I certainly do not believe that naming grasses or their seeds had to wait
for the introduction of full-scale agriculture.
Did you never as a boy go into the your yard and eat just lawn grass as it
was seeding?
I have absolutely no doubt that men were eating grass seed of various kinds,
which they named, before agriculture --- or why would they have even wanted
to begin raising it for food?
We even know what the PIE word (*se:-) and Afrasian word for seed (Ha-se-k)
were, both leading back to Nostratic *si: and PL *SHE.
But, the problem with the zibzib's is that, if a kind of seed were being
named, the characterizing element would precede not follow the *si:; ex.PIE
*bhares-, 'barley' = 'bearded seed'.
Of course, PIE *yewo-, 'garin', has nothing to do with the words provided.
It descends from a word meaning 'many-leaved', and was also applied to
'barley'.
This is a collection of words that would have intrigued Greenberg but is
probably only basically coincidental --- based on imperfect understanding by
its author: Hittite <seppi-> indicates [sepi] not [sebi] as Piotr, I think,
pointed out. Possibly representing PIE *sep-, 'venerate, take care of'.
In analyzed differently (aves-na), it may be related to *(a)we:-s-,
'fragrant'.
Latin is *sa(:)b-, 'tasty'.
I know nothing about Georgian. Perhaps one of our Russian friends does, and
can analyze the word etymologically???
Patrick
----- Original Message -----
From: "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 4:39 AM
Subject: Re: [tied] 7-minute ITCH
> Do cereals also buzzzzzz in your first language ?
> or maybe they should zzzzzzbykac' ?
>
> Cf.
> Georgian zibziba "wheat"
> Latin av-esna "oats"
> Hittite seppi [sebi] "wheat"
> LAtin (substrate) sab-aia "beer"
> Supposedly ""dialectal"" word *yewo
You realize of course that a common word for a cereal can't have
been common earlier than the organized use of it, ie. agriculture
(who'd be interested otherwise in naming types of grasses)?
So you'll have to violate either
1) the date of earliest agriculture, or
2) the date of the split between Kartvelian and IE.
Torsten