William H:
> always been curious about the origin of this word attributed to the
> minoans by the egyptians. anybody have any theories on its origins
> and any group that can be linked to this name and language?
Yes, it applies to "Crete", although I haven't thought about that word
much since I first glanced it during my obsessive Egyptology fad back
when I was 16... omg, was that more than a decade ago? :) Of course,
the Minoans were centered on the island of Crete so the Keftiu=Minoa
connection is thus born. However, where the word actually comes from
may be a different story than what we expect. I don't have any
answers so I'll brainstorm...
For starters, there is Biblical Kaphtor, and this person by the name
of Maspero suggests that the word [kftiw] in fact means "the hinterland;
the land behind", based on [kfti] "at the back of, behind". It also
might be handy to note that Minoan apparently lacks any sign of "f".
The closest sound might have been "p". So maybe it really is an Egyptian
word.
On the other hand, I don't know what the explanation is for the -r
at the end of Kaphtor. Moses didn't just take the word from King
Tut or else we need to explain that pesky -r :)
Interestingly, I've already concluded based on instances of /UNAKANASI/
that are sometimes written to the effect of /UNAROKANASI/ that this is
phrase /una(r) kanasi/ written in an Etruscan-related language meaning
"libation(s) are given". Ironically, that inscription is
repeated on none other than libation tables, so I know I'm right
(nb: Etruscan /cena/ "gift" and /un, uncHva/ may mean "libation,
libations"). Thus, the -r is the Minoan plural just as we find in
Etruscan (note /clen/ "son" but clen-ar "sons"). If so, is this where
the -r comes from? Is the -w in Egyptian supposed to replace the -r in
a plural Minoan loan? If so, what things would a hypothetical Minoan
word like *kapter refer to?
Of course, this is all crazy conjecture unless something real comes of
it. And maybe what I'm saying can be rejected based on existing
evidence that someone else knows about. It was just a thought. Don't
bet your life savings on it.
= gLeN