o-grade

noun

In Proto-Indo-European linguistics, an ablaut form of a Proto-Indo-European root, characterised by the presence of the */o/ vowel phoneme in place of */e/.

“Ancient Greek γόνος (gónos) is a reflex of *ǵónh₁os (“race”), which is itself an o-grade derivative of the root *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to produce, bear”).”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouno-grade (uncountable)
  1. Indo European studiesuncountableIn Proto-Indo-European linguistics, an ablaut form of a Proto-Indo-European root, characterised by the presence of the */o/ vowel phoneme in place of */e/.

    Ancient Greek γόνος (gónos) is a reflex of *ǵónh₁os (“race”), which is itself an o-grade derivative of the root *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to produce, bear”).

    1 more example

    A considerable number of derived nominals, especially thematic nouns, also exhibited o-grade roots.

    2006, Donald Ringe, From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 12
Cite this entry
APA

o-grade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/o-grade

MLA

“o-grade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/o-grade. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “o-grade,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/o-grade.

Source: o-grade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.