> >
> > *ab- (*H2Vb-) would also conform to the canonical IE root
> pattern: *CVC.
>
> Problem is Hittite has 'appo' "away" without any laryngeal.
> Kuryl/owicz posited one that disappeared without a trace, which you
> would have to do to. To me, it suggests that 'appo' was loaned at
> some time after the laryngeal disappeared it must have had once
> judging from the Semitic forms.
> http://www.angelfire.com/rant/tgpedersen/Op.html
>
>
When I told Jens about the river names alternating in *ar-/*ur-/(*ir-
), he commented that the pattern looked Semitic.
From Saul Levin:
Semitic and Indo-European: The Principal Etymologies, 375:
"The Arabic preposition `abra has a central vowel too; but the
noun "shore, bank", according to the dictionaries, admits aof all
three vocalisations: Lane ArEnLe (sic), 1938) gives
{`ibr|un} first, which corresponmds to Hebrew {`éBer}, then
{`ubr|un}, which is most like the IE vocalisation of the preposition,
and
{`abr|un}, whose accusative construct form {`abr|a} serves as a
preposition.
So much variatio is somewhat unusual in Arabic, though not
unparalleled.
"
Obviously, when proposing relatedness one doesn't have to worry much
about the initial vowel in IE roots of the type *Vber (if they indeed
are loans).
Torsten