Devi and Vrkis feminines

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In Vedic Sanskrit, the Devī and Vṛkīs inflections are two types of inflection of feminine ī-stems.

[edit] Vrkis

The Vṛkīs inflection exhibits an ablaut pattern different from its counterpart, the Devī inflection. The distinguishing feature of this inflection is that the ī is always accented (excepting the Vocative), and that the Nominative singular has the desinence -s, like non-feminine words. Indeed, while Vṛkīs-words are overwhelmingly of the feminine gender, there are a few members of the class that belong to the masculine gender, or are gender indeterminate, e.g. rathī- "wain-driver, charioteer" (often applied to Agni, who trafficks sacrificial offerings and divine boons between mortals and immortals).

The inflectional type is usually accepted to reach back into Proto-Indo-European times, with an exact correspondence of Sanskrit vṛkīs and Old Norse ylgr, both meaning "she-wolf", first described by Karl Verner in 1877 (see Verner's law). The distinction between Devi and Vrkis dies out in during the Vedic period, and Panini is not aware of it, classifying the ī-stems by their accentuation (Vrkis words are a subset of NīS).

[edit] Devi

The Devi inflection exhibits an ablaut pattern different from its counterpart, the Vrkis inflection. Panini does not make the distinction, classifying the ī-stems by their accentuation (Devi words may be NiiN, NiiP or NiiS).