> >Vennemann proposes a Proto-Vasconic *grandi > (h)andi was loaned
into
> >Romance (grand-) and Germanic (great, gross-).
>
> That's completely impossible.
But, but! Vennemann has writen a long, fine article about it! Which
part is impossible, the PVasc. > Basque or the PVasc. > Latin /
Germanic?
(btw the PGmc should be *graut-)
> >Now you've made an orphan out of it;-)
>
> If you insist on a proto-Vasconic *grandi (> gara(d)i), Bq.
> garai means "high, tall".
>
How about this:
"Language of geminates": *grandi-
loan into early Proto-Vasconic
*grandi- > (h)andi
loan into late Proto-Vasconic
*grandi- > gara(d)i-
loan into Proto-Latin (north of the Alps)
*grandi > grandi-
loan into Proto-Germanic
*grandi > *grãut- > *graut-
so that the "language of geminates" becomes the donor? The structure
of *grandi- fits.
I think I should presuppose here that the "language of geminates" is
not the IE Nordwestblock, but its non-IE predecessor.
Torsten