2009/5/28 Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@... edu.pl>:
>
>
> On 2009-05-28 20:06, alexandru_mg3 wrote:
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>> What is the PIE root of Germanic *arma- < *h1or-mo- 'poor, wretched' ?
>
> Well, apparently *h1er- 'be sick/weak'. Homonymy happens.
>
> Piotr
Hi, Piotr,
Can't this be an instance of cognacy rather than just homonymy?
The relationship between poor ~ weak ~ sick is quite easy, cf. Kannada
/bad.avu/ "poor, weak"...
Best,
Petr
You don't have to go that far. Appalachian English uses "poor" to mean "(chronically) sick, bedridden." "Feeling poorly" means "to be/feel sickly." And there's the stock phrase "poor an' hard-up."