--- Piotr Gasiorowski <
gpiotr@...> wrote:
> <spec-> and <spas'-> correspond to Iranian *spas-
> (e.g. Avestan
> spasya:). The only thing in common with <spou> is
> the cluster <sp>.
> You leave the <ou> and the absence of *s unaccounted
> for. Alas,
> scientific etymology does not allow you to add or
> delete segments at
> will. Also, the verb "observe" is one thing and the
> noun "eye" is
> another. There is an independent Indo-Iranian term
> for "eye", related
> to Slavic *oko. Why wasn't it used here?
*****GK: Probably because in Scythian "eye" was "spu"
(:=)). I prefer the lexical information offered by
Herodotus in the 5th c. BC to the putative scientific
etymology of the early 21rst c., not because I doubt
the relevance of the latter in its contexts, but
because I think Herodotus stood a better chance of
being properly briefed about these things (even if he
could occasionally garble a bit). My untutored use of
Indic and Iranic (and some of your corrections I
obviously accept) does not mean that I consider
Scythian to have been an Indic or Iranic dialect (I
also used extant Thracian on occasion). Viktor Petrov
(no mean linguist) exploded the myth of Scythian
Iranism a generation ago, demonstrating that it was a
distinct East European satem language with multiple
affinities. And if Herodotus says that "arima" meant
"one"(or some equivalent thereof)in Scythian, then I
must believe him, other things being equal (and they
haven't yet been shown not to be).==I would still,
however, like to read what you have to say about
AUKHATA, if and when you have the time.******
GK: Why not *aram-aspa- with
> the same meaning
> as Vishtaspa- '(having) ready horses' or better
> still *arima-aspa-
> 'having tame horses'? These at least look like real
> Scythian names,
> even if applied to a legendary folk.
*****GK: Because Herodotus says otherwise. Does
"arima" mean "tame" in Iranic? I know you don't like
these stretches, but humour me. Could it also mean
something close to "one" "single" "alone" or the like?
If it doesn't so be it. We then would have a Scythian
word with no known analogies in Indic or Iranic, which
is perfectly OK. You don't like my "expressive"
interpretations. But I did not invent "man-killers"
(oior-pata, the Amazons), "not 'real men'" (enarees in
Herod. and Hippocrates, the Scythian priestly class),
"man-eaters" "black cloaks" "beautifully horsed" "wild
white horses" et sim. (even if the latter have only
survived in Gr. rendition there is little doubt they
are Scythian expressions).******
>
> Piotr
>
>
>
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