R: txakur/dzhagaru/cachorro....

[Alberto Lombardo]

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
Italy