I.
>Brian wrote:
> The Irish word is actually <mór> (/mo:r/, not /mor/);
> according to Watkins (2000), it's from a suffixed o-grade
> *mo:-ro-, from *meh1- 'big'.
I know that the Irish word is <mór>.
The same root (and derivation) matches well for the Romanian-
Substratum word 'mare' 'big' with the PIE *-ro suffix too.
PIE *meh1-ro- > [eh1>e:] >Early Dacian/PAlb *me:-ra- >[e:>a:]
Dacian/PAlb *ma:-ra- or maybe even *ma:-ra-i >[a:>a] > Romanian ma-re
(for a similar evolution of the Romanian ending see PAlb *wedzula >
Rom. viezure <-> Alb. vjedhull)
Note:
In Romanian(-Substratum) the a: remain a (it didn't switch to *o as
in PAlb)
II.
>Brian wrote:
>It also meant 'great, famous'.
This secondary sense exists also in Romanian:
Ex: 'Stefan cel Mare' -> 'Steven the Great'
url-2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_cel_Mare
url-1:
http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/istorie/hi32.html
Best Regards,
Marius