A statement, propounded by the Danish philologist
Karl Verner in 1875, which explains certain apparent exceptions to Grimm's law by the original position of the accent. Primitive Indo-European
k,
t,
p, became first in Teutonic
h,
th,
f, and appear without further change in old Teutonic, if the accent rested on the preceding syllable; but these sounds became voiced and produced
g,
d,
b, if the accent was originally on a different syllable. Similarly
s either remained unchanged, or it became
z and later
r. Example: Skt. sa
ptā (accent on ultima),
Gr. 'e`pta, Gothic si
bun (seven). Examples in English are
dead by the side of
death, to
rise and to
rear.
(Philol.)