Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂éyos

Alternative reconstructions

 * *áyos

Noun

 * 1)  a metal, copper, bronze

Usage notes
This is the only word in Proto-Indo-European that unequivocally refers to a metal. There is no word for iron and the words for gold and silver seem to mean “that which shines”, or “the golden” and “the silvery”, respectively. In the early Indo-European languages, this word refers to copper (and bronze), and the Proto-Indo-European word refers with absolute certainty to one of these metals, or both. This shows that the Indo-European language was spoken during a time when copper was used.

Derived terms

 * *h₂éyesnos