Piotr wrote
> > In my opinion, all IE color words have direct or indirect
reference to objects which were characterized by the color. In the
case of Latin viridis, the most closely related IE root is *w(e)ra:d-
, which has the primary meaning of 'young leaf' or 'shoot'; a root
which I also believe is closely related to *werdh-, 'grow'.
>
> The modern version of Pokorny's old reconstruction *w(e)ra:d- (it
should really be written *wra:d-, as there's no real evidence for the
*e) is *wrah2d- (= {*wreh2d-}). The most common meaning seems to
be 'root', but 'plant, branch' etc. can also be encountered (OE wyrt
meant both 'root' and 'plant'), so all right, it could perhaps refer
to green parts of plants as well in PIE. Whether it's historically
related to *werdH- is hard to say. If one could make a convincing
case for a primitive proto-root (no pun intended) like **wer- 'grow'
(?) with various extensions (say, *wr-ah2-d-, *wer-dH-), that would
be more productive than merely stating one's beliefs. Anyway, the
real question is if _any_ of these words means 'green' in any IE
langauge.
>
> The Latin form that closely corresponds to Germanic *wurtiz <
*wr.h2d-i-s is <ra:dix> (<ra:di:c->) < *wr.h2d-ih2-. <ra:mus> is
another related Latin word, but <viridis> _cannot_ belong here (or
with *werdH-). It is a derivative of the verb <vireo:> 'green over,
grow green', in which the /wir-/ part cannot derive either from *
[wer] or from *[wr.]. It must contain an original *i, and the most
likely connection is therefore with the root *weis-
(Pokorny's 'sprout, grow'), with Balto-Slavic and Germanic cognates.
Piotr, is there any connection of this construction with the Anglo
Saxon *wyrd?
Anyone?
Regards
John