Verner's law


Ver·ner's law

noun \ˈver-nərz-\

Definition of VERNER'S LAW

: a statement in historical linguistics: in medial or final position in voiced environments and when the immediately preceding vowel did not bear the principal accent in Proto-Indo-European, the Proto-Germanic voiceless fricatives f, þ, and χ derived from the Proto-Indo-European voiceless stops p, t, and k and the Proto-Germanic voiceless fricative s derived from Proto-Indo-European s became the voiced fricatives ƀ, ð, ǥ, and z represented in various recorded Germanic languages by b, d, g, and r

Origin of VERNER'S LAW

Karl A. Verner
First Known Use: 1878

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