I've seen <mbys, -t> etymologised as
<mb(ë)-> (a frequent prefix in Albanian) + *piH-tjo: from the 'drink' root
*p(o)iH- (Alb. pi-), but this etymology is unconvincing semantically ('drown' =
'drink to excess'?) and even less convincing phonologically. I much prefer Eric
Hamp's (?) derivation of <mbys> and <zhys> from a common root (with
the prefixes <mb-> and <zh->), which is a reasonable solution for
structurally similar verbs meaning 'sink, drown' and 'immerse, bathe'. The root
in question is *wed- 'to make wet', and the pre-Albanian verbs were of the shape
PREFIX + *úd-jo:, *úd-i:- > *-yz, *-yd > -ys, -yt (attracted into the
*-tjo: declension due to final devoicing). Not really maritime terms (you
can drown inland too), but surely native ones.
I don't know if there is an accepted
etymology of <kripë>. Formally, the simplest derivation would be
from *krpa:, perhaps from the PIE root *kerp- 'pluck, collect' (Lat. carpo:),
with a wide range of derived meanings (including Gk karpos 'fruit', Eng.
harvest, etc.), unsurprisingly for such a general focal sense. The Slavic
reflex of that etymon (*c^Irpati) means 'scoop, ladle out'; maybe the word
refers to the way in which salt was obtained from brine. Any better
suggestions?
Piotr
----- Original Message
-----
Sent: Thursday, April
04, 2002 3:34 PM
Subject: [tied] Re:
Post-Gothic "Getic" fantasies
It would also be interensting to know
the etymology of the words <zhyt> 'dive', <mbyt> 'sink',
<kripë> 'salt'.