< Reconstruction:Proto-Brythonic

Reconstruction:Proto-Brythonic/-ɨnn

This Proto-Brythonic 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-Brythonic

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *-inyos. Cognate with Old Irish -(i)ne.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɨnː/

Suffix

*-ɨnn m (feminine *-enn)

  1. Forms singulatives of collective nouns.
    ‎*grọn (“grain”) + ‎*-ɨnn → ‎*grọnɨnn (“a grain”)
  2. Forms abstract derivatives of certain nouns and adjectives.
    ‎*tanaw (“thin”) + ‎*-ɨnn → ‎*tenewɨnn (“side, flank”)

Descendants
  • Middle Welsh: -yn

Reconstruction notes

In Breton, the merger of the reflexes of *ɨ and *e led to the collapse of the masculine-feminine distinction with *-enn, and in that language only the feminine suffix continues to be productive. In Middle Cornish -yn is attested, but it is unclear if this reflects inheritance from *-ɨnn or a secondary development from *-enn.[4][5]

References
  1. Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1995) Studies in British Celtic historical phonology (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 260
  2. Irslinger, Britta (2010) “Les dérivés gallois, cornique -yn/-en, breton -enn et irlandais -ne: fonction et sémantique”, in La Bretagne Linguistique‎, page 58
  3. R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-yn”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
  4. Schrijver, Peter (2011) “Old British”, in Brythonic Celtic-Britannisches Keltisch: From Medieval British to Modern Breton, page 43
  5. Irslinger, Britta (2014) “The gender of abstract noun suffixes in the Brittonic languages”, in Studies on the Collective and Feminine in Indo-European from a Diachronic and Typological Perspective, page 105
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