Re: Origin of *marko- Margus murg ma'rgas amurg

On 2008-04-16 00:22, alexandru_mg3 wrote:

> 3. Matasovic:
> "Notes: This word is probably a "Wanderwort" of eastern origin,
> that established itself in Celtic and Germanic alongside the
> inherited PIE word for 'horse', *h1ek'wos (OIr. ech). "
>
> 4. I fully agree with what Matasovic writes above.

I don't think Ranko would subscribe to your Balkano-Baltic scenario.
He's simply referring to the familiar "Altaic origins" theory.

> In addition I will say that the Balkano-Baltic zone is the source of
> this horse-word *marg-/*murg- :
>
> I. The word entered in Celtic with -k- (< *g -> this indicates a
> k-language as the Celtic Source (probable a Germanic Eastern-
> Dialect : this is 'my' Germanic *marko-)

What is a "k-language"?

>
> II. and from Celtic the word entered next in West-Nothern-
> Germanic with -k-

How many times doest it have to be repeated to you that the word has no
/k/ in Germanic? You have the cheek to quote Pokorny (who shows all the
relevant forms) and then repeat the same misrepresentation of facts. It
had *k _before_ Grimm's Law. The PGmc. form was already *marxo- (fem.
*marxjo:n > Eng. mare), whose *x can't derive from *g (Grimm's Law can't
affect the same consonant more than once).

For the same reason the Marcomanni were certainly the 'Border Folk'
(Gmc. *marka- 'mark, boundary stone', *marko: 'boundary, border), just
like the Anglian Mercians.

> 5. My opinion:
> The similarity marg-/murg-/mark- 'horse' is too important to be
> a simple coincidence

Obviously. The equation _has_ to be true because it's _so_ important ;)

Piotr