
Meaning of VERNER'S LAW
WordNet Dictionary |
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| Definition: | | [n] a qualification of Grimm's law |
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| See Also: | | sound law | |
Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| Definition: | | \Ver"ner's law\ (Philol.)
A statement, propounded by the Danish philologist Karl Verner
in 1875, which explains certain apparent exceptions to
Grimm's law by the original position of the accent. Primitive
Indo-European k, t, p, became first in Teutonic h, th, f, and
appear without further change in old Teutonic, if the accent
rested on the preceding syllable; but these sounds became
voiced and produced g, d, b, if the accent was originally on
a different syllable. Similarly s either remained unchanged,
or it became z and later r. Example: Skt. sapt[=a] (accent on
ultima), Gr. 'e`pta, Gothic sibun (seven). Examples in
English are dead by the side of death, to rise and to rear.
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