PIE *dom- 'household' (was Re: Gimbutas)

Well, but it is quite possible that the "physical" concept "the house = what is put up" got a more abstract meaning "those who dwell in a house = family". We see that in French where "maison" can apply to a dynasty reigning over a country. Ex: "la maison de France" = "the dynasty of the Bourbons"
A compound like *démH2pedom = "house floor" shows the original meaning of *démH2-, that I interpret as similar to the French verb "dresser" which can both mean "to put up" (ex: a pillar) and "to tame".

Olivier
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62259766/swerxmn-jeryom

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Tavi" <oalexandre@...> wrote:
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Tavi" <oalexandre@> wrote:
> >
> > A common BELIEF among Indo-Europeanists is that PIE *dom- 'household'
> > derives from *dem(h2)- 'to build'. But this view has been challenged
> by
> > some authors, e.g. Pierre Chantraine, who in his Dictionnaire
> > étymologique de la langue grecque, p. 292-293, remarks that this
> root refers to an
> > INSTITUTION ('dwelling place') rather than to a building ('house').
> With regard to this, it's
> > remarkable the compound *dem-s-pot- 'master of the house', with the
> > genitive form *dem-s-.
> >
> Émile Beneviste (Le vocabulaire des institutions
> indo-européenes) is on the same opinion.
>