[tied] Re: Mak- < Mat = wood

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...> wrote:

>
> My problem with matar from mactare is that unless it
> were borrowed, you would come up with mechar or machar
> e.g. leche < lacte
>
> mata in Spanish is "plant" (although it means "tree"
> in Cuba), matorral is "brush, scrub"
> matraca means "rattle" (toy or musical instrument)
>

Macte, mactus don't make a very strong impression of being
strict-pedigree IE-Latin, anyway. They look like substrate loans.
Perhaps you could argue for something similar for Spanish (and BTW the
use of the term matador for a bullfighter puzzles me; the term
"killer" could be used for so many other functions; is he a
'sacrificial priest' in disguise?)


Torsten