Canonical edges, each carrying form and meaning history.
THE CHANGE ATLAS
WORD FAMILIES ↗EVERY REVIEWED EDGE / TWO HISTORIES EACH
FORM → MEANING → EVIDENCEHOW WORDS MOVE.
HOW MEANINGS MUTATE.
A global atlas of every reviewed transformation in the graph—from lost vowels and borrowed spellings to meanings narrowed, inverted, elevated, and remade.
EVERY TRANSFORMATION
IS A CLAIM.
Every edge names the linked forms, relationship, sound history, semantic history, scholar, confidence, chronology when known, and the sources that warrant it. Search the language of change without flattening it.
No reviewed edge is allowed to omit what changed in form.
No reviewed edge is allowed to omit what changed in meaning.
515 distinct sources support the edge ledger.
Named analyses remain attached instead of becoming anonymous fact.
Borrowing, inheritance, derivation, uncertainty, and more stay distinct.
011025 MATCHING EDGES
SEARCH THE TRANSFORMATIONS
FOLLOW CHANGE ITSELF.
all changeSearch form and meaning togethersound historySearch phonological and formal changemeaning historySearch mutation in sense and use
The atlas searches the exact reviewed prose and authoritative edge labels. It does not manufacture universal “sound laws” or semantic categories by guessing from descriptions.
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ALL TRANSFORMATIONS
1025 EVIDENCE-BACKED CHANGES
EDGE685established
Germanic *traustam is an abstract noun formation related to *treuwaz.
Firm or faithful becomes confidence, reliance, or firmness.
CHRONOLOGYBoth Germanic forms are reconstructed.
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EDGE688established
Present-Day Englishtrothpledged fidelity, good faith, or betrothal→Middle Englishtrouthtruth, troth, pledged fidelity
Modern troth continues Middle English trouth with regular English spelling and sound development.
Pledged fidelity narrows a historical noun that also covered truth and loyalty.
CHRONOLOGYMerriam-Webster reports noun use in the twelfth century.
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EDGE689established
Middle English trouth continues Old English trēowþ.
Truth, faith, and pledged fidelity remain joined before later lexical specialization.
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EDGE694established
Modern betroth continues Middle English bitrouthen with regular English spelling and sound development.
The marriage promise remains the specialized sense.
CHRONOLOGYMerriam-Webster reports use in the fourteenth century.
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EDGE695established
Middle Englishbitrouthenpromise or pledge in marriage→Middle Englishtrouthtruth, troth, pledged fidelity
Middle English bitrouthen contains trouth as its lexical member; bi- or be- follows a second canonical parent.
A pledge of truth or troth specializes as a promise in marriage.
CHRONOLOGYThe prefix branch is separately modeled and cited.
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EDGE701established
Present-Day Englishtrucetemporary suspension of hostilities by agreement→Middle Englishtrewesagreements, pledges
Modern singular truce continues Middle English trewes after the inherited plural was reanalyzed as a singular form.
Agreements or pledges specialize as a temporary suspension of hostilities.
CHRONOLOGYMerriam-Webster reports noun use in the thirteenth century.
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EDGE702established
Middle English plural trewes is formed on singular trewe and later supplies the English singular truce.
Multiple agreements or pledges furnish the form reanalyzed for one suspension of hostilities.
CHRONOLOGYThe cited dictionary explicitly marks trewes as plural.
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EDGE703established
Middle English trewe continues Old English trēow in the pledge and fidelity sense.
A pledge or agreement continues the older fidelity noun.
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EDGE704established
Old English trēow continues reconstructed Germanic *treuwō in the pledge branch.
Pledge and fidelity remain the semantic center.
CHRONOLOGYThe Germanic noun is reconstructed.
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EDGE705established
Proto-Germanic*treuwōpledge, fidelity→Proto-Indo-European*drew-o-firm or steadfast formation; wood or pledge branch
Germanic *treuwō continues the reconstructed suffixed formation *drew-o-.
A firmness formation develops the pledge and fidelity noun.
CHRONOLOGYBoth forms are reconstructed.
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EDGE706established
Proto-Indo-European*drew-o-firm or steadfast formation; wood or pledge branch→Proto-Indo-European*deru-be firm, solid, steadfast; wood, tree
Reconstructed *drew-o- is a suffixed formation under *deru-.
Firmness supports both wood and pledge branches without making one descendant the parent of the other.
CHRONOLOGYComparative morphology; no single date or token is claimed.
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EDGE708established
Modern tree continues the Middle English plant noun through regular English spelling and sound history.
The woody plant remains central while branching diagrams and structures develop as extensions.
CHRONOLOGYMerriam-Webster reports use before the twelfth century.
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EDGE709established
Middle English tree continues Old English trēow in the wood and plant sense.
Tree and wood remain the semantic center.
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EDGE710established
Old English trēow continues reconstructed Germanic *trewam in the tree branch.
The inherited noun denotes tree or wood.
CHRONOLOGYThe Germanic noun is reconstructed.
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EDGE711established
Proto-Germanic*trewamtree, wood→Proto-Indo-European*drew-o-firm or steadfast formation; wood or pledge branch
Germanic *trewam continues the reconstructed suffixed formation *drew-o-.
A firmness formation develops the wood and tree noun.
CHRONOLOGYBoth forms are reconstructed.
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EDGE714established
Middle Englishbitrouthenpromise or pledge in marriage→Middle Englishbi-/be-prefix used in bitrouthen
Middle English bi- or be- remains visible at the left edge of bitrouthen.
The prefix helps form the pledge verb without supplying the lexical fidelity noun.
CHRONOLOGYMiddle English formation; no single coinage date is asserted.
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EDGE715established
Middle Englishbi-/be-prefix used in bitrouthen→Old Englishbi-/be-by, near; prefix with several later functions
Middle English bi-/be- continues Old English bi-/be- with form and functions preserved across the period boundary.
A historically locative prefix broadens across English word formations.
CONFIDENCE NOTEThe entry publishes several prefix functions; this edge does not force one gloss onto every formation.
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EDGE717established
Present-Day Englishrightcorrect, just, proper, straight, or right-side→Middle Englishrightright, just, straight
Modern right continues Middle English right through English spelling and sound history.
Justice, correctness, suitability, straightness, and direction remain part of a polysemous word.
CHRONOLOGYMerriam-Webster reports use before the twelfth century.
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EDGE718established
Middle English right continues Old English riht.
The inherited field joins straight, correct, and just.
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EDGE719established
Old English riht reflects Germanic *rehtaz through regular West Germanic history.
The Germanic adjective retains right, just, correct, and straight senses.
CHRONOLOGYThe parent is reconstructed rather than directly attested.
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EDGE720established
Proto-Germanic*rehtazright, just, correct, straight→Proto-Indo-European*reg-to-directed straight; right
Germanic *rehtaz reflects reconstructed *reg-to- with the expected Germanic consonant history.
A straight or directed formation supports correctness and rightness.
CHRONOLOGYBoth stages before Old English are comparative reconstructions.
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EDGE721established
Proto-Indo-European*reg-to-directed straight; right→Proto-Indo-European*h₃reg-move in a straight line; direct, lead, rule
Reconstructed *reg-to- is a suffixed formation under centum *h₃reg-.
The formation specializes the straight-and-direct root as a right or straight adjective.
CHRONOLOGYComparative morphology, not one dated coinage event.
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EDGE722established
Proto-Indo-European*h₃reg-move in a straight line; direct, lead, rule→Proto-Indo-European*h₃reg̑-move in a straight line; direct, lead, rule
Centum *h₃reg- reflects the oldest published form *h₃reg̑-.
The straight, direct, lead, and rule field is preserved across the reconstructed notation.
CHRONOLOGYBoth nodes are reconstructed analytical forms, not separately attested words.
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EDGE724established
Present-Day Englishruleguide, standard, authority, or measuring straightedge→Middle Englishreuleguide for proper action; rule
Modern rule continues Middle English reule through English spelling and pronunciation history.
A guide for action expands across standards, authority, procedures, and measurement.
CHRONOLOGYMerriam-Webster reports use in the thirteenth century.
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03
READ THE EDGE, NOT JUST THE WORD
TWO HISTORIES TRAVEL TOGETHER.
Pronunciation, spelling, morphology, loss, insertion, adaptation, and regular historical development.
Narrowing, broadening, metaphor, social reanalysis, technical specialization, and meaning retained.
Attested forms, reconstructed forms marked by *, and explicit knowledge boundaries never share one certainty label.
Scholar, confidence, chronology, source stance, locator, and evidence note remain attached to the atomic edge.