W dniu 2011-08-07 02:29, stlatos pisze:
> The presence of * ermana- \ irmina- \ irmuna- and the names Herminones,
> Hermunduri \ Hermanduri (showing the same u\i\a alt.), make older Gmc *
> xermana- \ xirmina- \ xirmuna- likely ( < x() = h() , as most PIE words
> started w C not V), with * xermana- >> Germa:no- , possibly including
> the influence of folk etymology.
An unetymological <h-> is unprecedented in (non-Latinised) Germanic, but
fairly well attested in Classical Latin itself (<humerus>, <humidus>,
<ahenus>), not to mention the early loss of /h/ in colloquial/rustic
Latin and the occasional confusion of initial /V-/ and /hV-/ in
inscriptional Latin even before the end of the Republic. As opposed to
Latinised <Hermanaricus>, we only have OE Eormenric, ON Jörmunrekr;
there is no vernacular Germanic version with initial /h-/. That, as well
as the long /a:/ in the medial syllable, militates against connecting
<Germa:nus> with *ermVna-.
Piotr