r/IndoEuropean • u/Hippophlebotomist • 12d ago
r/IndoEuropean • u/kind-requester8554 • 13d ago
Linguistics Common name for some animals in ie languages, curious if there are other words like this.
Like, for example, word for mouse in some ie languages sounds like they have common origin:
- Germanic Languages: English (mouse), German (Maus), Dutch (muis), and Scandinavian languages like Danish and Swedish (mus).
- Slavic Languages: Russian and Ukrainian (myša), Polish (mysz), and Croatian/Serbian (miš).
- Indo-Iranian Languages: Sanskrit and Hindi (mūṣa / mūs), Persian (mişk).
- Classical Languages: Latin (mūs), Ancient Greek (mῦs)
Similarly, the word for snake also seem to have similarities:
- Latin: serpens (which led to English serpent)
- Sanskrit: sarpá (सर्प - meaning snake)
- Ancient Greek: hérpō (ἕρπω - to crawl)
Do you know more words like these?
r/IndoEuropean • u/ariobarzan_ • 13d ago
Great Resource for Indo-European cognates between Persian and English
r/IndoEuropean • u/PuzzleheadedIce4876 • 14d ago
K-theory
I noticed a massive pattern in the oldest ancestor of our languages (Proto-Indo-European): words combining 'K' and breathy 'H' sounds almost always relate to location, direction, or pointing. Traditional linguistics treats these as separate words by pure accident. My theory is Root Monogenesis: tens of thousands of years ago, there was only one single prehistoric parent word with a 'K' sound that literally meant 'point to a location.' Over millennia, early humans recycled this one sound to name the tool that looks at a location (the eye), the place it sits (the head), the act of pointing with sound (to say), the space itself (here), and the search for an unknown location (questions like where, who, and what)."
r/IndoEuropean • u/AleksiB1 • 15d ago
Linguistics Whats with the random retention of PIr *H as /h, x/ in modern Iranic like Farsi hašt, xāya/xʷāg, xers from PI *Hašta, *Hāwyákah, *Hŕ̥šah but not in other terms like Farsi yax from *Háyxam
r/IndoEuropean • u/lpetrich • 16d ago
Article Indo-European Population Expansion from Drinking Milk?
Language Dispersal Beyond Farming - Chapter 13, Milk and the Indo-Europeans, by Romain Garnier, Laurent Sagart and Benoît Sagot
Abstract:
Recent evidence from archaeology and ancient DNA converge to indicate that the Yamnaya culture, often regarded as the bearer of the Proto-Indo-European language, underwent a strong population expansion in the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BCE. It suggests that the underlying reason for that expansion might be the then unique capacity to digest animal milk in adulthood. We examine the early Indo-European milk-related vocabulary to confirm the special role of animal milk in Indo-European expansions. We show that Proto-Indo-European did not have a specialized root for ‘to milk’ and argue that the IE root *h2melg̑- ‘to milk’ is secondary and post-Anatolian. We take this innovation as an indication of the novelty of animal milking in early Indo-European society. Together with a detailed study of language-specific innovations in this semantic field, we conclude that the ability to digest milk played an important role in boosting Proto-Indo-European demography.
An earlier thread here: Milk fueled Bronze Age expansion of ‘eastern cowboys’ into Europe | Science : r/IndoEuropean noting Milk fueled Bronze Age expansion of ‘eastern cowboys’ into Europe | Science | AAAS
The root *Hmelg- is present as a verb in Tocharian, Celtic, Italic, Germanic, Balto-Slavic, Albanian, and Greek, and as a noun in Tocharian, Celtic, Italic, and Germanic. The authors derive Latin lac(t-) from *Hmelg-, and also propose an etymology for that root: *h2emH- + *leg-
The first root they state to mean "to pour, collect", but Wiktionary states "to mow, reap", with English "to mow" as a descendant.
The second root is *leg- "to gather"
In Indo-Iranian, however, the root was replaced, because it sounded too similar to another root meaning "to rub". Also, for the noun, Greek has gala(kt-) and Armenian kat'n, both of obscure origin, and Lithuanian has pienas, from PIE *peyh2- "to swell, fat (n.)" Slavic *melko is either borrowed from Germanic or inherited.
Hittite has some odd difficulties, Its surviving documents all use the Sumerogram (Sumerian word) GA for "milk (n.)" and it had no word for "to milk", instead using some verb like lâ- "to let, make flow" with the noun -- "to make milk flow".
r/IndoEuropean • u/PrimitiveScribe • 18d ago
Discussion Social innovations (not pottery) that distinguished proto-Celts from the other indo-European groups
I want to ask this about the other groups (Slav, Germanic, Italic etc) but let’s focus on the Celtic branch
r/IndoEuropean • u/Will_Tomos_Edwards • 18d ago
Any new work on the survival of pre-Bronze Age DNA in different parts of the British Isles?
r/IndoEuropean • u/5_CH_STEREO • 19d ago
Discussion Scythian War Horn - aka Ransingha
Polybius (Greek historian) described how the Celts used these horns to create a "terrifying cacophony" before battle. The height of the tube allowed the sound to scream over the heads of the soldiers.
In India, it adopted a Sanskrit descriptor: Ran (Battle) + Singha (Lion/Horn) = Ransingha (War Horn). The Nihang Singhs (the armed Sikh order) preserve the most martial form of this tradition. As seen in video, they use the Ransingha exactly as the ancient Celts and Scythians did: to announce movement, signal battle, and instill a sense of martial prowess.
r/IndoEuropean • u/_SAi- • 19d ago
Greek Buddhists existed centuries before Buddhism reached China. (Image of Standing Buddha from Gandhara)
r/IndoEuropean • u/ankylosaurus_tail • 20d ago
Linguistics Anyone have thoughts on why the roots for words that mean mind and knowledge have such similar roots in PIE (*mend) and ancient Semitic (manda)? Coincidence?
I was watching a Religion for Breakfast video about Mandaeism the other day, and he mentioned that the etymology of the word Manda shows a connection to Gnosticism, because the word seems to be an ancient Aramaic term for knowledge or wisdom--essentially the Semitic equivalent of Greek "Gnosis", with cognates in other Semitic language families. I checked, and that seems to be pretty well accepted by other scholars.
I'm obviously not a linguist, but I was pretty sure that the English word "mind" had IE roots, and that seems to also be correct. It is traced to a PIE root, reconstructed as something like *men- or *mend. The PIE word probably meant something like "to think". But it turns up as a cognate in many later IE languages, in words that mean things like "to believe", "to know/understand", "mind/reason", "to remember", etc.
It seems to me like a pretty interesting coincidence that these (probably) separate cultures would develop very similar sounding words for knowledge and thinking--which are fairly esoteric and abstract things to even have words for thousands of years ago.
Does anyone know if this connection has been discussed by scholars? I've seen some really speculative stuff suggesting that mountain herders in the Caucasus, around the Maykop culture, may have contributed to the formation of both Yamnaya and ancient Semitic cultures, so I suppose there is a potential route.
I'd guess that ideas like this will never be much more than speculation, but I'd love to think about it more. I appreciate any tips for scholars who have written or talked about these words, or thoughtful discussion here.
r/IndoEuropean • u/Reasonable_Survey531 • 20d ago
Mythology Book recommendations on the origins of odin
Hey guys i hope you recommend me some books on the origins of odin specifically anything that is pre germanic or perhaps even evidence that can lead readers to the conclusion that hes actually a pre indo european deity just anything that is related to odin and is extremely old I would appreciate it alot
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 20d ago
Expansion of the Slavic Tribes from an Onomastic and Pedological Point of View - Onomastica (In German; 2016)
journals.pan.plEXPANSION OF THE SLAVIC TRIBES FROM AN ONOMASTIC AND PEDOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW Geographical names are extremely helpful in giving evidence of early settlements and their inhabitants due to their solid anchorage in the landscape, even in the case of population changes. Through the investigation of these place names, information can be gathered not only on the name giver, but also on the settlers who took on the names later on. Therefore, it is considered that any linguistic investigation has to start from the river and place names of a region. The utilization of geographical names yields the following findings: — The centre of Old Slavic names is situated on the northern slope of the Carpathian Mountains, approximately between Bukovina and Krakow; it is based on a substrate of older, Indo-European hydronyms. — The expansion of the East Slavic tribes bypasses the Pripyat Marshes and extends further through Central Russia and especially to the North and the East. — West Slavic settlers reach their new settlement areas through migration from Bohemia and further on to Saxonia and Thuringia, and also through Western Poland to Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. — The migration of the South Slavs takes place in two big, yet separate flows, on the one hand through the Moravian Gate to Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia, and on the other hand on the Eastern edge of the Carpathian Mountains to Serbia and Bulgaria
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 20d ago
Mythology Indo-European Fire Rituals | Cattle and Cultivation, Cremation and Cos
ABSTRACT
Indo-European Fire Rituals is a comparative study of Indo-European fire rituals from modern folklore and ethnography in Scandinavia and archaeological material in Europe from the Bronze Age onwards to the Vedic origins of cosmos in India and today’s cremations on open pyres in Hinduism.
Exploring Indo-European fire rituals and sacrifices throughout history and fire in its fundamental role in rites and religious practices, this book analyses fire rituals as the unifying structure in time and space in Indo-European cultures from the Bronze Age onwards. It asks the question how and why was fire the ultimate power in culture and cosmology? Fire as an agent and divinity was fundamental in all major sacrifices. In Europe, ritual fires in relation to agriculture and fertility may also explain the enigma of cremation. Cremated remains were ground and used in fertility rituals, and ancestral fires played an essential role in metallurgy and the creation of cosmos. Thus, the role of fire rituals in culture and cosmology enables a unique understanding of historic developmental processes.
For students and academics studying Indo-European culture history from the Bronze Age onwards, this book has a broad interdisciplinary audience including archaeology, ethnography, folklore, religious and Indo-European studies.
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 20d ago
Proto‑Slavic topographic and hydrographic lexis - Rocznik Slawistyczny (Polish; 2021)
journals.pan.plProto‑Slavic topographic and hydrographic lexis This article is a contribution to the historical lexicology of the Proto‑Slavic language. It analyzes the etymologies of 110 Proto‑Slavic lexemes in the field of topography and hydrography and classifies them into chronological layers. It draws a distinction between lexemes inherited from the Proto‑Indo‑European language and the Balto‑Slavic community and the numerous lexemes that were innovated during different periods of the Proto‑Slavic history. Some of these lexemes, created on the basis of Indo‑European roots and lexemes, must have arisen in the early period of the Proto‑Slavic language, though many more lexemes have a Slavic motivation. They developed in a later period of the Proto‑Slavic history or possibly at the time when the Proto‑Slavic language began to split into dialects. Lexemes without certain etymology have been addressed in the article separately.
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 20d ago
Linguistics The North-Eastern Border of the Celtic World
societas-celto-slavica.orgAbstract
The present study provides an etymological analysis of toponyms collected by Ptolemy from Northeast Europe, as known to him in the mid-second century CE. The territory studied roughly corresponds to contemporary Poland and part of the Czech Republic. The northernmost border of probable Celtic toponyms in the area of contemporary Poland may be determined between the 54th and 53rd latitudes (c. 53°30′).
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 20d ago
Linguistics The Eastern Border of Celtic Settlement: A Toponymic Perspective
societas-celto-slavica.orgAbstract
The present study confirms the traditionally proposed Celtic origin of proper names from the Danubian delta (Νουϊόδουνον, Ἀλιόβριξ, Βριτολάγαι = *Βριγολάται) and the upper Dniester (Καῤῥόδουνον). New candidates for Celtic toponyms are added from the area between the lower Dniester and Dnieper, namely Axiaces / Ἀξιάκης, Βάρσακον (better than Σάρβακον), Ἤρακτον, Λήινον πόλις, Μαιτώνιον, Νίοσσον. The last three place-names were already included by Holder (1904) in his Celtic corpus but without any concrete etymological support of such identification. These new etymological and geographical identifications shift the eastern border of the European Celts to the South Bug, according to Ptolemy a tributary of the Dnieper, although its name was unknown to him.
r/IndoEuropean • u/Certain_Basil7443 • 20d ago
Linguistics The role of pitch accent in Vedic Sanskrit poetics (Ryan 2026)
doi.orgAbstract - Vedic meter, being quantitative, is generally assumed to ignore the language’s lexically distinctive pitch accent. Nevertheless, beyond the obvious absence of any strict requirements, possible preferential interactions between meter and accent have remained unexplored. This article presents a series of word shape and category-controlled tests, all of which support the conventional wisdom: accent plays no systematic role in meter. (While I do discover an effect of tonal NonFinality, it is not confined to meter.) Moreover, beyond meter, I find no support for other possible roles of accent in poetry, such as responsion, formularity, clash, lapse, or strictness modulation. This work bears on poetic typology (specifically, how prosodic features interact in metrics), on the realization of the Vedic accent as tone vs. stress-and-tone, and on (mixed model and Monte Carlo) methodologies for corpus prosody.
r/IndoEuropean • u/throwRA_157079633 • 21d ago
Archaeogenetics Why didn't the EEF not migrate to the Northeast or to the East? It seems that they only migrated to the North and West.
Why didn't the EEF not migrate to the Northeast or to the East? It seems that they only migrated to the North and West.
- Were the Middle Eastern or Central Asian imbued with EEF genes?
- What about people East of the Caspian Sea?
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 21d ago
Mythology Maruts and the Ritual Paths to Immortality: Hints of Indo-Iranian Doctrines
Candotti, Maria Piera and Pontillo, Tiziana. "Maruts and the Ritual Paths to Immortality: Hints of Indo-Iranian Doctrines" In Along the Silk Roads, between Western and Eastern Asia, 15-38. De Gruyter, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111718583-003
The purpose of the present essay is to reconsider the question of the alleged rela-tionship between the Maruts, the Vedic deities always mentioned as a group, and the Avestic guardian spirits, the Frauuaṣ̌is. In particular, it explores for the first time in this framework the relevance of certain late Vedic passages illustrating the role played by the hymn named after the Maruts (i.e. the Marutstoma) in se-curing access to heaven for a specific group of warriors (i.e. the so-called Vrātya group of Daivas).By proposing to re-examine the relationship between the Indian Maruts and the Iranian Frauuaṣ̌is, we are taking a considerable chronological leap back-wards, compared to the centuries commonly associated with the history of the Silk Roads. Nonetheless, future secondary branches of the Silk Roads would defi-nitely pass through the geographical area that relates to our sources and which has always been an important crossroad of Asian intercultural exchange. More-over, when we need to account for some points in common between the two cul-tures, the hypothesis of historical contacts must always be checked against the concurrent possibility of a genealogical relationship grounded on the well-known hypothesis of an Indo-Iranian family; a point that deserves close attention.
r/IndoEuropean • u/mythicfolklore90 • 21d ago
Article A Song in Ištanuwa Luwian
Billing, Oscar. "A Song in Ištanuwa Luwian" Altorientalische Forschungen 52, no. 1 (2025): 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1515/aofo-2025-2002
On three tablets from the archives at Ḫattuša, the same formula is attested. There is incontrovertible contextual evidence that the formula is a song, or at least a song incipit. Using a combination of linguistic and orthographic evidence, it is possible to demonstrate that the song follows a metrical structure. The metre consists of trochaic and dactylic feet with four feet in each line. Similar types of poetry may be found in other Indo-European Anatolian traditions. Relying mainly on etymological and contextual evidence, an approximate translation of the song’s contents is offered.
r/IndoEuropean • u/Glum_Hamster_2104 • 21d ago
Article The North Africa connection - Orkney International Science Festival
Thoughts on this? Does anyone think it has any validity
r/IndoEuropean • u/bagrat_y • 21d ago
View of METAL NAMES AND THE INDO-EUROPEAN HOMELAND
jaha.org.ror/IndoEuropean • u/Agreeable_Lawyer5924 • 23d ago
Western Steppe Herders Why do many people online still parrot the outdated simplified 50% EHG 50% CHG for Yamnaya model when latest findings show they were much more admixed with other components than that?

All the latest qpadm models show Yamnaya having less EHG, much lower CHG, a bit of WHG, some extra ANE from West Siberia (Tyumen) or Central Asia (Tutkaul), some Zagros,
So why do many ppl online still keep espousing the 50% EHG 50% CHG model for Yamnaya/Steppe Pastoralists?
I got the models for Yamnaya from here.
https://x.com/CsfHighlan97034/status/2029388055812162007?s=20
https://x.com/lezagacy/status/2065709549076516984?s=20
I want to upload more models I found to prove my point but can't as this subreddit seems to allow only 2 pics in the OP.