--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham"
<richard.wordingham@...> wrote:
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, gwalstawd <gwalstawd@> wrote:
> >
> > I have trawled through the DIL looking for a possible cognate but
> have failed. This may be due to my lack of rigour.
>
> The word might be related to *k^el (Pokorny #889, pp552-3) 'thin
> shaft, stalk', but I can't see how that helps decide between a
> Graeco-Latin and a native origin.
>
de Vries:
'halmr m. 'Strohhalm', nisl. fär. halmur; nnorw. schw. dä. halm. ae.
healm, as. ahd. halm.
gr. kálamos 'rohr', kaláme: 'strohhalm', asl. slama, lett. sal~ms
'strohhalm', apr. salme 'stroh' (IEW 612).
vgl. helma und hjalmr 3.'
helma f. 'Strohhalm' (spät bezeug!), nisl. helma;
vgl. shetl. helma 'stoppeln auf einem erntefeld'.
vgl. halmr.
hjalmr
3 m. 'pflanzenname' (þula), eig.
'strandroggen, elymus arenarius', vgl.
schw. marhalm, dä. marehalm, vgl. dä.
hjelm(e), nnl. helm 'psamma arenaria'.
- vgl. halmr.'
Root vowel /a/ in both Latin and Germanic makes a loan from the
outside possible, cf.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/message/30036
Torsten