Re: Identity of the 'language of geminates'

At 3:45:12 AM on Friday, October 17, 2008, tgpedersen wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott"
> <BMScott@...> wrote:

>> At 2:18:05 PM on Thursday, October 16, 2008, tgpedersen
>> wrote:

>>> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "indravayu" <sonno3@>
>>> wrote:

>>>>> Welsh perth is ultimately, it seems, from Lat.
>>>>> pert(ic)a, the Roman surveying instrument par
>>>>> excellence, recall the pertica militaris 'sectioned
>>>>> land allotments as payment deeded (Celtic and
>>>>> Germanic) mercenaries'.

>>>> Perth (aalong with Gaulish Perta) is generally believed
>>>> to be a derivative of Common Celtic *kWerkWo- "oak"
>>>> (from PIE *perkWo-)

>>> That leaves Jysk perte "beat", pirke:firke "squeeze
>>> out", Da. pirke, dial. perke "to prod" (with un-Germanic
>>> p-) unexplained.

>> There's no obvious reason to connect them with <perth>
>> 'wood, copse' in the first place.

> I didn't get that; so there's no connection Lat.
> pert(ic)a > Welsh perth?

If MWel. <perth> 'bush, hedge' is from *perkWu-, then there
may indeed be no connection: I don't think that the
etymology of <pertica> is known (though it apparently does
have cognates in Umbrian <percam> 'rod' and Oscan
<perekais>).

For that matter, there's no necessary connection between the
Danish words and <pertica>.

Brian