--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@...> wrote:
>
> This seems to belong with Gk. aló:pe:ks, MPer. ro:pa:s, Skt. lopa:s'á-,
> Arm. alue:s. The exact reconstruction is problematic, but it should be
> separated from the 'wolf' word.
>
IMHO these 'fox' words should be analyzed as compounds with a shared second member but with different first members:
*wºlp- 'wolf' > Germanic
*wulfa-z 'wolf', Latin
vulpes, Lithuanian
vilpis^y:s 'fox', Avestan
urupis 'dog'
*h2lVp- 'wolf' > Latin
lupus 'wolf', Greek
aló:pe:ks, Armenian
alue:s, Letonian
lapsa, Avestan
raopis, Sanskrit
lopa:s´á: 'fox'
In addition to these, there's a root
*wºlk- found in several IE languages, although not Germanic nor Latin. Possibly all these roots derive from a common ancestor
*HulVkW- with
*kW- > *p- at an early date.