--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao" wrote:
> And how about Spanish chico "small, little child"? What's its
> origin? Could be from *pliccus < *picclus < *picculus?
Due to phonetics and history, the safest bet is that Spanish
"chico" /tSiko/ shares a common etymon with Catalan "xic" /tSik/,
that is Latin "ciccu(m)" `cosa de poquísimo valor` (to use own
words of Spanish linguists).
I fail to see why you reconstruct the series above: Latin "pl-"
yields normally Spanish "ll-" (plorare > llorar, plaga > llaga,
planus > llano, plenus > lleno, etc.), far away from /tS/.
Regards,
Marius Iacomi