Re: [tied] Origin of Latin carbasus

On 2006-07-18 15:19, Daniel J. Milton wrote:

> Liddell and Scott give three meanings for the Greek 'karbasos', in
> order "flax", "cotton" (in Periplus Mari Erythraei, so referring to
> the Eastern trade), and "white hellebore".

It's <kárpasos> (~ <kálpasos>) there, isn't it?

> For the Latin 'carbasus', Lewis and Short give "very fine Spanish
> flax", "fine linen", "cambric".
> So unless the source language can be identified, who knows what
> fabric the word originally designated?

The Indic form <karpa:sa-> is usually regarded as the oldest (attested
in the Sutras), though the word is most likely a loan in Indic as well.
The meaning there is primarily 'cotton-bush' (the related adjective is
<ka:rpa:sa-> 'made of cotton', substantivised as 'cotton cloth'). The
closer to India, the more cottony the semantics.

Piotr