--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-language@...>
wrote:
> > For whatever it may be worth, I do not believe the word underlying
Latin niger denotes a person of color primarily but rather a person
who has relatively a scant amount of hair. In Africa, darker
complexion and relatively light amount of hair occur frequently
together. This would, of course, not apply to most inhabitants of
India (or for, that matter, all of Africa).
*******
Patrick, explain your interpretation of <niger> ("etym. dub." in
the references I have handy).
For a start, is there any reason to believe that the word
primarily referred to persons, dark or thin-haired? The adjective
seems to have gone with dark skies, woods, plants, etc. just as readily.
Dan