Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/dūnā

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This Proto-West Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-West Germanic

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Alternative forms

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  • *dūn m, *dūnu f, *dūnō m

Etymology

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Uncertain and disputed; possibly from Proto-Germanic *dūnaz (accumulation, pile, heap, mound) (whence also Old Norse dúnn (pile, heap, assembly)), from Proto-Germanic base *dū- (to whisk, whip up, excite, agitate, storm, be stormy), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (smoke, dust, haze). Unlike permanent hills, sand dunes are ever-shifting due to storms and wind, and are not optimal places to build fortifications.
Alternatively, perhaps borrowed from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (stronghold, rampart), from the same Proto-Indo-European root above, which also developed the sense of "hill, fortified hill" in Brythonic; however phonology makes a borrowing from Brythonic untenable, as the vowel there shifted from ū to i giving Proto-Brythonic *din where Germanic still clearly has ū.

Noun

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*dūnā f

  1. sand dune
  2. hill

Inflection

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ōn-stem
Singular
Nominative *dūnā
Genitive *dūnōn
Singular Plural
Nominative *dūnā *dūnōn
Accusative *dūnōn *dūnōn
Genitive *dūnōn *dūnōnō
Dative *dūnōn *dūnōm, *dūnum
Instrumental *dūnōn *dūnōm, *dūnum

Descendants

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