Odp: Old Persian: Zamindar

From: Piotr Gąsiorowski
Message: 42
Date: 1999-09-25

 
----- Original Message -----
From: ivanovas@...
To: cybalist@eGroups.com
Sent: Friday, September 24, 1999 9:59 PM
Subject: [cybalist] Old Persian: Zamindar

Hello,
I'm a new member to this list, interested in linguistics but actually a
dillettante. I have an M.A. in comparative literature, but have changed
my field of interest from mythology only to working with the Bronze Age
culture of Minoan Crete (where I live, well even the Minoan is true in
a way...)
I'm working with iconography, plant lore and placenames, and through
this work came across an Old Persian word 'Zamindar', belonging to the
earth terms. Is anybody on this list who can tell me a little more
about this word and possible cognates in other IE languages? There are
several Cretan pre-Greek placenames that seem to contain a similar
term. Which is the root, which the pre-and suffixes? I have absolutely
no idea of ancient Iranian languages, unfortunately.
Thanks for listening

Sabine Ivanovas
Crete
eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/cybalist
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Dear Sabine,
 
Zamindar is not an Old Persian word, though it has Old Persian connections. It is a Modern Persian term meaning landholder or estate owner, best known as a loanword in Hindi, describing landed gentry in India. Its first part (root) is zami:n- 'land, earth, ground', related to Avestan zam-/zem-/z@...-. Both go back to the PIE word *dhgho:m 'earth', which gave also (directly or by lexical derivation) Greek khtho:n, Sanskrit ksha:m, Russian zeml'a, Lithuianian zhe:me, Latin humus and many other "earthly" words, including derivatives with the meaning man (e.g. homo, human = inhabitant of the earth). It is a very interesting word family and I think I'd better devote some time to explaining it all on my IE page  in a few day's time.
 
Piotr Gasiorowski