Re: park, was *pVs- for cat

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "dgkilday57" <dgkilday57@...> wrote:

>
> A possible Celtic parallel is *garr- 'leg, part of the leg' in Welsh <gar> 'thigh, ham, haunch', Breton <gar> 'leg', Old Irish <gairri> 'lower legs, calves', and probably (from Celtiberian *garra) also Arag., Nav., Cat. <garra> 'leg', probably (from Gaulish) also Prov. <garra> 'ham, hock, hough'. This has no clear IE etymology but I believe it can be derived from West Mediterranean *garra 'branch' vel sim., generally 'ramifying part', also 'nexus of ramifying parts', whence Sp. <garrancho> 'broken branch', Sp./Pg. <garra> 'claw, talon', Basque <garro> 'octopus's tentacle'.
>

IMHO this are a case of homonymous words. While Celtic *garrV 'leg' and Basque garro, erro 'tentacle' are possibly connected to *garra- 'branch', this is in turn a straightforward derivation from PIE *gers- 'branches, bushes'.

On the other hand, Spanish garra 'claw' (not 'talon') is most likely a Vasco-Caucasian loanword (i.e. "West Mediterranean" in your own terminology).