Re: Irish word >>mór<< 'BIG' and Romanian >>mare<< 'BIG'

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alexandru_mg3" <alexandru_mg3@...>
wrote:

>
> II. >>mare<< Romanian word -> adj big; adj great; adj large; so
> identical
> url: http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=mare&source=
> Note: The DEX's Etymology for the Romanian word is Not OK:
> Lat. mas doesn't fit phonetically and Latin maris means 'sea' so it
> doesn't fit semantically (It's true that the 'Sea' is 'Big' but

such a

> basic notion as 'BIG' is cannot be constructed starting from the

'SEA'

> concept as root concept...
>

********
Your DEX reference derives Rom. 'mare' probably from the Latin
'mas, maris' "male". Buck explains further "in designating the male
animal of a species and consequently the larger", with refs. to
Puscariu and Tiktin. Certainly the Rom. would derive from a oblique
case of rhe Latin word, probably the Acc. 'marem' with the final m
elided. I'd say that's a pretty good fit phonetically and quite
reasonable semantics. What are your objections?
Dan Milton