[gothic-l] Reconstructing "Breath"

[M. Carver]

So,
we have two or three possibilities:

e'thms
andi / andw

Koebler already has *andi < Gmc. *andan < PIE *an at - meaning "ghost", which
is not quite the realm of denotation pursued here (we look for "breath"),
though the concepts of breath and spirit are closely linked in etymologies
often. I would not presume to extend the meaning to andi so far nor create
andw for such a purpose in view of alternatives. Yet perhaps, when one
translates the words "breath of life", one could be persuaded to use one
word such as *andi or ahma as substitute for the entire phrase.

We have on the other hand a word for which there is much attesting in WGmc
languages. Unfortunately, it is usually found with a verb in these languages
also, i.e. atmen, etc. Neither form is extant in Gothic, but not impossible.
The addition of such a root and its forms would be a great asset to the
vocabulary.

Matþaius


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