----- Original Message -----
From: "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2003 1:19 PM
> > > > Richard:
> > > > The biggest problem I can see in relating Doerfer's *pOkUrz and
> PIE
> > > > *pek^u-
> > > > is that the <s> of Latin pecus is not part of the root.
> Germanic and
> > > > Indo-Iranian show only a stem in peku-. Latin has (citing just
> the
> > > > forms in
> > > > my pocket dictionary):
> > > >
> > > > 1. pecu: 'flock of sheep', stem pecu-, neuter.
> > > > 2. pecus 'cattle, herd, flock; animal', stem pecor-, neuter.
> > > > 3. pecus 'sheep, head of cattle, beast', stem pecud-, feminine.
> > > >
> > > > Only no. 2 has the right stem. Note that the final consonant
> has
> > > > developed
> > > > from /s/, with the nominative and accusative singular
> retaining /s/
> > > > becuase
> > > > it was not followed by a vowel.
> >
> > Mark:
> > > Look at pecor and pecud. * pecudh. From *dh I also derive both r
> and z.
> > > Now you have actually buttered my bread.
> >
> > Richard:
> > I strongly suspect the -d- and -r- (possibly once -s-) extensions
> are purely
> > Latin innovations. They are not unreasonable extensions from an
> animate
> > nominate singular 'pecus', which occurs in Latin, although the 4th
> > declension noun is neuter. As Pokorny is down, I can't double
> check the claims, alas.
>
> I-S 375:
> Proto-Nostratic **p'okwe "cattle"
> Proto-Indo-European *pekyu "bull, large horned cattle"
Is *pekyu is just another way of writing *pek^u?
> Proto-Altaic *p'oke-r "bull, large-horned cattle"
> Proto-Afro-Asiatic bkr "large-horned cattle, bull"
>
> borrowed? cf Semitic thawr > PIE *t(h)aur- "bull"

How does the 'r' of the Armenian cognate (at least of the IE forms) asr fit
into this? Does it at least relate to the -r- of Latin pecus despite what I
thought?

Richard.