From: Sergejus Tarasovas
Message: 15606
Date: 2002-09-19
>> (originally a collective of *gath < *gwosdos, meaning something like 'foliage, thicket', cf. Slavic *gvozdU 'young forest').The semantic development 'forest' (why 'young', BTW?) -> 'nail' (*gvozdI) has always astonished me. 'Uncomfortable forest' > 'something that pricks, peg'?Sergei