Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wed-

Possibly related to Proto-Uralic *wete, the source of Finnish vesi and Hungarian víz. The nature of the relationship is unclear and controversial; the word may have been borrowed from Proto-Indo-European into Proto-Uralic, or the reverse. A minority of linguists suggests a common origin from an even earlier proto-language, but this is not generally accepted.

In Proto-Indo-European, the active elemental *wed- (“water”) was contrasted with the passive *h₂ep- (“body of water”), similar to the opposition of the active "fire" *h₁n̥gʷnis with the passive *péh₂wr̥.

*wed-

1. water

• *u-né-d-ti ~ *u-n-d-énti (nasal-infix present)
  • Indo-Iranian: *unátˢti
    • Indo-Aryan: *unátti
      • Sanskrit: उनत्ति (unátti)
• *wod-sḱe- (o-grade sḱe-present)
  • Germanic: *waskaną (“to wash”) (see there for further descendants)
• *wód-r̥ (“water”)
• *wéd-os- ~ *wéd-es- (“water”)
  • Old Armenian: գետ (get, “river”)
• *wēd-os (“wet”)
  • Germanic: *wētaz
• *ud-rós (“of water, aquatic”)
• Unsorted formations:
  • Italic:
    • Latin: uter
    • Latin: vitrum
  • Hellenic:
    • Ancient Greek: ῡ̔́ω (hū́ō), ῡ̔ετός (hūetós)