Re[2]: Res: [tied] Latin animals' names -R (rhotacism?)

At 11:21:33 AM on Tuesday, July 29, 2008, tgpedersen wrote:

[...]

>> <salar-> looks like a loanword. It's certainly related to
>> <salmo:n-> and I've seen them both classified as Gaulish
>> words (on the authority of Pliny?).

> Ernout-Meillet:
> 'salar, -aris m.:
> sorte de truite, ou jeune saumon (Aus.,Sid.),
> Cf. salmo:.
> ...
> salmo:, -o:nis m.:
> saumon (Plin., Aus.). M.L. 7544. Mot gaulois.
> Cf. Salmo:na "Salm", affluent de la Moselle, et salar.
> Passé en germ.:
> v.h.a. salmo.'

Also a strong masc. <salm>, according to G. Koebler's OHG
etym. dict.

> So it's also a river names: Old European.

Doesn't actually follow.

> Interesting that OHG has it, besides English;
> is it after all not a loan in English?

In English it's pretty clearly a loan OFr. via Anglo-Fr.
<samo(u)n>. Spellings with <l> show the influence of Latin
<salmo>.

Brian