[tlhIngan Hol] Etymology of {De'wI'}

SCOTT amavocet at comcast.net
Sat Oct 3 09:37:32 PDT 2020


I am curious about the etymology of {De'wI'} ("computer"). {De'} is a noun meaning "data." {-wI'} is, of course, both a noun suffix ('my") and a verb suffix ("thing which does").

Normally, I would expect a noun to to take a nouns suffix. That would make {De'wI'} "my data," hardly a likely translation of "computer."

It seems, rather, that the noun {De'} is taking the verb suffix, making it "thing which... datas (?)." Is that, in fact, what is happening here? If so, are there other known cases of nouns taking verb suffixes, or of verbs taking noun suffixes?

{jIwuQchoH}



Sent from Qo'noS


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