On 2007-06-23 21:26, tgpedersen wrote:
>> - For ukthá-, there is also the possible model of *wr.thó-, continued
>> in Lat. verbum and OE word from underlying *wr.H1-tó-, the ptc. of the
>> verbal root *werH1- seen in Gk. eíro: 'speak', rhé:to:r 'speaker'.
>> This is of course mere guesswork, not any kind of proof.
>
> I thought verbum, word would point to *wr.-dhó- ??
Not necessarily, though this is the usual reconstruction (which tries to
account for EBalt. *wardas 'name' and OPr. wirds 'word'). *wr.h1-tó-
would have given Gmc. *wurDa- even without Olsen's preaspiration rule
(via GL + VL), while Lat. verbum could be derived as *wr.h1-to-m >
*wr.tHom > *worDom > *worbom > verbum (*wo- > Lat. /we-/ before
coronals). It's often claimed that Latin must have a full-grade form
(from *werdHom) because of Umb. verfale, thought to be related, but the
meaning of the Umbrian word ('sacred enclosure') hardly guarantees a
connection. The advantage of *wr.h1-to- is that its structure is fully
understandable and the semantic derivtion is clear ('spoken' -->
'word'); the disadvantage is that the Baltic forms are difficult to explain.
The verbal adj. wr.h1-tó- gives Gk. hre:tós 'stated, specified', perhaps
with analogical regularistion.
Piotr