Miguel:
> Perhaps original *(g?,h?)ma:nus was reshaped to establish an
> unetymological connection with (h)u:m- ((h)u:meo, [...]
Why not just by analogy with /ma:nus/ "hand"? Afterall, don't normally
developped homo sapiens have dexterous hands? Aren't "hands" a symbol of
humanity in the end as opposed to the be-pawed and be-hoofed creatures
with which early Italians were normally familiar with? Unless there were
a predominance of orangutans wobbling around Rome's city center, methinks
that this is a reasonable guess as to this linguistic anomaly, no?
= gLeN