Re: Greek hippos < ek^wos... or not?

From: Joao S. Lopes
Message: 70992
Date: 2013-02-26


> >
> Actually, Gamkrelidze-Ivanov mentioned a possible protoform *s´ik´wo-, where *s´ is their own "compact sibilant" (a rough counterpart of my own sound law regarding post-velar fricatives), giving *s- > h- in Greek and zero elsewhere, but I find little support for it.
>
> In my opinion, Greek -pp- doesn't come from *-kWkW- (which I find rather absurd) but from *-kWw- resulting from regressive assimilation of *-k´w-. Hence *-kWw- > *-pw- > -pp- by reduction and progressive assimilation (possibly these two changes were synchronic) as in *-k´w- > -kk-.

In my opinion, the Macedonian royal name Bilippos (Hellenized as Phil-) points to Mac. as the source of _hippos_, the internal consonantism being PIE *-k^w- > centumized *-kW- > Ill.-Lus. *-kkW- > P-Ill. *-kp- > Mac. *-pp- (with the -kp-stage actually attested in Lukpeio on Paeonian coins, as mentioned earlier).

It sounds interesting, but the presence of *iqo in Mycenean points to an age older than Macedonian-Greek contact, doesn't it? Unless we infer that Mycenean *hiqwos and Macedonian *hikpos/*hippos share  a common source.

JS Lopes