Re: [tied] The origin of *ek^wos and *o:k^u-... A mystery solved

From: Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
Message: 10868
Date: 2001-11-01

On Thu, 01 Nov 2001 17:25:27 -0000, "Sergejus Tarasovas"
<S.Tarasovas@...> wrote:

>--- In cybalist@..., Miguel Carrasquer Vidal <mcv@...> wrote:
>
>> I'm wondering though, whether the traditional explanation, that
>links
>> *o:k^ú- "fast" with *h2ak^-(u-)/*h2ok^-(u-) "sharp" is not to be
>> preferred. Pokorny's "schnell (scharf in der Bewegung)" is not some
>> semantical handwave, but is backed up by Latin <accipiter> (*aku-
>peter
>> "sharp-flying") and Slavic <jastre(~)bU> (*o:k^r- "fast"), both
>> meaning "hawk, falcon". If so, then the laryngeal in *o:k^ú- is
>*h2,
>> and any link with *h1ek^wos is off.
>
>But does h2o:- yiels _acute-stressed_ Slavic *a? The laryngeal is
>before the vowel here, after all, and Serbo-Croatian and Russian
>point to an acute-stressed *a in *astre,bU : *astro,bU. Again, Slavic
>doesn't know *a'str- 'sharp' (thoiugh it knows *astrU '=*astre,bU'),
>only *ostrU. Survival of the vrddhied grade in the hawk/falcon-word
>only should be explained.

Sorry, I don't know enough about (Balto-)Slavic accentology to opine
on the acute. Although jastre,bI is given by Pokorny as a possibility
under *o:k^u-, I got the notion from a p.c. from Alexis Manaster-Ramer
(he asked me what I could find on his theory that Slav. jasnU "clear"
< *o:k^u/*o:k^r-/*o:k^n-).