Where does “-s” come from?

-s (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Danish -s, from Old Norse -sk, from Proto-Germanic *sek, from Proto-Indo-European swe-, from Proto-Indo-European swé — self.

-s (Norwegian Bokmål): An inflectional suffix forming the synthetic passive infinitive and present tense of a verb

Definitions

  1. An inflectional suffix forming the synthetic passive infinitive and present tense of a verb

Ancestry of “-s”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Danish-sUsed to form genitive/possessive phrases,...
2Old Norse-sk—
3Proto-Germanic*sek—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanswe-self
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswéself

Words derived from “-s”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swé →Every word from Old Norse -sk →Every word from Proto-Indo-European swe- →