h₂nḗr
“man, vital force, hero”Man, hero, vital force
A PIE nominal root meaning "man, vital force," continued in Greek anḗr (ἀνήρ, "man, husband"), whence android, androgynous, Alexander, polyandry, and Andrew; Sanskrit nár- ("man, hero"); and Latin Nerō (a Sabine praenomen meaning "strong, brave").
Discussion
The root *h₂nḗr ("man, vital force") is reconstructed from Greek anḗr (ἀνήρ, genitive andrós, "man, husband"), Sanskrit nár- ("man, hero"), Avestan nar- ("man, hero"), Oscan ner ("man"), and Albanian njeri ("man, human being"). Pokorny (IEW 765) and Mallory & Adams (EIEC s.v. *h₂nér) provide documentation.
Greek anḗr produced an extensive compound vocabulary via the oblique stem andr-: android ("man-shaped"), androgynous ("man-woman"), polyandry ("having many husbands"), and philander ("man-loving"). Alexander (Aléxandros, "defender of men") combines aléxein with anḗr. Andrew (Andréas, "manly") is among the most common European given names from this root.
Sanskrit nár- appears in Vedic literature as an epithet of warriors. Latin Nerō is a Sabine praenomen meaning "strong, brave, manly." The semantic distinction between *h₂nḗr (vital, heroic masculinity) and *wiHrós ("man," whence Latin vir) is important for understanding PIE social vocabulary.
Notes
gsc-gap: source of "android", "androgynous", "Alexander", "Andrew", "polyandry"
Laryngeal Analysis
Initial *h₂- lost in most branches; affects following vowel.
Ablaut
Static noun: nominative *h₂nḗr, genitive *h₂nrós.