Res: [tied] Latin spissus, crassus, grossus, bassus

From: Joao S. Lopes
Message: 66583
Date: 2010-09-12

in Portuguese, grosso (<grossus) means "thick", used for size, diameter, and metaphorically to describe an unpollite person; espesso (< spissus) meand "thick" in the sense for layers, hair, liquid substances. Expected Portuguese forms would be <groxo, grouxo> and <espexo, espeixo, espixo>, both are Latinisms.

de:nsus < *dntso- ?

May grossus be related to grandis "big" or to (West)Germanic *grautaz ?

JS Lopes



De: Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...>
Para: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Enviadas: Domingo, 12 de Setembro de 2010 11:54:04
Assunto: Re: [tied] Latin spissus, crassus, grossus, bassus

 



From: Joao S. Lopes <josimo70@...>
To: Cybalist <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, September 12, 2010 10:29:53 AM
Subject: [tied] Latin spissus, crassus, grossus, bassus

 

Is there an analogous formation in the Latin adjectives spissus "thick", crassus "thick", grossus "thick, fat, large, bulky", bassus "short"? Cou we add de:nsus "dense"  to this group? Are they vernacular Latin words or loanwords from Italic, Celtic, Ligurian neighboors?

crassus < *kratsos ? akin to Greek kratos (g. krateos) < *krh2tos- > *krh2ts-o- ?

JS Lopes

***R So crassus originally meant "fleshy"? That would make sense.
Bassus wouldn't be originally Latin because of  /b-/ but it may be P-Italic, Ligurian or Celtic, etc.
We discussed grossus about 10 years ago or so and there should be something useful in the archives.