Re: Gothic ,

From: tgpedersen
Message: 51105
Date: 2008-01-05

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Jarrette <anjarrette@...> wrote:
>
> Just thought that maybe a cybalist member might have the answer to a
> question that has always dogged me: What are the origins of Gothic
> <du> "to" and <dis-> "apart" (as in <distairan>)? They really look
> like West Germanic *to:/ta and *tuz- (German <zer->) but with <d>
> substituted for <t> for some reason (lack of stress?). Or are they
> from IE words with *dh-?

The former, I think.
Note Møller's example in
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/message/29869
The originally 'dangling' (Vedic, Hittite) adverbial could be and was
later understood as either postposition or preverb; Verner would have
given different outcomes accordingly, which later might have been
generalized.


Torsten