[tied] Re: OE *picga

Thanks for clearing up the spotted pig situation!

"'Modo sic, modo sic', inquit rusticus: varium porcum perdiderat."
(Petronius Satyricon XLV)

--- In cybalist@..., Piotr Gasiorowski <piotr.gasiorowski@...>
wrote:

> The root is Pokorny's *perk^ [2] (with the variant *prek^-)

'gesprenkelt, bunt'; the cognates include Lat. perca, Gk. perke:
'perch', Middle Irish erc 'speckled, dark red; trout, salmon' < *
ercos < *perk^os, and a number of terms describing colours or
coloration patterns, such as Old Indo-Aryan pRs'ni- 'variegated,
speckled, spotted'. PIE *pork^os meant 'piglet' rather than 'pig' in
general. The piglets of the European wild boar have
characteristic longitudinal stripes and spots for camouflage. For
all we know, *pork^os meaning '(wild) piglet' may have existed
even before the domestication of swine.

>
> Piotr
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: danjmi
> To: cybalist@...
> Sent: Monday, October 28, 2002 10:45 PM
> Subject: [tied] Re: OE *picga
>
>
> --- In cybalist@..., Piotr Gasiorowski <piotr.gasiorowski@...>

wrote:

> >*pork^os has a plausible IE derivation and interpretation ('a

spotted critter').

> I presume *peik^- is involved. In my naivete, I would have

stumbled at the 'r' and thought of 'pigs' before 'porkers'. Tell us
more, please!

> I believe that spotted hides are found in domesticated

rather than wild swine and *pork^os refers to these, but I'm not
sure of either fact.

> Dan Milton