--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "fournet.arnaud" <fournet.arnaud@...>
wrote:
>
> Chantraine cites a cypriot form laos with no digamma
> and rejects the preform *law- : preform should be *l_H2-
>
> Watkins says that Welsh llech is "obscure"
> although he connect llech with a root leH1-
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Brian M. Scott
> To: stlatos
> Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2007 5:06 AM
> Subject: Re: [tied] Re: H1
> The earliest form of the nom. sing. is <lie> (gen. sing.
> <liac(c)>, acc. dat. sing. and nom. pl. <lieic>, acc. pl.
> <lec(c)a>. The noun is masculine; MWelsh <llech> is
> feminine. OIr fem. <lecc> 'a slab, a flat stone' is clearly
> the better match with the Welsh.
>
> > which may be connected to the Greek diminutive la^igx if
> > from something like *Lew-n,-kos / *Law-n,-kos.
>
> Pokorny does in fact relate OIr <li:e> (later <lía>) to Gk.
> <lâas>.
I had never really considered the origins of any of these words, but
I'm now fairly sure I know them. A simplified description:
As I've said, PIE had both l and L (which as a velar optionally
causes e>a just as ke/ka in many words). So:
*LaxY+ 'be covered/hidden'
with xY (H1) in its typical stative meaning as an affix 'be _'
and the derivative:
*LaxYos / LexYos 'hiding, a (precious) thing concealed'
*LaxYs+ / LexYs+
The diminutive *-n-kos came from n-stems like *yuw-n-kos 'youth' but
later was abstracted and could be attached to any stem.
*LaxYs-n-ko+ / LexYs-n-ko+ 'small (precious) stone'
PIE > Gk, Celt:
*LaxYos > *Laos
*LaxYs+ > *La:h+ > *La:+
mix to:
*La:os
*La:+
(Hom. la^as never existed; the oral la^os contracted to la^s per usual
and was corrected with an additional syl. to preserve the meter)
*LaxYs-n-ko+s > *La:hinkas
*LaxYs-n-k(e)+ > *La:hink+
mix to:
*La:hinks
*La:hink+
(then analogy with g-stems with nom. -gs > -ks caused k>g (as Skt
pulaka-; Gk puling-))
Celtic from the opt. with e retained:
*LexYs-n-ko+ > *Le:hanko+ > *Li:anka+
(then analogy with *lekno+ 'flat stone' caused metathesis; kn>kk if
not preceded by tone)
*Li:ank+s > *Li:@ > li:e / lía
*Li:akn+ > *Li:@kk+ > liacc-
*Li:akn+i > *Li:@kYkY > lieic[c]
(where after V c(c) = k() as opposed to c = g())