proethnic
adjUK /pɹəʊˈɛθ.nɪk/ · US /pɹoʊˈɛθ.nɪk/
Etymology From pro- + ethnic.
1
Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences of or pertaining to the period prior to the split of the Proto-Indo-European language into the Indo-European language family
- The original meaning of the root is 'put'; but, from the proethnic period, a secondary development in the line ('set,' 'establish,' and so) 'make,' 'do,' is clear.1888, Charles Rockwell Lanman, A Sanskrit reader: With Vocabulary and Notes, Ginn and Company, page 175:
- Since νς + consonant lost its y in proethnic Greek (77.2), the same would be true of final νς in close combination with a following word beginning with a consonant.1910, Carl Darling Buck, Introduction to the study of the Greek dialects; grammar, selected inscriptions, glossary, Ginn and Company, page 63: