Re[2]: [tied] Gemination in Celtic

At 9:13:18 AM on Sunday, March 30, 2008, Anders R.
Joergensen wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "fournet.arnaud"

[...]

>>> makk "eat"
>>> smag "taste"

>> What Celtic words are you thinking of?

>> French mâcher < *makk-

> Isn't this just from Lat. mastica:re? (and the <^> in
> French usually implies the existence of a lost <s>,
> confirmed by the Old(?) French maschier)

Definitely OFr: Greimas gives a date of 1190, citing
Godefroy (~1190 in Petit Robert).

<http://atilf.atilf.fr/dendien/scripts/tlfiv4/showps.exe?p=combi.htm;java=no>
moves it back to ~1185, quoting Marie de France, Purgatoire
St Patrice, 413 ds T.-L.: <E cele denz que vus avez,
Qu'unkes vïande ne mascha>.

I'm no expert, but OFr <maschier> looks to me like a regular
outcome of VLat. <masticare>.

Brian