A. A. Trofimov On the etymology of PIE *ku̯sep- ‘night’ (pp. 899–909)

Author

A. A. Trofimov (Lomonosov Moscow State University)

Pages\n 899–909

Summary\n

In this paper we examine the PIE root *ku̯sep- ‘night’ which is reconstructed on the basis of Hitt. išpant- ‘night’; Old Indic kṣap- ‘night’, Avestan xšap-, xšapan-, xšapar- ‘night’; Greek ψέφας ‘gloom, darkness’ and is treated as the most ancient PIE root designated night by some researchers. We study Hittite words containing (or probably containing) triconsonantal initial clusters in their protoform. Our analysis shows that such clusters were not simplified by a drop of the initial consonant. Instead of that an epenthetic vowel appears between the two first consonants. Some facts demonstrate it was also the case for Proto-Indo-European (compare Greek πεπτός and Latin coctus ‘cooked’ < *peku̯-tó-). It means that the traditional etymology for Hittite išpant- ‘night’ is weak. We also consider the problem of the non-regular sound correspondense IIr. P ~ Greek φ. It is demonstrated that Greek φ can not continue PIE *ph2- as some scholars argue. That is why the connection between Old Indic kṣap- and Greek ψέφας is uncertain. To sum up we think that it is best to treat Hittite, Greek and Indo-Iranian words separately.

Keywords\n

Initial clusters, triconsonantal initial clusters, etymology, Proto-Indo-European, Hittite

References\n

1. Kas'yan A. S., Sidel'tsev A. V. Khettskiy yazyk [Hittite]. Yazyki mira. Reliktovye indoevropeyskie yazyki Peredney i Tsentral'noy Azii [Languages of the World: Relict Indo-European languages of Western and Central Asia]. M., 2013. (In Russ.).
2. Nikolaev A. S. Issledovaniya po praindoevropeyskoy imennoy morfologii [Studies in Indo-European Nominal Morphology]. SPb., 2010. (In Russ.).
3. Starostin G. S. Yazyki Afriki. Opyt postroeniya leksikostatisticheskoy klassifikatsii. T. 1. Metodologiya. Koysanskie yazyki [Languages of Africa: A New Lexicostatistical Classification, vol. I: Methodology. Khoisan Languages]. M., 2013. (In Russ.).
4. Beekes R. S. P. The Development of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Greek. The Hague; Paris, 1969.
5. Beekes R. S. P. H2O. Die Sprache, 1972, Bd. 18.
6. Beekes R. S. P. Etymological Dictionary of Greek. In two volumes. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2010.
7. Benveniste E. Hittite et indo-européen. Études comparatives. Paris, 1962.
8. Carruthers C. H. More Hittite words. Language, 1933, vol. 9.
9. Chantraine P. Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque. Histoire des mots. Paris, 1968–1980.
10. Eichner H. Die Etymologie von heth. mehur. MSS, 1973, Bd. 31.
11. Fick A. Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Grundsprache. Göttingen, 1868.
12. Fraenkel E. Litauisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. Bd. I. Heidelberg; Göttingen, 1962.
13. Frisk H. Suffixales -th- im Indogermanischen. Göteborgs Högskolas Årsskrift, 1936.
14. Furnée E. J. Die wichtigste konsonantische Erscheinungen des Vorgriechischen. The Hague; Paris, 1972.
15. Goetze A. On the Hittite words for ‘year’ and the seasons and the ‘night’ and ‘day’. Language, 1951, vol. 27.
16. Goetze A., Pedersen H. Muršilis Sprachlähmung. Danske Vidensk. Selskab, hist.-filol. Meddelelser 21/1. København, 1934.
17. Pokorny J. Indogermanisches etymologishes Wörterbuch. Bern und München, 1959.
18. Kammenhuber A. Hethitisch, Palaisch, Luwisch und Hieroglyphenluwisch. Altkleinasiatische Sprachen (= Handbuch der Orientalistik, 1. Abt., 2. Bd, Lfg. 2). Leiden; Köln, 1969.
19. Kassian A. Anatolian *meyu- '4, four' and its cognates. Voprosy yazykovogo rodstva [Journal of Language Relationship], 2009, no. 2.
20. Kassian A., Yakubovich I. The Reflexes of IE Initial Clusters in Hittite. Anatolian languages (AHL Studies in the Science and History of Language 6). Shevroshkin V., Sidwell P. (eds.). Canberra, 2002.
21. Kuiper F. B. J. Two Rigvedic loanwords. Sprachgeschichte und Wortbedeutung: Festschrift Albert Debrunner; gewidmet von Schülern, Freunden und Kollegen. Redard G. (ed.). Bern, 1954.
22. Kloekhorst A. Etymological dictionary of the Hittite inherited lexicon. Leiden; Boston, 2008.
23. Kuryłowicz J. L’apophonie en indo-européen. Wrocław, 1956.
24. Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. London and Chicago, 1997.
25. Mayrhofer M. Die Fortsetzung der idogermanischen Laryngalen im Indo-Iranischen. Wien, 2005.
26. Pedersen H. Hittitische Etymologien. Archiv Orientalny, 1933, no. 5.
27. Puhvel J. Hittite etymological dictionary. Volume 2: Words Beginning with E and I. Berlin; NY, 1984.
28. Puhvel J. Hittite etymological dictionary. Volume 4: Words Beginning with K. Berlin; NY, 1997.
29. Rieken E. Untersuchungen zur nominalen Stammbildung des Hethitischen. Wiesbaden, 1999.
30. Schindler J. A thorny problem. Die Sprache, 1977, Bd. 23.
31. Tischler J. Hethitisches etymologisches Glossar. Teil I. A-K. Innsbruck, 1983.
32. Watkins C. I-E ‘star’. Die Sprache, 1974, Bd. 20.