Sorry, Joao, but *tunuz > *etunaz is too
incredible to merit discussion. Besides, there is no independent evidence for
reconstructing PIE *d@... (not a very plausible noun, either)
'giant'.
But *ednos for the "ettin" word (the
canonical PGmc form should be quoted as *itunaz) wouldn't work either, not even
phonologically: an epenthetic *-u- has got no business to appear after a light
syllable, so hypothetical *ednos would have given *ittaz with -tt- via Kluge's
Law (nasal assimilation). The Old English word for "giant" would have been *ett
rather than eoten.
Here's a bran'-new etymology. I'd like to
propose that *itunaz derives from PIE heteroclitic *o(:)dwl, *odulo-/*oduno-,
*edwo:l, *eduno- 'pain, pang, evil' (reconstructed in a slightly different shape
in the EIEC), which may or may not be connected with *h1ed- 'eat' (allegedly via
"biting pain" or "pain that eats at you") -- but I would tentatively suggest a
link with *od- 'hate, regard as evil' (Latin o:di:). Here are more
cognates:
Hitt. idalus, Luw. adduwal- 'bad,
evil'
Toch. yolo 'evil' <
*edwol-o:n
Gk. odune: 'pain'
OE atol 'savage, terrible' (thus
formulaically of trolls and dragons in Beowulf)
Of course the derivation is
straightforward: *edunos > *itunaz.
Piotr
---- Original Message ----
From: João Simões Lopes Filho <jodan99@...>
Date: Thu Feb 15, 2001
11:00pm
Subject: JOETUNN x DANAVA
What's the etymology of
JOETUNN?
The usual explanation is:
Joetunn < PGerm *Etunaz < *ed- "
to eat"
The meaning seemed to be "eater", but *-nos is a passive suffix, isnt
it?
And if...
*Etunaz < (with influence of et- "to
eat") < *Tunaz < *DnNOS or *DnNUS (with *etunuz > etunaz
?)
This DnNOS/-US remember Indian DANAVA- (sons of
DANU).
So, what you think about a *DnNOS meaning "giant"
?
Or a word similar to Dana(w)os, Danaan ?