txakur/dzhagaru/cachorro....

[Eduard Selleslagh]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alberto Lombardo" <centrostudilaruna at libero.it>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 8:26 PM

> ES wrote:

> "<Carrasco> has all the characteristics of a somewhat complicated origin: it
> is almost certainly a compound, with the suffix -(V)sco, which can be IE but
> just as well Iberian or Basque, even though that wouldn't affect its meaning.
> I would guess that the Latin form is derived from a substrate word with /a/.
> The Spanish word cannot possibly be derived directly from the late-Latin
> form, because the Latin c would have become /T/ (English th), not /k/ [In Sp.
> cerro means 'small mountain, hill']. On the other hand, no such objection
> exists for It. cerro.  Could <carrasco> and Lat. cerrus /kerrus/ be related
> to a pre-IE root and/or Celtic, for a certain type of mountain landscape? In
> such case, the suffix -sko would make a lot of sense. Just a thought."

> I'd like just add that the suffix -asko is the more tipycal locative ligurian
> suffix; it seems to have had IE links. The meaning must have been "high,
> elevated place".

> Alberto Lombardo

[Ed]
I'm slightly surprised by your translation of '-asco'. Usually, -(V)sco (and
lg.-specific variants) is adjective-forming, generally indicating origin or
belonging to a category ( e.g. It. Francesco originally meant 'Frenchie') in
many European languages. In Basque the compound suffix -zko (instrumental -z
plus -ko of origin) plays a relatively similar role in e.g. 'burnizko', '[made]
of iron', 'iron (as an adjective)'.

Of course I have no doubt that Asco may mean 'height' in certain cases. In Old
Dutch toponyms we have (Ingwaeonic) 'Ast' (Any relation to [the spumante from]
Asti?), and possibly (Frankish) 'Assche' (now Asse), meaning the same thing.

Ed. Selleslagh