Re: Pard- = feline

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Francesco Brighenti" <frabrig@...>
wrote:

> A discussion of the etymology of this term (whose eventual origin,
> according to A. Lubotsky, "must be sought in the Near East") can be
> found in M. Witzel's paper "Linguistic Evidence for Cultural
> Exchange in Prehistoric Western Central Asia" (_Sino-Platonic
> Papers_ 129, Dec. 2003):
>
> << **pard-/pandh- "spotted animal, panther": Ved. pr.da:ku- "snake"
> RV, pr.daku:- "panther snake" AV, pr.da:khu- BS'S, W. Panj. parr.a:-
> , O.Iran. *pard-, cf. Khowar purdu:m- < *pr-dhu:ma-?, Bur. (Yasin)
> phúrdum "adder, snake"...
>
> The overlap between "panther" and "(spotted) snake" is due to the
> fact that snakes are frequently named after a number of
> characteristics of other animals and plants, in case, the spots of
> the panther... Lubotsky... has pointed out that the AV snake
> pr.da:ku- is called after the leopard.
>
> The Iranian forms differ considerably: N.P. palang- "leopard, felis
> pardus" < O.Iran. *pard-, Kurd. pilink-, Pashto pr.ang-, Parachi
> parö:n-, cf. further Lahnda parr.a:-, Gr. párdalis-, párdos-, léo-
> pardos- "leopard", all < *pard- "spotted, wild animal?"... , or
> following Henning, from an older **parθ-. However, the alternate
> Greek word, pánthe:r-, must be taken into consideration as well. The
> original C. Asia word seems to have had the dialect variants **pard-
> /pand-. >>

Obviously there were no variants, only one language (at least) with
metathesis (borrowed into G panthe:r, Skt pun.d.ari:ka-).
Reconstructing one syllable of a supposed borrowing instead of a
complete PIE word makes no sense. *pr,zdn,ku+ accounts for all the
Indo-Iranian forms.

Khowar has a high tone, which causes final syllables with it to
become falling and long (in at least one dia.), so a separate
reconstruction for this one word is ridiculous (kw>p, mp > mb between
V, final mb > m).

How are the Iranian forms supposed to be from a (considerably)
different form than Khowar, for example?

This is no "Evidence for Cultural Exchange", merely evidence that he
can find borrowing where none exists.