COGNATE WORDS IN THE INDO-EUROPEAN

LANGUAGES
-CYRIL DENISE C. BARANQUIL

SUMMARY:

Let’s first define the word cognate, The Latin words co- and gnatus, which mean "born together," describe words
that share a common ancestor. Greek ergon and English work appear to be very different, although they are both
variations of the Indo-European *wergom. There are occasions when words that have been borrowed from various
languages sound similar, like the Latin term ignis and the Sanskrit word agnis for "fire."

In many, if not all, Indo-European languages, there are cognate words that have survived. The numbers one through
ten, the word for the total of 10 tens (cent-, sat-, hund-), and words for particular physiological parts are examples of
commonly used words with this relationship. terms and body parts for natural phenomena (heart, lung, head, foot)
(sun, snow, moon, wind).

Understanding the relationships between the words: requires no additional training.

A comparison of the forms for the number 'two' indicates that non-Germanic [d] corresponds to Germanic [t]
(English, Icelandic, and Dutch). The same correspondences are perfectly\r regular in other cognates in which those
consonants appear. We may safely assume that these older consonants are older than the Germanic ones. *oinos,
*dwō, and *treyes could represent the Indo-European forms from which the existing forms developed.