Re: Late

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

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Marco Moretti"
> <marcomoretti69@...> wrote:
> >
> > Why Medieval Latin? The term /laetus/ is already attested in

Marcus

> > Aurelius' times. It's of Etruscan origin: in inscriptions we
> > have /lethe/ 'serf'. The Langobardian item is puzzling and I have
> no
> > good explanation for it, but it can very difficult be related

with

> > Latin laetus.
> >
>
> I've seen it explained as a loan from a Celtic *le:t- with loss
> of /p/ from *ple:t-.
>
> Do you have a quote of the early occurrence of Latin <laetus>, it
> would be interesting to see the geographical and sociological

context?

>
> Other than that, it's possible to fit all the facts into Kuhn's
> world: an Italic *le:t- arrives in Tuscany with an Italic

immigration

> wave from Westphalia, and gets overlaid by the Etruscans arriving

in

> Tuscany.
>
>
> Torsten

When Marcus Aurelius was Emperor, a terrible plague destroyed almost
half the population of Insubria and of other areas in Northern Italy.
The Emperor established "laeti" from Marcomanni and Sarmati in order
to repeople deserted districts and to prevent agriculture abandon.
But the word is more ancient and is listed in vocabularies of
Classical Latin that don't list Medieval neologisms.
The Etruscan item is thought by some to be a loanword from Greek
(glossed) /le:itos/ "civic servant".
About a Celtic origin, I never found this *ple:t-.

Regards

Marco