Re: [tied] Re: root *pVs- for cat

At 6:11:09 AM on Monday, July 2, 2007, tgpedersen wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott"
> <BMScott@...> wrote:

>> At 10:31:12 PM on Saturday, June 30, 2007, Rick McCallister
>> wrote:

>>> Good, but puss also means "face" in English and of
>>> course "vulva", which is shared by Spanish mico, but
>>> this is a secondary meaning Is the meaning "face", as in
>>> "sourpuss", somehow from the animal or is a homonym?

>> According to the OED, it's from Irish <pus> 'lip, mouth',
>> generally used in a contemptuous sense. (The derivation is
>> supported by the distribution, chiefly Irish and U.S.)
>> For Early Irish the DIL has <pus> 'a lip', generally used in a
>> contemptuous sense; this appears to be a variant of EIr
>> <bus> 'a lip'.

> How common is this b-/p- alternation?

It seems to be quite rare. It also seems (on very cursory
search) to be mostly Sc.Gael. In addition to derivatives of
the 'lip' word I noticed <bùlas> ~ <pùlas> 'pothook', which
MacBain derives from Scots <bools> 'a pothook in two parts
or bools', from northern ME <bool> 'a curved or semicircular
band forming the handle of a put, bucket, etc., or the bow
of a key'; the Concise Scots Dict. notes MDu <boghel>. Also
<Bìoball> ~ <Pìoball> 'Bible'; <bannal> ~ <pannal> 'a troop,
a gang, an assemblage', which MacBain derives from EIr
<banna> 'a band or company of soldiers', a loanword from OFr
-- presumably OFr <ban> 'levée des troupes' -- according to
the DIL; and <bòilich> ~ <pòloich> 'idle talk, vain
boasting, bombast'.

Brian