Re: Bay

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

>
>
> Isidore of Seville says that 'baia' "bay" was used before
> (by 'veteres') in the sense of 'portum' "port" and that it is
> derived from 'baiulare', "carrying freight", and he guesses that

the

> word(s) is(are) Hispanic. Every later commentator calls this
> nonsense. Isidore also tells us it's 'baia, baias' like 'familia,
> familias'
>
> According to Löpelmann, 'baia' is Basque and loaned to English,
> Dutch, French, Spanish and Portuguese. With the ba- it looks like
> similar "waterfront words". What would be interesting is if its
> inflection (the unique thing about 'familia' is the f. sg. gen. -

as;

> this must be the case Isidore meant) reflected something about the
> underlying language (which then can't be Basque); genitive in -s?

as

> in English and the Scandinavian languages, (similarly caused by a
> substrate?).
>

Leafing through a French Etymological Dictionary in the library I
came across a 'baie': from OFr. 'baer' "be open". If that is so, it
is tempting propose *bad- > OFr. *ba- and to identify the Pre-OFr.
verb with Lat. 'patet' "is open", since the latter has the
suspicious 'a populaire', and b-/p- alternations are common in
Nordwestblock roots (cf. Swed. 'beck', Da. 'beg',
German 'pech' "pitch"). Another 'waterfront' word?


Torsten