--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-language@...>
wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Generally 'koira' & 'koer' are thought to originate from Uralic *koj -
> male
>
> Peter P
>
>
> ***
> Patrick:
>
> Possible, of course. What is generally thought to be the function
of the -r?
>
> ***
>
Häkkinen in her etymological dictionary suggests that a possible
reconstructed Uralic *kojra - male animal, was an extention of *koj-
man, male.
*Kojra at this stage did not mean dog specifically. Hungarian ended
up with modern day 'here' - testicle from this suggested root. In
Finnic the word for dog was 'peni'. It is thought that koira meaning
dog is possibly fairly late.
Sorry I don't know the specific function of the -r.
Peter P