Yoïn van Spijk on Nostr: There are two types of words for 9 in the Germanic languages. Type 1 is g-less: e.g. ...

There are two types of words for 9 in the Germanic languages.

Type 1 is g-less:
e.g. German 'neun', Swedish 'nio'.

Type 2 does have a g:
e.g. Dutch 'negen', Frisian 'njoggen'.

You'd think that English 'nine' is type 1, but it used to have a g too: in Old English, it was 'nigon'. It lost its g in Middle English.

So did 'neun' and 'nio' lose their g too?
No, they've never had one.

The g only evolved in the north-western branch of West Germanic.

My new graphic tells you all about it.