Latin and Slavonic for `moon'

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/20/99 11:16:23 PM, Peter wrote:

<<I have always taken "gnotos" to be from *g'nh3 (to know) and "genea" to be
from *g'nh1 (to give birth etc).   Are you suggesting the same origin for
them both?   Or that the "know" word had h1?   Or have I missed something?>>

I'm not sure.  I'm presuming that both are derivative of *gen- or *gen(-H-)
(or the *gno- I see occasionally.)  It seems relevant however that "gnotos"
is used to refer both to knowledge and kinship by Homer. ("kin and ken".)
If the difference between the two connotations was expressed earlier or later
with h1 and h3, it doesn't seem to show up in Homer's "gnotos" (later
"gnostos.")

To make it worse, "gignomai" (later ginomai) will mean to be born - but can
mean things like join up, but "gignosko" (later ginosko) usually means to
know in a number of senses, including to be familiar with.  (But also to
know, fut. in Homer: "gnosomai".)  But it seems "gignomai" in the passive
reverts to "gegenemai."  Hard to keep track of.  And I don't know if any of
these stems reflect the h1 and h3 difference.

[ Moderator's comment:
  No.  There are two different roots here, *gno:- = *gn{e/o}H_3 "know" and
  *genH_1 "beget, give birth".  The verbal adjective collapses due to sound
  change in Greek, but the very data you provide show the difference.  Compare
  Latin (g)no:sco: vs. genus, Skt. jn~a:-ta- "known" vs. ja:-ta- "born".
  --rma ]

I brought up "genea"/"genos" because it appears to exist alongside of
"gnotos" in Homer and both are used to refer to kin or relatives.  (Alongside
btw of things like "goneus"> father, parent.)  I haven't had the time to see
if all this is just the result of Homer's multiple dialects, but now I'm just
trying to get an idea of the chronology of how /gno-/ travelled.

[ Moderator's note:
  Compare the English phrase "kith and kin", originally "those known and those
  related", not "relatives" only.  "kith" < *gnoH_3, "kin" < *genH_1.
  --rma ]

Is h1 versus h3 supposed to be connected with the absence or presence of the
gen-/gn- transposition?  Where does the h1/h3 distinction come from in the
*g'n- reconstruction?  Is it from Hittite or Sanskrit?

[ Moderator's response:
  It represents two difference consonants which explain the difference in vowel
  quality in the descendant forms.  See Saussure, _Me'moire_.
  --rma ]

Hope this makes sense.

Regards,
Steve Long