wunskijaną (Proto-Germanic)
Where does "wunskijaną" come from?
The Proto-Germanic verb 'wunskijaną', meaning 'to wish' or 'to desire', originated as a denominative formation[1]. It was constructed by combining the Proto-Germanic noun 'wunskaz' or 'wunskō', both meaning 'wish', with the suffix '*-janą'[1]. The underlying noun 'wunskaz' traces further back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*wenh₁-', meaning 'to wish' or 'love'[2]. This root formed a specialized 'sk-present' stem known as '*wnh₁-ske-', which eventually served as the basis for the Germanic nominal development[2].
Open questions
- The exact base noun for the verb is debated as it could be either the masculine 'wunskaz' or the feminine 'wunskō'. [1]
- The connection between the Germanic forms and the Proto-Indo-European '*wnh₁-ske-' is reconstructed. [2]
Full etymology tree
- *wunskijaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to wish, to desire'
- derived *wunskaz (Proto-Germanic), 'wish'
- derived *wnh₁-ske- (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *wenh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to love'
- derived *wnh₁-ske- (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix *-janą (Proto-Germanic), 'Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives from adjectives.'
- derived *wunskaz (Proto-Germanic), 'wish'
Ancestors
- *wunskaz (Proto-Germanic)
- *-janą (Proto-Germanic)
Descendants and derived words
- œskja (Old Norse)
- ýskja (Old Norse)
Sources
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris