--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer wrote:
> On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 15:38:27 +0000, m_iacomi wrote:
>
>> Italian linguists usually make it derive from OF "cosin"
>> (pronounced with /u/, not /o/; written also "cusin"). The
>> ultimate source is still Latin "consobrinus"
[...]
> My source was Coromines (Dicc. etim. i compl. de la ll. catalana),
> where he says:
>
> "Igual forma ha quedat en les llengües i dialectes de França --
> oc. ant. cosi(n), fr. i oc.mod. cousin -- i de la major part
> d'Itàlia, on l'it. literari cugino és constant des del S. XIII
> (Tristano, de la Riccardina), és la forma general i autòctona
> en els dialectes de Toscana i del Nord, i presenta l'evolució
> fonètica normal en la llengua (TopHesp. II, 59)"
> [...]
> "En definitiva, tot això venia a parar al resultat de tipus
> cosinprimu, del qual acabà eliminant-se el -primu quan s'alternà
> variant-lo en cosin-segondo i anàlegs. Aquesta és l'única
> explicació sostenible d'aquesta abreviació, i cal abandonar
> l'éxplicació arbitrària com un escurçament capritxós o infantil,
> directe, de CONSOBRINUS en CO(N)SINUS, que es donava abans, a
> descartar per les raons que vaig detallar en la meva obra
Molt bé. I made two assertions: the first is that Italian linguists
(may I here mention e.g. Devoto & Oli, editors of Garzanti and other
less known) still make the term to derive from OF. This is a fact.
The quote from Rohlfs was just pointing to some considerations with
respect to the nexus /-si-/ and was not intended to contradict the
assertion you made (that is: /z^i/ is a legitimate possible regular
exit of /si/ in Tuscany), but to complete it.
The second part, with respect to etymology of OF "cosin" (and, by
the same token, of Occitan & Catalan forms), is pointing out in
which way a part of the original "consobrinu(s)" disappeared to
give "cosin(u)", be it linked or not with "primu", this being also
the "official" French viewpoint. I am affraid that Coromines does
not answer to that: his "cosin-" part still needs an explanation.
He is correct with respect to a latter phenomenon (very common, BTW,
see origin of "minute" and "second" :-)), that is unjustified
shortening of a composed formula.
Even your Diccionari de l'Enciclopèdia Catalana gives a similar
explanation: "del ll. consobrinus primus 'cosí primer' per una
alteració fonètica complexa: cosob(r)inprimu, cosuinprimu,
cosinprim, cosin, quan cosí prim alternà amb cosí segon". Putting
it on another way: the phonetical alteration of "consobrin(u)" to
"cosin(u)" has somehow occured.
> In case the meaning is not altogether clear:
[...]
Coneix el català, moltes gracies. :-)
Fins aviat,
Marius Iacomi