From: tgpedersen
Message: 43276
Date: 2006-02-06
>Nice! BTW Pokorny has, besides *ni-zd- and *o-zd- also a *pi-zd-
>
>
> --- Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@...> wrote:
>
> > The analysis of *h(2/3)osd-
>
> It would be h3; otherwise o>a in Armenian.
>
> > as *ho-sd- is a little
> > suspect: it
>
> They both are in verb form in Modern Armenian:
> nstel "sit" < *sit down and vostel "jump" < *get on <
> *sit onto, perch on.
>
> > presupposes the existence of a hypothetical PIE
> > preposition with an
> > uncertain meaning, reflected as *ho- in this word
> > and not doing much
> > other useful work elsewhere.
>
> If *h3o- onto (top) existed it would explain *pi-
> and *h3opi- (formed as *epi-) as "on top" > Lat.
> optimus "best" < "topmost" (as Andrew Sihler's
> possibility) and "on top" > "on back (of horses,
> etc.)" > Greek opi-.
>
> A few other words with (h)o/a in various languages
> might be explained this way in addition to *h3ozdos
> (possibly even h3obHruh- as *"on (top of) brow"
> instead of from h3okW-bHruh- "eyebrow" though it's
> unlikely).
>
>