September theme: Fire 🔥

Introduction

*péh₂wr̥ means "fire" as an inanimate substance (grammatically neuter), as opposed to *h₁n̥gʷnis, which is animate, elemental fire (grammatically animate in earlier PIE, masculine in later PIE).

*péh₂wr̥ is though to contain the (é)-wr̥ suffix that derives nouns from roots, though there are no attested descendants of the any other morphological forms of the root. (é)-wr̥ is presumably a variant of (ó)-r̥ suffix (the suffix which that appears in the noun *wódr̥: "water").

The root *pewH-: "to be clean, pure" is a likely base for *péh₂wr̥, though it would be a very early morphological construct, and likely fossilized by the time of Proto-Indo-European proper, which may explain the very odd double-zero-grade *puh₂r̥ form which most languages point to (which also has the *w before the *H, just as in *pewH-).

This is further supported by a few words which are independent semantic shifts between the "fire" and "pure" meanings, such as Latin purgō: "I clean, I purge" from *péh₂wr̥: "fire" or Sanskrit 𑀧𑀸𑀯𑀓 pāvaká: "pure, clear, fire" from *pewHokós: "pure, clean".

Teaser

pure, computer, reputation, Pakistan, pious, pyre, purge, fire, poppy

Full Text

• Proto-Indo-European *pewH- to be clean, pure

  • Proto-Indo-European *punéHti is being clean, is being pure -ne- imperfective

    • Indo-Iranian *punáHti

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Dardic

          • Khowar پھُونىک phuník to winnow
        • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀼𑀦𑀸𑀢𑀺 punā́ti to cleanse, to purify, to purge, to winnow
  • Proto-Indo-European *powHéyeti purifies, cleans causative

    • Germanic *fawjaną to sift

      • West Germanic

        • Old High German fowen

          • Cimbrian vöoban to sift, to sieve
    • Indo-Iranian *pawHáyati

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀯𑀬𑀢𑀺 paváyati to cleanse, to purify
  • Proto-Indo-European *pewHós

    • Indo-Iranian

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀯 pava

          • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀯𑀺𑀢𑁆𑀭 pavitra purifying, holy, apotropaic

            • Pali pavitta

              • Old Khmer

                • Khmer បពិត្រ bɑpɨt your Holiness, your Reverence
                • Thai บพิตร bɔɔ-pít your Holiness, your Reverence
            • Sauraseni

              • Madhya Sauraseni

                • Hindi पवित्र pavitra holy, sacred, pure
  • Proto-Indo-European *puHrós pure, clean adjective

    • Celtic *ɸūros fresh

      • Brythonic *ir

        • Welsh ir fresh, raw, unprocessed
      • Old Irish úr fresh, new

        • Irish úr fresh, new, free, liberal, moist
    • Italic *pūros

      • Latin pūrus clean, pure, clear

        • Central Romance

          • Italian puro pure
        • Western Romance

          • French pur pure

            • English pure
          • Spanish puro pure, clean, only
        • Latin pūrificō

          • French purifier

            • English purify
  • Proto-Indo-European *puHtós pure, clean adjective

    • Indo-Iranian *puHtás

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀽𑀢 pūtá cleansed, purified, pure, bright
      • Finnic *puhtas clean

        • Finnish puhdas clean, clear, pure, innocent
      • Indo-Iranian *puHitíkas

        • Iranian

          • Avestan 𐬞𐬏𐬌𐬙𐬌𐬐𐬀 pūitika

            • Middle Persian 𐭯𐭥𐭩𐭲𐭩𐭪𐭠 pwytyk' Persian Gulf
    • Italic *putos

      • Latin putus pure

        • Latin putō I clean, I prune, I arrange, I judge, I consider

          • Latin putātīvus

            • English putative
          • Latin amputō I prune, I cut off, I shorten

            • English amputate
          • Latin computō I arrange together, I calculate, I compute

            • English computer
          • Latin dēputō I prune, I esteem, I count as

            • English deputy
          • Latin disputō I estimate, I discuss, I argue, I preach

            • English dispute
          • Latin reputō I calculate again, I reflect upon, I consider, I examine

            • English reputation
  • Proto-Indo-European *pewHokós pure, clean adjective

    • Indo-Iranian *pawHākás

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀸𑀯𑀓 pāvaká pure, clear, fire

          • Malay pawaka fire
      • Iranian

        • Northern Iranian

          • Khotani 𐨤𐨌 pā pure
        • Western Iranian

          • Northwestern Iranian

            • Kurdish pak

              • Kurdish paqij clean
            • Parthian 𐫛𐫇𐫀𐫃 pawāg pure, holy

              • Persian پاو pāw pure, clean
          • Old Persian

            • Persian پاک pure, clean, innocent, holy

              • Hindustani

                • Hindi पाक pāk clean, pure
                • Urdu پاک pāk clean, pure

                  • Urdu پاکستان pākistān Pakistan coined in 1933, from or influenced by pāk

                    • English Pakistan
              • Turkish pak clean, pure
  • Proto-Indo-European *puHyós purifying, cleaning causative adjective

    • Italic *pwījos pious, devout

      • Oscan 𐌐𐌉𐌉𐌇𐌉𐌞𐌝 piihiúí
      • Latin pius pious, devout, dutiful, blessed

        • English pious
        • English piety
  • Proto-Indo-European *pewH-eno-s

    • Indo-Iranian

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀧𑀯𑀦 pávana Divinity of wind and breath, purifier

          • Hindi पवन pavan
          • Malay pawana wind
  • Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ fire, bonfire

    • Anatolian

      • Hittite 𒉺𒀪𒄯 pa-aḫ-ḫur fire, torch, campfire, fever
    • Old Armenian հուր hur fire, passion, pyramidal ^[1]
    • Balto-Slavic

      • Slavic *pyrь remains of a fire, ashes, cinders

        • East Slavic

          • Russian пыре́й pyréj couch grass ^[2]
        • West Slavic

          • Polish perz couch grass ^[2]
          • Polish perzyna embers
    • Hellenic

      • Mycenaean Greek 𐀢 pu fire
      • Classical Greek πῦρ pûr fire, lightning, fever

        • Greek πυρ pyr fire

          • Greek πυροσβεστική pyrosvestikí fire department
        • English pyro-
        • Classical Greek πυρίτης purī́tēs fire-starter, copper pyrite

          • Latin pȳritēs pyrite

            • English pyrite
        • Classical Greek πυρᾱ́ purā́ funeral pyre

          • Greek πυρά pyrá pyre
          • Latin pyra pyre

            • English pyre
        • Classical Greek πῠρρός purrhós flame-colored, red

          • Classical Greek Πῠ́ρρος Púrrhos personal name

            • Latin Pyrrhus

              • English pyrrhic
        • Classical Greek ἐμπύριος empúrios fiery "on-fire"

          • Latin empyreus

            • English empyrean
    • Indo-Iranian

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Dardic

          • Pashayi پور pūr bonfire
    • Italic *pur

      • Umbrian 𐌐𐌉𐌓 pir fire
      • Italic *puragō

        • Latin purgō I clean, I purge

          • Central Romance

            • Italian purgare to purge, to purify
          • Western Romance

            • French purger to purge, to serve a sentence

              • English purge
            • Spanish purgar to purge, to drain
          • Latin pūrgātōrium

            • French purgatoire

              • English purgatory
    • Tocharian

      • Arshian por fire
      • Kushean puwar fire
    • Proto-Indo-European *ph₂wṓr fire (collective)

      • Old Armenian

        • Armenian հուր hur fire
      • Germanic *fōr fire

        • East Germanic

          • Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌽 fōn fire

            • Portuguese fona spark
        • North Germanic

          • Old Norse fúrr fire dative: funi

            • Danish fyr fire, lighthouse, boiler
            • Icelandic funi fire
        • West Germanic

          • Old English fȳr fire

            • English fire

              • Japanese ファイヤー faiya- fire- compounds
          • Frankish *fuir

            • Dutch vuur fire, heater
          • Old High German fiur fire

            • German Feuer fire
            • Yiddish פֿײַער fayer fire
    • Proto-Indo-European *ph₂wén-s fire-place

      • Old Armenian

        • Armenian հնոց hnocʿ oven, furnace
    • Proto-Indo-European *pe-péh₂wr̥

      • Italic *papāwer

        • Latin papāver poppy, seed

          • Central Romance

            • Italian papavero poppy
          • Western Romance

            • French pavot poppy
            • Andalusi Arabic ḥappapáwr poppy probably with influence from حب ḥabb: "seeds"

              • Spanish ababol red poppy, absent-minded person, simpleton

                • Spanish amapola poppy
          • Old English popiġ poppy

            • English poppy
          • Translingual Papaver taxonomic genus of poppies

Visual

Collected English words

pure, purify, putative, amputate, computer, deputy, dispute, reputation, Pakistan, pious, piety, pyro-, pyrite, pyre, pyrrhic, empyrean, purge, purgatory, fire, poppy, Papaver

Footnotes

1. ^

   In Old Armenian հուր hur, the meaning of "pyramidal" is based on a mistaken idea that Greek πυραμίς/πυραμίδα pūramís/pyramída: "pyramid" has related to πῦρ pûr: "fire". (The origin of Greek πυραμίς remains unsolved.)

2. ^

   I'm not entirely sure what the "couch grass" thing is about. I've heard, but not confirmed, that couch grass was sometimes used as incense in medieval Europe.