--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "P&G" <G&P@...> wrote:
> If the -o- grade indicates habitually doing it, this might help
> explain the use of -o- grade in compound nouns and adjectives, such
> the last vowel in me:tropato:r (mother's father).
Similar forms are _eupáto:r_ 'having a good father' and
_apáto:r_ 'fatherless'. I see these as being relatively late bahuvrihi
compounds in IE, given their recessive accentuation: *wásu-pxtars 'good-
father' > *wésupxto:r > *éupato:r (with accent shift in Greek due to
long ultima); *ná-pxtars 'no-father' > *népxto:r > *népato:r (with the
negative prefix _a-_ used at some later point, giving *ápato:r; accent
shift is the same here).
- Rob