Re: [tied] PIE nit, louse's egg

*k^(o)nid- is the usual reconstruction. Perhaps there was an independent term like *gHlind- (cf. Lithuanian and Latin), and contamination may be responsible for the curious hybrid forms. The word must have belong to the "low" lexical register, where all kinds of colloquial irregularities are likely to occur.

Piotr

----- Original Message -----

From: João S. Lopes Filho

To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 2:31 AM

Subject: [tied] PIE nit, louse's egg

What's the PIE for louse's egg, nit?

Latin lens

Latvian gni~da

Lithuanuan glinda

Irish sned, gnit

Welsh nedd

Grk konis "dust"

OE hnitu = OHG hniz < PGerm *hnito:

Albanian theni

Armenian anic

Russian gnida (Other Slavic equivalents?)

*gnida is a common Slavic term.

It seems to exist a lot of corrupted variations of the same base.

I'd try to explain Latin as

*gnNd- (or knNd-) > gnend- > nend-> dissimilation > lend-. PIE *gnNd- (or knNd-) can explain Latvian, Lithuanina (dissimilated)

Other words point to a *gnid-.

Greek, Germanic and Albanian point to a *k^nid-