--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Jarrette <anjarrette@...> wrote:
>
> Does anyone know the reason why Sanskrit has <h-> in <hrd> "heart"
(also <ha:rdi>) where non-Indo-Iranian languages all have evidence of
*k^-? I think also Avestan has <z-> in this word too.
> Similarly, why does <hanu> "jaw" have <h-> where non-Indo-Iranian
IE all show *g^-? I remember the theory that <dva:r> "door" has <d->
instead of <dh-> by the influence of <dva:> "two" (because doors often
come in pairs, double-doors), but what could be the explanation for
<hanu> and <hrd>?
>
> Andrew
>
Dear Andrew,
The expected form *zrd- indirectly exists at least in zraddhA <
*k^red-dheh1 "faith" proving that the h- is not ancient here.
My own guess on this issue is that hRd- might have appeared in a
collocation in proto-Sanskrit *zRdi hrSTa- "joyful in his heart", then
the h of hRSTa was copied to *zRdi and it changed to the attested form
hRdi.
However, the supposed expression ? hRDi hRSTa- (or ? hRdi hRSTe with
absolute locative "his heart being joyful") does not seem attested in
the MhB (in searched the electronic version), and if it is not
attested at all, my argument is very shaky.
Guillaume