Proto-Indo-European (PIE)[1] is the linguistic reconstruction of the hypothetical common ancestor of the

Indo-European languages, the most widely spoken language family in the world. Far more work has
gone into reconstructing PIE than any other proto-language, and it is by far the best understood of all
proto-languages of its age. The vast majority of linguistic work during the 19th century was devoted to
the reconstruction of PIE or its daughter proto-languages (e.g. Proto-Germanic), and most of the
modern techniques of linguistic reconstruction such as the comparative method were developed as a
result. These methods supply all of the knowledge concerning PIE since there is no written record of the
language.

PIE is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from 4,500 B.C.E. to 2,500 B.C.E.[2] during the
Neolithic Age, though estimates vary by more than a thousand years. According to the prevailing Kurgan
hypothesis, the original homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans may have been in the Pontic–Caspian
steppe of Eastern Europe. The linguistic reconstruction of PIE has also provided insight into the culture
and religion of its speakers.[3] As Proto-Indo-Europeans became isolated from each other through the
Indo-European migrations, the dialects of PIE spoken by the various groups diverged by undergoing
certain sound laws and shifts in morphology to transform into the known ancient and modern Indo-
European languages.

PIE had an elaborate system of morphology that included inflectional suffixes as well as ablaut (vowel
alterations, for example, as preserved in English sing, sang, sung) and accent. PIE nominals and pronouns
had a complex system of declension, and verbs similarly had a complex system of conjugation. The PIE
phonology, particles, numerals, and copula are also well-reconstructed. Today, the most widely-spoken
daughter languages of PIE are Spanish, English, Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu), Portuguese, Bengali,
Russian, Punjabi, German, Persian, French, Italian and Marathi.

An asterisk is used to mark reconstructed words, such as *wódr̥ 'water', *ḱwṓ 'dog' (English hound), or
*tréyes 'three (masculine)'.