They are not unknown _in general_, but they
are unknown in the languages we're talking about. Every etymological
proposal has to stand on two legs -- extralinguistic (meaning, in a given
cultural setting) and linguistic (form, with particular emphasis on
conformance to systematic sound correspondences). If either of the legs is too
weak, the etymology falls.
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 12:52 AM
Subject: Re: [tied] Wodan
Are the changes
a: -> o and u -> a unknown, allowing more
than one step for each of
these ?