--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Peter P" <roskis@...> wrote:
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Finno-Volgaic *pis(´)a- "drips" >
> > Mordva piz´e- "rains"
> > Finnish pisa-ra "drop"
> >
> Estonian pisara "tear", pisu "droplet", "ember/spark"
>
> > ?=
> >
> > French pisser ('le moteur pisse l'huile', says my French
dictionary)
> > and the corresponding words in Germanic, which, because of *p-,
must
> > be at least Nordwestblock.
> >
> >
> > Torsten
> >
> You are not suggesting a common origin for;
>
> Eng. pissing down rain, and
> Fin. piskata sadetta (to small droplet rain) ;-) ?
>
I so am. The use of the root in the lower part of language register
in Germanic and Romance suggests it's a substrate word. The Roman
army at the end consisted almost entirely of Germanic and Gallic
recruits. It might have been a common substrate word for them
already then. Note that it's only Volga-Finnic, it might be
substrate there too.
Larousse has
pissou, (mot dialect. du nord de France)
Source qui coule dans un vide souterrain
(on dit aussi pissaya ou pissayat [1963 Larousse, pour les deux
formes].)
In other words, old Nordwestblock territory has two derivatives with
non-transparent suffixes. That suggests this is the home of the root.
BTW here's another puzzle:
Proto-Finno-Ugric *repä-c´,
Danish ræv, Swedish räv "fox"
the latter two supposedly from PIE *er(e)bh- "brown", also seen in
rav "amber", jærpe "grouse".
No trace of the 'fox' root in North Germanic.
Torsten