From: dubbelax
Message: 63838
Date: 2009-04-16
>Doric has different rules of compensatory lengthening (either because its short e and o had a quality different from their Ionic counterparts, or there was a stronger pressure of the already existing system with lower e: and o: ). It seems that the question is: Why is there ANY compensatory lengthening in this word? Does Doric Auslaut behave differently?
>
> Doric does have <po:s>. Attic <pous> has probably been remodeled after the participle <didous>. That is also the usual explanation for Attic <odous> where other dialects have <odo:n>. As for the vowel-assimilation from *edo:n, we have the same thing in <orophe:> 'roof' from *eropha:, cf. <erepho:> 'I cover'.
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> DGK
>