Re: Origin of Demeter

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Glen Gordon" <glengordon01@...>
wrote:

> Hi, folks.
>
> My irrepressable brain has gone athinkin' agian, this time

concerning

> the origin of the name /De:me:te:r/.
>
> The thing that's driving me nuts is that everybody is taking for
> granted that it means "Earth Mother". Now, while I agree with
> the translation, I'm not convinced of the analysis of the elements.
> While we know that /me:te:r/ is the Greek word for "mother",
> we also know that /ge:/ is the Greek word for "earth". But we
> don't have *ge:-me:te:r -- We have /de:-me:ter/. So what the
> hell is *de:?!
>
> Yes, yes, *de: means "earth"... but from what language??

> = gLeN

**********
Puhvel just gives "Earth-Mother" with no further explanation.
11th Enc. Brit (1910), however, gives:
"DEMETER Her name has been explained as (1) grain-mother,
from 'zeiai', the Cretan form of eat, barley, or (2) earth-mother,
or rather mother earth, 'da:' being regarded as the Doric form
of 'ge:'."
A quick look through Palmer's "Greek Language" doesn't shed any
light on d-g in Doric dialects.
Dan