the meaning of the derivatives results in what is attested. The preservation of intervocalic -y- must be due to the morpheme boundary between root and suffix. It was probably supported by the existence of a laryngeal, either *h₁ or *h₃, which was eventually lost, but before the monophthongization of the preceding diphthong (David Sasseville kindly reminds me of mayant- ‘adult’ < *moi̯h_1/3-ent- as a possible parallel, see Oettinger 1979a:471, but differently EDHIL:542; cf. also kuwaya- ‘to fear’ < *du̯oi-V- even without laryngeal, LIV²:130). Reconstructed *waya- is thus an exact equivalent of Ved. gáya- ‘life’ < *g^u̯oi̯h₃-o- (root *g^u̯i̯eh₃- ‘to live’, LIV²:215f.).

[E.R.]

The PIE root *g^u̯i̯eh₃- means ‘to live’.Cf., e.g., LIV²:215f., EIEC:356.

The PIE root *g^u̯i̯eh₃- (beside *g^u̯ei̯h₃- with Schwebeablaut)Cf. LIV²:215 n. 1, EIEC:356 (where the root is listed with full grade I). is widely attested in the IE languages. Important equations include Ved. jī́vati, YAv. juuaiti, Lat. vīvō, OCS živǫ < PIE thematic present *g^u̯ih₃u̯e/o- ‘to live’. There is also a thematic adjective PIE *g^u̯ih₃u̯ó- ‘living, alive’ > Ved. jīvá-, Av. juua-, Lat. vīvus, Lith. gývas, OCS živŭ.In LIV²:215, the present *g^u̯ih₃u̯e/o- is analyzed as a secondarily thematized u-present *g^u̯i̯éh₃-u-/*g^u̯ih₃-u-´, which is otherwise not attested, though. The similarity with the thematic adj. *g^u̯ih₃u̯ó- ‘living, alive’ would then be secondary. However, the thematic present *g^u̯ih₃u̯e/o- could also have been derived from the thematic adjective *g^u̯ih₃u̯ó-, according to Tichy 2009a:57. Furthermore, a substantival stem PIE *g^u̯ói̯h₃-o- ‘life’ can be reconstructed on the basis of Ved. gáya-, OAv. gaiia- ‘life’, ORuss. gojĭ ‘peace’, and perhaps also Luw. *waya- ‘life’ vel sim., which can be presupposed as derivational base of CLuw. wayaḫi(t)- ‘vitality’ and CLuw. (u)wayant(i)- ‘animal’ < *‘that which is furnished with life’ (cf. the PAnat. reconstruction above). For further verbal and nominal stems, cf. LIV²:215f. and NIL:185–189, respectively.

[T.S.]

Ved. pres. jī́vati ‘lives’, adj. jīvá- ‘living, alive’, sbst. gáya- m. ‘life’, etc.; YAv. pres. juuaiti ‘lives’, Av. adj. juua-, OPers. jīva- ‘living, alive’, OAv. gaiia- m. ‘life’, etc.Cf., e.g., EWAia I:467f. s.v. gáya- and GAY¹, LIV²:215f., ALF:184, NIL:185f., 187 n. 10.

Gk. Hom. βέομαι ‘I shall live’Formally an old subjunctive form, cf. LSJ s.v., LIV²:215 with n. 3., adj. ζωός ‘living, alive’, pres. ζώω ‘I live’, sbst. βίος m. ‘life’, etc.Cf., e.g., GEW I:237–239, 618f., LIV²:215f., NIL:185, 187 n. 6, EDG:216f., 505.

Lat. pres. vīvere, -ō ‘to live’, adj. vīvus ‘alive’, sbst. vīta f. ‘life’, etc.; Osc. adj. bivus nom. pl. m. ‘alive’, Osc. biítam acc. sg. f. ‘life’Cf., e.g., LIV²:215f. with n. 8, EDLIL:685f. with further lit., NIL:186.

OIr. béo, MW byw ‘living, alive’, MW bwyd ‘food’, OIr. bïad ‘food’, etc.Cf., e.g., NIL:185f., 188 n. 19, EDPC:64, 67 with further lit.

Goth. qius, ON kvikr, OE cwic(u), etc. ‘alive’Cf., e.g., Heidermanns 1993a:352f., NIL:186, 188 n. 13 with further lit., EDPG:320.

OPr. pres. giwa ‘lives’, Latv. pres. dzīvu ‘I live’, OPr. adj. gijwans, geiwans acc. pl. ‘living, alive’, sbst. giwan n. ‘life’, Lith. adj. gývas, Latv. adj. dzīvs ‘alive’, etc.Cf., e.g., LIV²:215 with n. 9, NIL:186, EDBIL:179f., ALEW I:338–340.

OCS žiti, živǫ, Russ. žit’, živú, etc. ‘to live’, sbst. ORuss. gojĭ, SCr. gȏj, etc. m. ‘peace’, adj. OCS živŭ, Russ. živój, etc. ‘alive’Cf., e.g., LIV²:215, NIL:185f., 187 n. 7, EDSIL:562, 564.

TochB pres. śaweṃ, TochA śāweñc ‘they live’Cf., e.g., LIV²:215f. with n. 10, DTB²:683f., Malzahn 2010a:916–919.