Re[2]: [tied] The word for horse

At 3:26:10 PM on Tuesday, February 11, 2003, alex_lycos wrote:

[...]

> calo = boy who took care of horses

That's <ca:lo:, ca:lo:nis> 'soldier's slave, drudge'.

> The German word "Gaul"= old horse, or bad horse is given
> as with unknown etymology too.

But MLG <gu:l> 'war horse', according to Buck, so the
original sense isn't entirely clear. In any case it hardly
goes with any of these others.

> Question: which is the etymology of "caballus"? Why this
> "ba" there? Wherefrom should derives this word?

Buck mentions Gk <kábe:los> 'castrated', ChSl <kobila>
'mare' and suggests that it's a loanword, originally
'gelding'. (I've no idea whether more is now known.)

Brian M. Scott