Despots etc

Barrow: The Sanskrit Language
"
Roots in a: commonly insert -p- before the causative suffix :
da:páyati, stha:páyati, ma:páyati, etc., from da:- ' to give ',
stha:-' to stand ', ma:- ' to measure ', etc. This -p- is an old
suffix or enlargement which is known from comparative evidence to have
been associated with certain of such roots (Lith. stapýtis ' to stand
still'), and it has been extended to the whole class in the causative.
It is further applied to the root r.- (arpáyati) and to a number of
roots in -i: adhya:payati from adhi + i ' to study ', etc. In
ropáyati ' plants ' (ruh- ' to grow ') it replaces the final consonant
of the root. In Middle Indo-Aryan the popularity of this form of
causative grew until it replaced the normal kind. A number of such
Prakritic formations appear in later Sanskrit (kri:da:payati ' causes
to play ', ji:va:payati ' causes to live ', etc.).
"

Miguel connects the -p- and the -eye/o- suffixes to the preverb
Hittite pi and iyami/iyezzi, respectively. In its original sense
"throw", the latter verb is athematic.

Under those circumstances it is probably not too risky to posit a
causative PIE *dom-p-éy-. Now, if this verb behaved like *dhe:-/do:-,
it could form an agent noun in -t- (cf. Latin sacer-do:t-s), with e-o
vocalism *démpo:t- "tamer". From that one could by falsche
Wortzerlegung, misanalysis obtain *pot- (shortened because of *po:t-
"drunk"?). That would explain why *pot- is never in e-grade.


Torsten