Re: Greek kitharis

On 2008-12-28 08:12, stlatos wrote:

> I don't know it's correct, it's just ev. of another possible
> folk-etymological distortion similar to what could have produced
> *kithar > sitar. See:
>
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/
> <http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/>
> post?act=reply&messageNum=9936
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com <mailto:cybalist%40yahoogroups.com>,
> "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
>
> > I haven't got G/I at home, but as far as I recall, *(s)grobHo- is
> based mainly on Slavic *grabU (though it doesn't account for the
> Slavic long vocalism); supportive evidence is provided by Latin
> carp-i:nus (with formidable phonological complications, of course, and
> the possibility that English hornbeam is a folk-etymological
> distortion of a related word), plus several obscure Italic, Illyrian
> and Macedonian terms containing <grab->. I'll check the hornbeam
> tomorrow in Friedrich's article on PIE trees and in the EIEC, in case
> I've forgotten something important.

I don't remember if I checked it up then (and unfortunately I have no
copy of Friedrich's article to hand now), but I don't think he goes as
far as to connect <hornbeam> with the rest (mainly Slavic *grabU, Lith.
skro~blas). My own impression is that <hornbeam> _could_ have some kind
of connection with <carpi:nus>, the main difficulty being that
<hornbeam> is isolated even within Germanic and documented very late
(2nd half of the 14th c.) as <hernbem, herinbem(e)> (as if from
unattested *hyren-be:am?). If I were to venture a guess about the
possible PGmc. prototype, it might be something like *xarBi:na- > OE
*hyrfen- > *hyren- (via folk-etymological association with <horn, hyrne>?).

For some reason this particular tree name is prone to irregular
distortion, see Czech habr instead of *hrab -- or was the Slavic name
actually *grabrU, dissimilated in various ways? Note the -l- in the
Lituanian form, which could likewise reflect a dissimilated rhotic.

Piotr