From: G&P
Message: 66407
Date: 2010-08-10
Perhaps because gender does not ultimately depend on what the object is, but the way the noun is formed. Consider das Mädchen (girl of any age, neuter) in German. The suffix makes it neuter, not any psychological de-animation of women. So look at the word-formation of sto:laz and *sedlam, rather than at the meaning.
Peter
>I was actually thinking
of why *sto:laz "chair" is masculine in Germanic, while *sedlam
"seat" is, if I'm not mistaken, neuter, and things like that.