From: jpisc98357@...
Message: 8250
Date: 2001-08-02
The reason I'm asking is because there appears to be so many names
for spear in Gaelic its not funny. Additionally, over time, this term or a
term like it, seems to pop up all over the place, but the Thracian example
appears to be the earliest.
Dear Friends,
I am new to TIED and I am by no definition a linguist, my field is
ancient history and my main interest is in ancient Bronze and Iron Age swords
and other weapons.
Joe Crary brings up an interesting point that I may be able to shed some
light on in relation to to unusual number of names for spears.
The reason may be that there were many different kinds of spears with
differing usages. Like the Eskimos with hundreds of words for snow, the
spear would be defined in many ways, here are a few examples, you can try to
find translations that might be appropriate in the languages you are familiar
with:
Spear (generic)
Spear, fire hardened point
Spear, pointed stick
Spear, thrusting
Spear, throwing
Spear, javelin point
Spear, hunting
Spear, warrior
Spear, training
Spear, infantry
Spear, cavalry
Spear, lance
Spear, pilum (Roman style)
Spear, phalanx (Macedonian style)
Spear, stone point
Spear, flint point
Spear, copper point
Spear, gilded point
Spear, bronze
Spear, forged
Spear, hardened
Spear, bi-metallic
Spear, butt
Spear, iron
Spear, silver
Spear, gold (royal symbol)
Spear, tanged
Spear, socketed
Spear, short
Spear, long
Spear, with pack or baggage rations
Spear, long blade
Spear, short blade
Spear, winged blade
Spear, oak shaft
Spear, ash shaft
Spear, hardwood shaft
Spear, softwood shaft
Spear, light weight
Spear, heavy weight
Spear, dedicated or sacred
Spear, child size
Spear, trade item
Spear, X (Received from import from)
Spear, deer hunting
Spear, boar hunting
Spear, whaling (harpoon)
Spear, barbed
Spear, decorated
Spear, retrievable line loops
Spear, priest's
Spear, warlord's
Spear, chief's
Spear, hand gripped
Spear, bound shaft
Spear, round shaft
Spear, oval shaft
Spear, square shaft
Spear, octagonal shaft
Spear, parapet or palisade defense
Spear, sharpened
Spear, unsharpened
Now you can all add local variations. If you try to translate the above
list you may find some real relationships or just oddities and you may
understand why there are so many words for the same object. I am sure that
my list is not exhaustive of the possibilities.
When looking at different words used to define or name the same object it
might do well to keep the above exercise in mind. A herder of horses for
example might also have a whole vocabulary to describe the horse:
horse, (generic)
horse, stallion
horse, mare
horse, colt
horse, foal
horse, pregnant mare
horse, gelding
horse, riding
horse, traction
horse, cart
horse, traction
horse, by color i.e. roan, chestnut, red, etc
horse, cavalry
horse, armored
horse, saddled
horse, bridled
horse, broken
horse, unbroken
horse, stud
horse, mare in esteris
A horse culture may very well have different words for each of the above
words or use compound words to accommodate later introductions into the
language, for example the introduction of the chariot might bring a compound
word composed of the introduced word for chariot and the local word for cart
horse.
If anyone has done any work on the names of weapons, I would be very
interested. If anyone is in need of source materials on types of weapons, I
may be of assistance.
Best regards, John Piscopo
http://www.johnpiscoposwords.com
PO Box 137
Western Springs, IL 60558-0137
(708)246-7111