-(i)i̯-

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Type:	derivational
Function:	appositive, individualising, agentive, patronymic
Language:	Celtic
Phonemic analysis:	-/ii̯/-, -/i̯/-, -/e/-
From PIE:	*-/(i)i̯/-
From Proto-Celtic:	*-/(i)i̯/-
Attestation:	)aki??ios, )aniui, )ionios, )iponia, )kionei, )otukios, aesia, akiui, alios, anareuiśeos, anokopokios, arki, atbiti, aterio, atios, aśkoneti, aśkonetio, ciami, eluveitie, esonius, esopnio, kalatiknos, koilios, koiśa, komeuios, komoneos, kopiu, laniakios, letiu, lukios, matikios, matopokios, miliarios, naxom, naśom, nimonikna, otiui, piriχio, piuotialui, plioiso, plios, polios, pompeteχuaios, pruiam, pusionis, ritilio(, rolios, sekezos, setupokios, sipionios... further results

Commentary

The derivational suffix *-(i)i̯o-, originally expressing appurtenance to a nominal base, appears in a number of functions in Celtic. See Balles 2000 on the origin and distribution of the allomorphs *-ii̯o- and *-i̯o- in PIE, which was abandoned in most branches and is not intact in any of the Insular Celtic languages (on the Goidelic and Britannic situation Balles 1999). The rationale behind the distribution in Continental Celtic is unknown, and the form of the suffix is impossible to determine in most individual cases – Balles suggests (for PIE) that shortening in long word forms played a part; some form of Sievers' law may have been active in PC. The suffix is therefore written as -(i)i̯- in all cases except where a particular suffix form can be argued (e.g. where palatalisation indicates -i̯-, cf. e.g. sekezos). -ii̯o- is used as a patronymic suffix in southern Gaulish, especially Gallo-Greek inscriptions, where in about a third of cases it appears written with epsilon, indicating a lowering of unstressed /i/ and thus the syllabic allomorph; the glide is not written in these cases, e.g. RIIG VAU-13-01 (RIG G-153) σεγομαρος ουιλλονεος, GAR-10-05 (G-207) εσκιγγορειξ κονδιλλεος, BDR-12-07 (G-69) βι⁽λ̣λ̣⁾ι̣⁽μο⁾ς λιτουμαρεος (see Lejeune 1971: 52 with n. 128, Evans 1972: 181, Lambert 1994: 83; full lists of potential attestations of both variants in Lejeune 1985: 453 f.).

Corinna Salomon

Bibliography

Balles 1999	Irene Balles, "Zu den britannischen *i̯o-Stämmen und ihren idg. Quellen", in: Stefan Zimmer, Rolf Ködderitzsch, Arndt Wigger (eds), Akten des zweiten deutschen Keltologensymposiums (Bonn, 2.–4. April 1997) [= Buchreihe der Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 17], Tübingen: Niemeyer 1999, 4–22.
Balles 2000	Irene Balles, "Reduktionserscheinungen in langen Wortformen als Ursprung morphologischer Doppelformen im Urindogermanischen: die Suffixformen *i̯o und *ii̯o", Die Sprache 39/2 (1997 [2000]), 141–167.
Evans 1972	D. Ellis Evans, "A comparison of the formation of some Continental and early Insular Celtic personal names", Études Celtiques 13/1 (1972), 171–193.