High Eolic word of the day: cerindát

cerindá- (intransitive or monotransitive verb), imperfective cerindát or cerindátam: to put one’s hands together, be calm (intransitive); to hug, hold tightly (transitive).

ras len cerindá-t rícevis
MIR we be.calm-IMPERF.1 murderer.SUBL
“we [remained] calm [despite the] massacres around us”

cerindá- is one of the few verbal roots in High Eolic with both transitive and intransitive reflects. Although middle constructions often function as an effective way to reduce transitivity, there are only a few lexicalized instances of the use of a single verb root in both transitive and intransitive ways. The transitive use of cerindá- is demonstrated in the example below.

már cerindá-m ma-ringal
he hug.PERF-TRANS his-wife.ACC
“he hugged his wife”

This entry was posted in HE word of the day and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *