[[PIE vowel lengthening by contraction]]
# Proto-Vṛddhi
Proto-Vṛddhi is originally for forming possessive derivatives of [[Ablaut|ablauting]] noun stems, with the meaning ‘of, belonging to, descended from’’. 
To form a vṛddhi-derivative, one takes the [[Ablaut|∅-grade]] of the ablauting stem (i.e. removes the vowel), inserts the vowel <em class='recon'>e</em> in a position which does not necessarily match that of the original vowel, and appends an accented thematic vowel (or accents any existing final thematic vowel). For example:

- PIE 
  <em class='recon'>dyew-</em> 
  "sky" → zero grade <em class='recon'>diw-</em> → proto-vṛddhi derivative <em class='recon'>d<b>e</b>yw-ó-s</em> "god, sky god", lit. "skyling".

However, in a later stage of the language this appears to have extended to non-ablauting noun stems that already contained <em class='recon'>e</em>, which would contract with the inserted vowel to form a lengthened <em class='recon'>ē</em>:

- PIE <em class='recon'>sw<b>é</b>ḱur-o-</em> "father-in-law" → 
  proto-vṛddhi derivative <em class='recon'>sw<b>ē</b>ḱur-<b>ó</b>-</em> "brother-in-law", lit. "male descendent of one's father in law" 

The above example also displays the stressing of the thematic vowel when it already exists. It is this later version of proto-vṛddhi which is displayed in Sanskrit's lengthened vṛddhi grade.[^wik]

[^wik]: This is a slightly abridged version of [my first major Wikipedia edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vṛddhi#Origins)

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