Vṛddhi

Vṛddhi (Sanskrit: वृद्धि, IPA: [ˈʋr̩d̪d̪ʰi]) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'growth'^[1] (from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰ- 'to grow'^[2]).

In Pāṇini's Sanskrit grammar, it is a technical term for long vowels produced by ablaut (vowel gradation), as for example in:^[3]

• bhṛ-tá- 'carried' ("base form", nowadays called zero grade)
• bhár-aṇa- 'burden' (guṇa, full grade)
• bhār-yà- 'to be carried' (vṛddhi, lengthened grade)

In modern Indo-European linguistics it is used in Pāṇini's sense, but not restricted to Sanskrit but applicable to the Indo-European languages in general as well as to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language from which this feature was probably inherited:

• *bʰr̥-^[4] (zero grade of the reconstructed verb meaning 'to carry')^[5]
• *bʰer- (full grade)
• *bʰēr- (vṛddhi, lengthened grade)

Vṛddhi-derivations

A vṛddhi-derivation or vṛddhi-derivative is a word that is derived by such lengthening, a type of formation very common in Sanskrit, but also attested in other languages. Such derivatives signify "of, belonging to, descended from". An example:^[6]

• PIE *swéḱuro- 'father-in-law' (Vedic Sanskrit śváśura-) → *swēḱuró- 'relating to one's father-in-law' (Vedic śvāśura- 'relating to one's father-in-law', Old High German swāgur 'brother-in-law')

Derivatives that are formed by inserting a full grade (as opposed to a lengthened grade) vowel into the "wrong" position of a zero grade are also called vṛddhi-derivations:^[6]

• PIE *diw-, zero grade of *dyḗu-s 'sky' → *deiw-os 'god, sky god' (Vedic devás, Latin deus, etc.)

Notes

1. in Sanskrit, a -tí-nomen actionis formed from the verbal root vṛdh-/vardh- 'to grow'
2. *werdʰ- 'to grow' entry at Indo-European etymological database of The Tower of Babel project
3. Meier-Brügger (2003, L 413)
4. The asterisk * indicates that this form is not directly attested, but has been reconstructed on the basis of other linguistic material.
5. Rix (2001:76f)
6. Fortson (2004:116f)

References

• Fortson, Benjamin W., IV (2004). Indo-European Language and Culture. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-0316-7.
• Meier-Brügger, Michael; Fritz, Matthias; Mayrhofer, Manfred (2003). Indo-European Linguistics. Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-017433-2.
• Rix, H (2001). Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben (2 ed.). ISBN 3-89500-219-4.