Re: [tied] Re: Why borrow 'seven'? (was: IE right & 10)

>--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>
>wrote:
>Within the lunar month the moon has four phases, each about a
>week 7 days long. That's sacred for ya.
>
>So perhaps a tendency to become a taboo word. That might explain
>the independent Uralic borrowings from different branches of IE.
>

Perhaps, although the breaking up into FOUR groups of seven seems fairly
arbitrary. Why not 3 groups (new, 1/3, and 2/3), or even just two (new/full)
? The seven day week seem a new thing, although there are evidences of four
day weeks from northern and central Africa. Perhaps not four groups of
seven, but seven groups of four?

As for being a taboo word, and hence borrowed from elsewhere --- usually
taboo words find their replacements from within the native stock. Withness
Japanese shi (death;four) being replaced from another counting heirarchy.