Re: [tied] Re: PIE for "eel"

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 7827
Date: 2001-07-09

What words _are_ diagnostic, I wonder? The danger of circular argumenation is always there, as groups migrating out of the range of X (X = beech, birch, salmon, lion, eel or whatever) would be likely either to lose the word or give it a new meaning (in the latter case possibly making it hard to decide which meaning is original). The "eel" word is relatively widespread -- apparently as widespread as any general term for "fish" or any specific fish name. There has probably been semantic contamination in several branches between phonetically similar words meaning "snake", "eel" and "narrow, tight; strangle; anger; fear", hence their variable form.
 
Piotr
 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: markodegard@...
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2001 7:18 PM
Subject: [tied] Re: PIE for "eel"

EIEC (Adams) gives *hxVnghl- - *hxVnghur, and says it's a word of the
West and Central IE realms. The article suggests eels were not known
in the waters of the North Pontic (they now reach as far east as the
Kuban, however).

There seems to be contamination from the snake-word, at least in
Latin.

Adams' conclusion is the word is not diagnostic for the homeland
question.



--- In cybalist@..., "João S. Lopes Filho" <jodan99@...> wrote:
> Is there a PIE word for "eel"? Or is it derived from words for
"snake"?
>
> Greek egkhelys (dialectal emberis)
> Lat anguilla
> Slavic o,gori
> Lit angurys
> Prussian angurgis
>
> *angw-el-?
> *angw-or-?


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