Re: [tied] Etymology of Gr. SkutHe:s 'Scythian'

> From: Āąäčģ Ļīķąš˙äīā [mailto:ponaryad@...]


> I do not know if Gr. skutHe:s is really connected with Old
> Pers. saka-, but in Old Persian inscriptions (also in
> Akkadian and Elamite versions) a form _skudra_ is present

...

Yes, I know.

>also in Akkadian

But cf. Akk. as^guzai, is^kuzai 'Scythians'.

> Phonetically Skudra is much closer to Skuthe:s
> than Saka, isn't it?

But sku:ca- (or sku:ça-) would look like a better candidate (if it really exists). Why, for one, would the Greeks just not render the name as *Skudrai? On the other hand, /tH/ looks like a probable substitution for a foreign s(h)ibilant affricate.

> Though some hystorians consider that
> Skudra are not Scytheans, but Thracians...

Thus in the Kent's list. He doesn't comment much on why he prefers that explanation.

Sergei