Re: c^asU

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Abdullah Konushevci"
<akonushevci@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel J. Milton"

<dmilt1896@...>

> wrote:
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Abdullah Konushevci
> > <akonushevci@...> wrote:
> >
> > > My opinion is that Alb. <kohë> 'time' can be reconstructed

from

> > PIE
> > > *kWa:sk'aH2/kWe:sk'aH2 and could be also related to Lat. cascus
> > 'old,
> > > ancient' (cf. <njeri/burrë/grua në kohë> 'old

man/woman'.

> > >
> > > Konushevci
> > **********
> > For the rather uncommon 'cascus', the antique Lewis & Short
> > Latin dictionary online has "[cf. 'canus']", "white-haired",

which

> has
> > an accepted etymology < I.E. *kas-, *kas-no "grey" (Pokorny). Any
> > connection between the visually obvious canities* and the abstract
> > concept of time seems very unlikely.
> > The L&S comment calls for some explanation of the -cus
> ending of
> > 'cascus'. Can anyone comment?
> >
> > *I scored with that word in a Scrabble game. Opponent, who
> knew
> > some Latin but not enough, asked "Something to do with dogs, or
> > singing?"
> > Dan Milton
> ************
> Dear Dan,
>
> I believe that normal road of deriving abstract nouns, adjectives,
> is from exactly concret nouns, adjectives.
> In Albanian, in many contexts, <kohë> 'time' and <moshë>

'age' have

> fully synonymy: njeri në moshë = njeri në kohë 'old

man' or

> moshatar=kohanik 'coeval', etc.
>
> Konushevci

********
Certainly concrete to abstract is the normal course. And certainly
one of the consequences of the passage of time is old age and grey
hair (as I can attest from personal experience). But in the case under
consideration --c^asU -- I'm not aware of any of its few congeners
referring to that aspect of time (a tricky concept that has baffled
great minds from St. Augustine to Andrew Jarrette of Cybalist 37928).
Buck's Synonyms has for ChSl 'c^asu etc. "perh. (as observation,
calculation?) fr. the root of ChSl. 'c^ajati' "expect, wait, hope"
Skr. 'cay-' "perceive"." Hardly the most confident statement.
Dan