Re: Slavic "drag-"

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alex" <alxmoeller@...> wrote:

> Richard Wordingham wrote:

> OK, after so much help it ought I give the explanation I have.
> The root "drag-" exist in Rom. too and it is usually seen as being

a

> loan from Slavic.
> This word has some derivates and I will give them all here. I

wanted to

> search about this meaning since the mneaning in Rom. is one

of "dear"

> and it is used just for showing the sentiments and not in the sens

of

> "value".
> I agree that "expensive" can be seen as "dear" but they are not

synonims

> since one cannot say "this had is very dear" but one will

use "this had

> is very expansive". If one speaks about liking much this had, then
> he/she will say maybe (am not sure too much about English way here

for

> the usage of the word) " this had is very dear to me". It sounds

better

> "I like this had much":-))

The senses of 'beloved' and 'expensive' can very easily be shared by
the same word. Thus we have not only English _dear_, but Latin
ca:rus 'dear, costly; dear, beloved' and Russian _dorogoj_ 'dear,
expensive; darling, dear'. Russian _dorogoj_ derives from Proto-
Slavic, not OCS, though the meaning may have been influenced by
OCS. Thus I see no reason for _dragoste_ 'love' to have been formed
in Romanian. _-ostI_ is a productive Slavic suffix.

>
> OK, now to the derivatives:
>
> -drag, dragã (m/f/)= adj/noun "dear", sweetheart

<Snip>

> -dragoste= love

<Snip>

> ... Thus it appears just the South Slavic form is the one who
> hve had influence here on the Rom. Lang, if the word is ultimately
> Slavic and not a loan into OCS and from here it has spread in all
> Slavic Languages.

The forms that have spread from OCS start _drag-_; the differing
vowels in other languages show that the root was in Slavic before
OCS.

Richard.