*SET-U

CANONICAL LANGUAGE GRAPH

TRACE A WORD ↗
NODE / 0307boundaryBeyond secure reconstruction

UNKNOWN

No securely reviewed ancestor beyond the reconstructed desire-and-care root.

DATE
before secure reconstruction of *lewbʰ-
SENSE
lieb deep boundary
FAMILY
unclassified
CANONICAL KEY
boundary:50:6

The trail stops without converting the present comparative horizon into absolute unknowability.

01

ANCESTRAL EDGES

ROOT OF THIS ROOT

0
*
THE TRAIL ENDS HERE.

No reviewed parent edge extends beyond this canonical node.

02

DIRECT DESCENDANT EDGES

THE NEXT HISTORICAL STEP

1
DESCENDANTknowledge boundaryboundary
Proto-Indo-European · c. 4500–2500 BCE

*lewbʰ-

to love, desire, care for

SOUND
No older form is promoted beyond the reviewed *lewbʰ- reconstruction.
MEANING
The German adjective history reaches the current secure evidence horizon.
SCHOLAR
SET-U editorial boundary
CONFIDENCE
boundary — The boundary preserves the distinction between reviewed reconstruction and unknown deeper prehistory.
03

TRANSITIVE DESCENDANT CLOSURE

EVERY REVIEWED BRANCH FROM HERE

17

This is the complete downstream closure currently supported by the canonical graph. Every displayed step is a real reviewed edge with its own sound claim, meaning claim, scholar, confidence, and citations.

UNIQUE DESCENDANT NODES
17
REVIEWED EDGES
17
DEEPEST PATH
6
MODERN DOSSIERS REACHED
5
HISTORICAL STEP 011 EDGE
HISTORICAL STEP 023 EDGES
STEP 02derivationprobable
SOUND
Germanic *leubīn is an abstract-noun formation within the *lewbʰ- desire-and-care family.
MEANING
A broad root meaning care for, desire, or love yields a noun for affection and pleasure.
Rosemarie Lühr · Guus Kroonen · University of Texas LRC2 CITATIONSEDGE 285 ↗
STEP 02inheritanceprobable
SOUND
Proto-Germanic *leubaz continues the *lewbʰ- family with Germanic *b corresponding to Indo-European *bʰ and adjective-stem formation.
MEANING
A broad field of caring, desiring, and loving develops the adjective sense dear, beloved, or pleasing.
Guus Kroonen · University of Texas LRC2 CITATIONSEDGE 289 ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 035 EDGES
STEP 03inheritanceprobable
SOUND
Old High German liubī reflects the reconstructed Germanic feminine abstract formation *leubīn, with inherited diphthong and later High German reshaping.
MEANING
The abstract meaning remains love, affection, esteem, or pleasure.
Rosemarie Lühr2 CITATIONSEDGE 284 ↗
STEP 03inheritanceprobable
SOUND
Middle Dutch lief reflects the West Germanic continuation of reconstructed *leubaz, including the diphthong history represented by Dutch ie and final f.
MEANING
The adjective preserves the sense dear, beloved, or pleasing.
N. van Wijk · Guus Kroonen2 CITATIONSEDGE 288 ↗
STEP 03inheritanceprobable
SOUND
Proto-Germanic *eu is reflected as Gothic iu; the stem-final fricative appears as f in the normalized nominative liufs and as b in manuscript inflections such as liuba and liubans.
MEANING
The sense dear or beloved remains stable in the surviving biblical uses.
Guus Kroonen · Wilhelm Streitberg · Project Wulfila editors3 CITATIONSEDGE 291 ↗
STEP 03inheritanceprobable
SOUND
Old High German liob reflects the West Germanic continuation of reconstructed *leubaz, with the inherited diphthong and consonant represented in the daughter form.
MEANING
The adjective preserves the sense dear, beloved, or pleasing.
Dudenredaktion · Guus Kroonen2 CITATIONSEDGE 296 ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 044 EDGES
STEP 04inheritanceestablished
SOUND
Old High German liubī develops into Middle High German liebe through regular High German vowel and ending development.
MEANING
Love, favor, pleasure, and affection remain overlapping parts of the semantic field.
Dudenredaktion · Rosemarie Lühr2 CITATIONSEDGE 283 ↗
STEP 04historical continuationestablished
SOUND
Middle Dutch lief continues into modern Dutch lief with stable spelling and later standardization of pronunciation and inflection.
MEANING
Dear, beloved, pleasant, and kind remain within the inherited adjective’s semantic range.
Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal editors · N. van Wijk2 CITATIONSEDGE 287 ↗
STEP 04inheritanceestablished
SOUND
Old High German liob develops into Middle High German liep with the inherited diphthong and High German obstruent pattern reflected in the historical spellings.
MEANING
The adjective remains centered on what is dear, beloved, or pleasing.
Dudenredaktion1 CITATIONEDGE 295 ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 053 EDGES
STEP 05historical continuationestablished
SOUND
Middle High German liebe continues into modern German Liebe with capitalization of the noun and standardization of spelling and pronunciation.
MEANING
The inherited abstract noun remains centered on affection while broadening across personal, religious, and object-directed uses.
Dudenredaktion1 CITATIONEDGE 282 ↗
STEP 05historical continuationestablished
SOUND
Middle High German liep continues into modern German lieb through regular final devoicing in pronunciation and later spelling standardization.
MEANING
The inherited field of dear, beloved, pleasing, and welcome remains productive, with later kind or well-behaved uses in particular contexts.
Dudenredaktion1 CITATIONEDGE 294 ↗
HISTORICAL STEP 061 EDGE

“Every” means every descendant in the reviewed SET-U graph. It does not convert missing scholarship or missing ingestion into a claim of historical completeness. The coverage ledger remains the honest denominator.

04

RECORDED EVIDENCE

ATTESTATIONS / FIRST KNOWN USE

0
NO RECORDED WITNESS ATTACHED.

The reviewed graph does not yet attach a source-reported or directly inspected witness to this canonical form.

05

EDITORIAL REUSE

WORD DOSSIERS USING THIS NODE

1