[tied] Re: Loans from afar

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...>
wrote:

> At 10:37:17 AM on Saturday, April 23, 2005, elmeras2000
> wrote:
>
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen"
> > <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
> >>>> cf. ON beita "let graze".
>
> >>> What's wrong with the usual explanation of it as a
> >>> causative of <bíta> 'to bite'?
>
> >> I don't like the semantics. "Make bite"? You'd expect
> >> "bite" itself to turn up in connection with grazing, but
> >> it doesn't, afaIk.
>
> > But as far as Zoëga's ON Dictionary knows it does. The
> > first idiom given under bíta is bíta gras or just bíta,
> > meaning 'graze'.
>
> And Cleasby, Vigfússon, & Craigie adds to that, citing <bíta
> gras>, <bíta lauf> ('leaf, foliage'), and <bíta skóg>
> ('wood') from Grágás and <hvar hestar þínir bitu gras> from
> Vatnsdæla saga.
>

Well, then I'll do a 180 and claim that both are related to the
*pah2- root.

Torsten