Re: [tied] bison

----- Original Message -----
From: "alex_lycos" <altamix@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 11:02 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] bison



> Hier is an very interesting question Piotr. The word in question , "zimbru" is a Thracian word.

You may say so, but is there any particular reason to believe you? According to Aristotle, the Thracian word for 'bison' was <bolintHos>, discussed on this list not so long ago.

> It doesn't matter where the Romanians cradle has been, it was in the Thracian territory north or south, for the discussion of the slavic influence on Romanian language, the place here doesn't pay a clue.

???

> So, you are right when you say that the normal reflex particulary before /b/ is an /m/ in such cases. So far, so well. The verb "to smile"= a zâmbi= from slavic " zonbU"= teeth, and "smile"= zâmbet"= cf. bulgarian "zabja se", we see in "to smile" is the rule you speak about.

Any number of clear examples could be given easily.

> Now we have two possibility: -the word existed in Slavic languages under the form "zabru" too as it existed in Thracian under the form "zVmbrV" -the romanced population forgot (?) the Thracian word "zVmbrV" (V= vowel) and they learned it again from Slavs. It seems very plausible. The only point here is that the Romanians brought again to the form "zVmbrV" as the Thracian form of the word which is attested by Greeks.

Where, namely, is it attested in this particular form and with this particular meaning?

Piotr