Re: Mitanni and Matsya

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-language@...>
wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "David Russell Watson"

<liberty@...> wrote:

>
> After you eat the skins of the nuts, what do you do with the
> pale nutmeat?

I'll waste no more of my time with your nutty argument.
*ar- means 'nut', not 'pale', and that is all there is
to it.

> Etymology is the science of connecting form and meaning through
> transformations.

Saying that nuts are pale and so 'nut' must mean 'pale',
even when no such meaning is attested, is about as far
from the legitimate practice of scientific etymology as
one can ever get.

Analyzing a word for 'apple' on the basis of "monkey-help-
die-begin" comes to mind too, while we're on the matter
of how _not_ to do etymology.

> What I said was that the meaning of the Indo-Iranian ethnonym
> 'arya-' is not known with any great degree of certainty, and
> that the few, more likely connections, have nothing to do with
> color, all your diversionary commentary not withstanding.
>
> And I say it is known.

Yes, and as usual without properly proving anything.

You really attribute supreme importance to your grand
declarations, don't you? The problem is, absolutely
nobody else does.

> So as it stands you've still failed to show that 'arya-' has
> anything to do with paleness, and to explain what 'aru-' is
> supposed to be.
>
> For you, perhaps.

If there is even _one_ list member who's been convinced
of Patrick's notion about 'arya-' I'd be truly grateful
if they spoke up and said so.

I really don't believe there is a single one.

David