Re: IE right & 10

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "petusek" <petusek@...> wrote:

> Could there be ANY link between Lat dexter, Sans daks^iNa-

"right", etc. and the numeral IE "10"?

>
> The first part of Latin dexter might be seen as IE *dek^s-
>
> Many forms of IE "10" start with *dek^- , which is the very same

cluster as in dexter etc., isn't it?

>
> I may be wrong, having done no thorough analysis yet, could anyone

help me, please, and give me a piece of advice?

Well, if one starts counting on the fingers of the left hand, *dek^m
or *dek^mt '10' might have meant something like 'right hand full'
or 'rightmost'. With the former meaning, /mt/ _might_ be
*met 'measure'. With the latter meaning, /m/ might be the
superlative suffix. However, why then do we have *dek^m or *dek^mt
and not *dek^sm or *dek^smt for '10'?

Richard.