--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alex_lycos" <altamix@...> wrote:
> Piotr Gasiorowski wrote:
>
>> [...] Cf. Balkan Latin *padu:lem (from metathesised <palu:dem>),
>> which became Alb. *pëyll > pyll but Romanian *padule > padure
>
> The semantic shift + methathesis in this word sounds not very
> nice to me.
The issue was already discussed on another list. I'll quote: "Out
of being atested by some late Latin texts, the metathesised form
is also conserved in Toscan "padule". In Spanish, the very same
Latin "padu:le" gave "paúl" (`swamp recovered by grass`), while
in Sardinian one has both "padule" and "palude", etc."
Thus, while the metathesis is not localised in Balkan Latin, the
semantic shift from `place recovered with high grass` to `forest`
(probably through an intermediate `distinct greeny place with rich
vegetation`) occured only in the Balkans.
Cheers,
Marius Iacomi