*gwh in Gmc.

[Rich Alderson]

On 18 Dec 2000, Douglas G Kilday wrote:

> On the other hand I would remove "wolf"; Lat. <lupus> argues against a
> labialized stop. Gk. <lukos> probably results from taboo-substitution by an
> epithet 'bright-eyed', 'shining-eyed' or the like. I would refer "wolf" to
> PIE *wlpos. Making all attested forms into taboo-variants, as Mr. Watkins
> does, is an unnecessary shell-game.

Since Latin frequently borrowed vocabulary from p-Italic sources (cf. _bo:s_ <
*g{^w}o:ws), _lupus_ is irrelevant in an argument against a labiovelar here.
The /k/ in Greek _lukos_ is regulrly derived from *k{^w} ("labiovelars > velars
next to pre-Greek *u"), and the velars in the Slavic and Indic cognates
*require* a labiovelar.

Thus, your *wlpos poses more questions than it solves, in contradistinction to
the standard *wlk{^w}os.

								Rich Alderson