Re: 'Dog' revisited

Eric Hamp had some ideas about *pIsU as the mis-segmented first
element of a compound with some outcome of *k^wo:n as a second
element, but I don't know where or when or even if he published such
an analysis. I'll have to look further in his bibliography...unless
someone else happens to recall seeing this etymology.

Jim Rader

>
> Slavic *pIsU is a difficult word. On the face of it, it looks like an
> ordinary *-o stem < *pik^o-s, but there are no obvious cognates
> outside Slavic (not a rare situation, as far as 'dog' words are
> concerned; Eng. dog < OE *dogga is isolated as well).
>
> Since the Baltic languages have unquestionable reflexes of *k^wo:n
> (cf. Lith s^uo~, gen. s^un~s) and of *pek^u- with the meaning 'cattle'
> (Old and dial. Lith. pe~kus, OPr. pecku -- note however the absence of
> satemisation, which may suggest a loan), Slavic is definitely the odd
> man out and *pIsU is more likely a local innovation (cf. <dog>) than a
> miraculously surviving archaism.
>
>
> Piotr
>