The Germanic reflexes of PIE *-sr- in the context of Verner’s Law

Abstract

The paper reconsiders the fate of medial *-sr- in Germanic, especially in the context of Verner's Law. It is argued that the epenthesis of *-t- took place later than the voicing of *-s- by Verner's Law and did not apply to the Vernerian variant *-zr-. Instead, I propose that the pre-rhotic *z was lost, resulting, when possible, in a compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel. Several novel etymologies are offered to support this proposal, and some of its ramifications are explored, including the derivation of the word for 'spring' in Latin and Germanic and the structure of the Germanic words for the four cardinal points.