Re: Portuguese farpa "barb" < *bHardHa?

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao S. Lopes" <josimo70@...> wrote:

>
> Portuguese <farpa> means "barb", as in <arame farpado>, "barbed wire". Could be <farpa> related to barba "beard"? Usual etymologies consider it as from Arabian or Germanic.
>
>
> JS Lopes
>

The E word barb << barba, but in L the words barba = beard, and forfex = scissors are irregular, as regular changes of:

*
...
bhordha:
phortha:
forTa:
forfa:
forva:
forba:

would be expected, but isn't found.


An assim. f-v > f-f or v-v appears to be the cause (sim. to kW-p > kW-kW , etc.), so *farfa besides barba is just as likely as forfex, with rf > rp being regular in (some?, or opt./dia./irregular?) Romance a good possibility.