Verner's law

noun

, Linguistics.

1. the statement by K. Verner of a regularity behind some apparent exceptions in the Germanic languages to Grimm's law, namely, that Proto-Germanic voiceless fricatives became voiced when between voiced sounds if the immediately preceding vowel was not accented in Proto-Indo-European.

Verner's law

/ ˈvɜːnəz; vɜːˈnɛərɪən /

noun

1. linguistics a modification of Grimm's Law accommodating some of its exceptions. It states that noninitial voiceless fricatives in Proto-Germanic occurring as a result of Grimm's law became voiced fricatives if the previous syllable had been unstressed in Proto-Indo-European

Derived Forms

• Vernerian, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Verner's law¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Word History and Origins

Origin of Verner's law¹

C19: named after Karl Adolph Verner (1846–96), Danish philologist, who formulated it