From: Brian M. Scott
Message: 59976
Date: 2008-09-11
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott"I'll go with Ordbog over det Danske Sprog:
> <BMScott@...> wrote:
>> At 7:28:45 AM on Thursday, September 11, 2008, tgpedersen
>> wrote:
>> [...]
>>> BTW norsk "Norwegian" is supposedly from ON norðrænn,
>>> which goes back to ON norð-r "north", which contains the
>>> root *nr.- "down, below", which doesn't make much sense.
>> That's a matter of opinion. Beekes s.v. <énertHe(n)> has
>> an attractive explanation for the association
>> below-left-north:
>> A good formal agreement to <vérteros> gives Italic in
>> Umbr. <nertru> 'sinistro', Osc. <nertra-k> 'a sinistra'.
>> One compares further Germanic words for 'north', e. g.
>> OWNo. <norðr> n., which requires zero grade: PGm.
>> *núrþra-, IE *nr.tro-. Basic meaning: 'region where the
>> sun is below', or 'left side of someone who prays when
>> turning to the east'.
>> The directional association (but on the other side) is
>> also found in OIr <dess> 'right, south' (cognate with Lat.
>> <dexter>).
> But cf. PGmc. *winistra-, Da. venstre "left". That would
> make north the preferred direction.
>>> Now consider this proposal:I disagree; 'north' is the only one that offers the
>>> Norther- "at the Nori"
>>> Easter- "at the Aestii"
>>> Wester- "at the Wends"
>>> Souther- "at the Sueui"
>> They're all pretty bad phonologically,
> The classical ones are pretty bad semantically.
>> but this last one is especially so: the 'south' word[...]
>> clearly had a nasal: *sunþ-.
> Da. sønder-, adv. sønden. If we assume a connectionON <Svíar>, <Svíþjóð>, <svænskr>, runic <sveþiuþ>,
> between Sueui and Svear, as some do (making the Svear
> immigrants against native Götar), the -n- in the adj. Sw.
> svensk, Jordanes suehans, MLat. sueones. matches the -n-
> of *sunþ-.