Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/silubrą

This Proto-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-Germanic

Etymology

Uncertain. Likely a Wanderwort of non-Indo-European origin. Compare Proto-Slavic *sьrebro, Latvian sudrabs, Lithuanian sidãbras, Latgalian sudobrys, Basque zilar,^[1] Proto-Berber *a-ẓrəf, Celtiberian silabur "money".

A Semitic origin has been suggested (Akkadian 𒀫𒁍𒌝 (ṣur-pu-um /⁠ṣurpum⁠/, “silver”), from 𒍝𒊏𒁍𒌝 (ṣa-ra-pu-um /⁠ṣarāpum⁠/, “to smelt or refine”)).^[2] However, at least one scholar has considered this phonologically and geographically improbable.

The replacement of hypothetical Pre-Germanic *urguntóm from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm (which would've resulted in **urkundą had it survived in the language) in Proto-Germanic has been thought to be linked to increasing metallurgical sophistication.^[3]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈsi.lu.βrɑ̃/

Noun

*silubrą n^[1]

silver

Inflection

Declension of *silubrą (neuter a-stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*silubrą	*silubrō
vocative	*silubrą	*silubrō
accusative	*silubrą	*silubrō
genitive	silubras, silubris	*silubrǫ̂
dative	*silubrai	*silubramaz
instrumental	*silubrō	*silubramiz

Derived terms

*silubrīnaz

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *silubr
- Old English: seolfor, seolfer, seolofor, siolfor, siolufr, silofr, sylfor, sylfur — Mercian
  - Middle English: silver, selver, sylver, seolver, sulver, soelver (Herebert)
    - English: silver
      - Jamaican Creole: silva
      - → Maori: hiriwa
      - → Zulu: isiliva
    - Scots: silver, siller
- Old Frisian: selover, selver
  - North Frisian: Salwer (Amrum)
  - Saterland Frisian: Sälver
  - West Frisian: sulver
- Old Saxon: siluvar
  - Middle Low German: selver, sulver
    - German Low German: Sülver, Silver
    - Plautdietsch: Selwa
- Old Dutch: silver
  - Middle Dutch: silver
    - Dutch: zilver
      - Afrikaans: silwer
      - Negerhollands: silver, zelva, selvu
      - Skepi Creole Dutch: solfer
      - → Caribbean Javanese: silfer
      - → Loup A: sinibat, chinebat, chinibat
      - → Mahican: sehnpatt, senpett
      - → Munsee: shulpul
      - → Sranan Tongo: sorfu, solfru, sorfru
        → Saramaccan: sólófu, sóófu
      - → Unami: silpël
    - Limburgish: zèlver
- Old High German: silbar, silabar
  - Middle High German: silber
    - Bavarian: Süber, Suiber
      Cimbrian: silbar
      Mòcheno: silber
    - German: Silber
    - Kölsch: Seleve
    - Luxembourgish: Sëlwer
    - Pennsylvania German: Silwer
    - Vilamovian: zyłwer
    - Yiddish: זילבער (zilber)
Old Norse: silfr, sylfr
- Icelandic: silfur
- Faroese: silvur
- Norwegian: sylv; (dialectal) silv
- Old Swedish: silver, sylver, sølver
  - Swedish: silver
- Old Danish: silf, sylf, sølf
  - Danish: sølv
    - Norwegian Bokmål: sølv
    - → Greenlandic: sølvi
- Elfdalian: silver
- Gutnish: sylvar
- Scanian: sølver
- → Proto-Samic: *silpë (see there for further descendants)
Gothic: 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌿𐌱𐍂 (silubr)
Crimean Gothic: silvir
→ Proto-Samic: *silpë (see there for further descendants)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*silubra-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 436
^ Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (1999) Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag
^ Mallory, James P. (1984) “Proto-Indo-European Silver”, in Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung‎^[2], volume 1, number 97, Göttingen: Vandenhoek und Ruprecht, retrieved 7 May 2018, pages 1–12

[EDPG-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*silubra-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 436

[2] Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (1999) Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag

[3] Mallory, James P. (1984) “Proto-Indo-European Silver”, in Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung‎^[2], volume 1, number 97, Göttingen: Vandenhoek und Ruprecht, retrieved 7 May 2018, pages 1–12

[1]

[2]

[3]