--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Tavi" wrote:
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" wrote:
> > --- Tavi wrote:
> > > NEC *XHVr[ts´]V 'marten; otter'
> > > Altaic *karsi 'fox, marten'
> > > Unfortunately, this word isn't "PIE" (i.e. Kurganic) at all,
> > The evidence says otherwise.
> Not "the evidence" but the *ortodox theory* of which you're such a fervent supporter.
The evidence is:
Sanskrit _r.'ks.a- 'bear'
Avestan _ars^a_ 'bear'
Ossetian _ars_
Armenian _arj_
Albanian _ari_
Greek _árktos_ (later _árkos_)
Middle Irish _art_
Welsh _arth_
Gaulish _Deae Artioni_
Latin _ursus_
Hittite _hartka_ (presumed to mean 'bear')
This looks pretty 'Kurganic' to me.
A cluster -rtk- or -rtk^- invites irregular development, though the development here doesn't seem so irregular. The greatest irregularity is the initial /u/ of Latin _ursus_, which appears to lack an explanation.
Richard.