Re: Origin of Demeter

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

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>

wrote:

> >
> > > Falk & Torp
> > > "
> > > <toft> or <tofte>
> > > (danish = plot at a building, field near the farm outside the
> > village
> > > community, plot for the house), Sw.dial. <toft>, Norw.dial.
> <tuft>,
> > > <toft> "plot for a house", ON <topt>, <tupt> id. (loaned to AS
> > > <toft> "plot"). Word is identical to <tomt>, qv.
> > >
> > > <tomt>, Sw. <tomt>, O.Sw. <tompt> next to <toft>, with which

the

> > word
> > > is probably identical; see <toft>. Germ. basic form *tumftô =

IE

> > *dm.p
> > > (e)dâ, cf Greek <dápedon> "floor, plot" from *dm.-pedo-, Lith
> > > dimstis "farmyard, farm" from dm.pdti-. The word is composed of
> > *dm.-
> > > weakest [zero] grade of *dem "house, building" (cf. <timber>)

and

> > > *pedo- "plot, yard". The real meaning of <tomt> is thus <house
> > plot>.
> > > A completely different word is the verbal noun High German
> > > <zunft> "guild" belonging to Germanic *teman "fit". Further
> > > <tomte> "house gnome" [nisse] also <tufte>, <tomtegubbe>,
> > <tuftekarl>
> > > (<tunkarl>), Sw <tomte>, <tomtegubbe>
> > > "
> > > But why not *dm-pot- "master of the plot (or house)" for the
> > <tomte>,
> > > who is explained in legends as the soul of one of the previous
> > owners
> > > (corresponding to Latin Lares).
> > >
> > > I still think all the IE *dem-, *dom- words belong together. A
> > plot,
> > > before it could built on had to be emptied (ON <tom-> "empty")

of

> > the
> > > foreign spirits living on it. If I could find a way to connect

it

> > to
> > > *tom- "cut up, divide" I'd do that, but then I'd have to claim
> that
> > > the root was a loan into IE (which I believe anyway:
> > >
> > > http://www.angelfire.com/rant/tgpedersen/Adm.html
> > >
> > > )
> >
> > And while I'm at it ruining the remaning shreds of my reputation,
> > from
> >
> > http://www.cbold.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/Docs/Guthrie.html
> > Guthrie's Proto-Bantu forms
> >
> > -dèm- to cultivate
> > -dèmÒ work
> > (-dím- to become extinguished; to extinguish [?= to empty])
> > -dímò spirit
> > -dómÈ husband; man
> > -dómÈ male
>
> And to make matters worse; since the -pedo part is related to PIE
> *ped- "foot":
>
> -pàdí foot of animal Proto-Bantu (Guthrie)

-pad foot Proto-Bantu (Meeusen)

For good measure, let's throw in som Aiustronesian


CAD (Tryon) 04.370 "foot"
botis "foot" Molbog
bati'?is id. Kagayanen
pat id. Batak Toba
batis id. Balinese
Biti? id. Uma
va?i id. Manggarai
pala-va?i id. Ngada
Ba?i id. Sika
wata id. Nengone
va?e id. Tongan
vae id. Samoan
vae id. Mele-Fila
?a:vae id. Tahitian
va?e id. Rapanui

and the substrate(?, commomly seen as Celtic loan) word in Northern
IE:

*pauta "paw" Proto-Germanic
po:t id. Middle Low German
pauta id. Provencal
pou(?) id. French

>

paw English

Some relate it to Eng. 'put' and various words for 'stick' in
Germanic languages.


Torsten