Re: Greek labiovelars

>
> > *gWHer-; gorim (I warm) OIr; gwre:s (heat) Welsh
>
> The <w> is a vowel; this is /gure:s/. Also, it may be an
> idiosyncratic development; Pokorny gives <groez>, <grouez>
> as the Breton cognates and refers the reader to Pedersen for
> an explanation of the <w>.
>

Actually, no. The <w> in <gwres> is consonantal, as in <gwraig>,
"woman." Earlier it seems to have been spelled <gwre^s>, per cites
in _Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru_, but the accent is no longer used
here. According to Pedersen, "durch einen meist nicht-
lautgesetzlichen Vorgang ist im Britischen nicht selten <gw> an die
Stelle eines <g> getreten." He gives a number of examples (VGkS p.
96).

> > *gWHen-d-; geind (wedge) Ir; guenn M. Breton
>
> OIr <genn> (I presume from *<gend>) 'a wedge, a block of
> wood'; Pokorny gives Br <genn>, MCo <genow>, Co <gedn>, and
> W <gaing> and derives the lot from *gHe(n)d-. The MBr form
> is clearly not representative.

I agree. Modern Breton is also <genn>.

>
> Brian
>

Jim Rader