The sigmatic future and the Genetic Affiliation of Venetic: Latin faxō‘I shall make’ and Venetic vha.g.s.to‘he made’¹

Abstract

Latin has a so‐called sigmatic future faxō‘I shall make’. Scholars are divided as to the origins and antiquity of faxō; some believe it to go back to desideratives, others to aorists, and some argue that the formation arose within Latin, others that it can be traced back to Proto‐Italic. Closely connected with these problems are the questions whether Venetic is an Italic language and whether its past (‘aorist’) tense vha.g.s.to‘he made’ is related to faxō. I intend to show that faxō is based on inherited s‐aorists, not on desideratives, that the formation arose late, within Latin itself rather than within Proto‐Italic, and that there was never a past indicative beside it. Because of the last two reasons, vha.g.s.to must be independent of faxō. Venetic may still be an Italic language, but the form vha.g.s.to cannot be used as an argument in favour of such a connection.