Re: [tied] RE: etyma for Crãciun,RomanianforChristmas

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Sergejus Tarasovas"
<S.Tarasovas@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski
> <piotr.gasiorowski@...> wrote:
> >I have no Slavic etymological
> > dictionary to hand, so I can't check the distribution of the word
> (apart
> > from being sure that it doesn't exist in modern Polish, though we
> do
> > have <krok> 'step, stride' < *korkU, with which you connect it,

and

> from
> > which, incidentally, Rom. cracã can easily derive [details on
> demand]).
>
> Trubac^ev (ESJS 11:56-58) restores *korc^unU ~ *kerc^unU, a

deverbal

> noun from *korc^iti '(to) step, stride' (thus meaning 'transitional
> (day)' or being (evetually) a translation of Lat. _adventus_).
>
> The evidence:
>
> West Slavic.
>
> Slovak _krac^un_, _krac^ún_ '1. Christmas (dial.) 2. Christmas Eve

3.

> (main) Christmas bread', (dial.) _krac^únik_, _krac^unov
> brat_ 'additional (small) Christmas bread', _krac^unne
> drevo_ 'Christmas tree; tree carried along by Christmas carol
> performers';
>
> South Slavic.
>
> Bulgarian dial. _krac^on_, _krac^ún_, _krac^únec_ '1. Christmas 2.
> Christmas Eve 3. Christmastide 4. summer solstice', _Krac^un_ 'name
> given to a man born at Christmas Eve';
>
> Slovenian _krac^un_ 'Christmastide';
>
> Serbian dial. _krac^un_ 'Christmas', _Krac^un_ 'nom. pr.';
>
> East Slavic.
>
> Old Russian (attested since XII c., including the Novgorodian
> territory) _koroc^unU_, _koroc^'unU_ '1. winter solstice 2. Advent
> (fast)';
>
> Ukr. _krac^un_, _k(e)rec^un_, _g(e)rec^un_ 'Christmas', dial.

(Carp.)

> _Kerec^un' vec^er_ 'Christmas Eve', (Transcarp.) _krac^un_,
> _kerec^un_, _krec^un_ 'Christmas bread', (Lemkian) _kriaczun_,
> _kraczun_ '(main) Christmas bread', _brat kraczuniw_ 'additional
> (small) Christmas bread', (Banat) _kárac^on_ 'tree carried along by
> Christmas carol performers';
>
> Russ. (dial.) _koroc^ún_ ~ _kárac^un_ ~ _karac^ún_ ~

_káruc^en'_ '1.

> Christmas rite, carol 2. Advent (fast) 3. (sudden) death 4. agonal
> writhe 5. evil spirit';
>
> Belar. _karac^ún_ '1. sudden death (at an early age); 2. writhe 3.
> evil spirit (docking someone's life) 4. (dial.) old, bare besom'.
>

Probably way off, but anyway...

If the sense was once "tree" or "yule log" there is ON <kraki> "tree
with branches cut off, which would then be borrowed after Grimm, but
before the last Slavic palalisation (or all from some substrate
language?).

Torsten