palach

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Jules Levin wrote:

> Robert Chandler wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> Does anyone have any ideas as to how to translate 'palach', when
>> his role is not to execute someone but to whip them?
>>
> Two comments: re etymology From memory I think this was cited as a
> spelled akanye word, i.e., it "should" be "polach", leaving us with
> a root *pol- + the common Russian agent suffix -ach.

Why not *pal- as in палка?

Though Vasmer does think this less likely:

GENERAL: род. п. -а́, стар. полачь, Аввакум 163, Сказание о Соломоне, 
Пам. стар. лит. 3, 60, XVII в. Обычно возводят к тур. раlа "меч, кинжал" 
(Радлов 4, 1162); *раlаčу "меченосец" не засвидетельствовано; ср. Мi. ЕW 
230; ТЕl. 2, 138. Возм., выравнено по словам на -ачь (ср. труба́ч и под.; 
см. Преобр. II, 7). Менее вероятно сближение с па́лка, па́лица (Ильинский, 
ИОРЯС 23, 1, 152).

TRUBACHEV: [Унбегаун (BSL, 52, 1957, стр. 173) объясняет из пали́ть. -- Т.]

<http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?baseid=+2&root=/usr/local/share/starling/morpho&morpho=1&text_any=палач&method_any=substring&sort=unsorted&ic_any=on&first=1>

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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