Britannica Sources used in this answer

What happened to the Proto-Germanic sound z in Gothic and Northwest Germanic languages?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Thematic map of Europe displaying the distribution of Germanic languages, with different colors indicating regions where English, German, Netherlandic (Dutch), Frisian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese are spoken. Striped areas mark regions where bilingualism is common, and language regions cover countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and parts of surrounding countries. — Germanic languages Distribution of the Germanic languages in Europe.

In the development of Germanic languages, the Proto-Germanic sound *z underwent distinct changes depending on the language group:

East Germanic (Gothic): The sound was maintained as *z, or it appeared as s when in the final position of a word.1
Northwest Germanic: The sound generally underwent rhotacism, becoming r. However, its treatment in the final position of words varied by dialect:1
- North Germanic: The sound was maintained and appears as r.1
- West Germanic (North Sea and South Germanic): The sound was generally lost in the final position of polysyllabic words.1
- North Sea Germanic: The sound was also lost in the final position of monosyllabic words.1

For example, in the Proto-Germanic word *maiz- (meaning "more"), Gothic retained the form maiza, while Northwest Germanic languages shifted to forms such as Old Norse meire, Old English māra, and Old High German mēro. Similarly, for the word *dagaz (meaning "day"), Gothic resulted in dags, whereas North Germanic produced dagr and West Germanic languages (such as Old High German tag or Old English dæg) lost the final consonant.1