non-IE/Germanic/h

[Max W Wheeler]

On Sun, 7 Mar 1999, Rick Mc Callister wrote:

[ moderator snip ]

> 	This word resembles Spanish falda "skirt, flank"--which
> unaccountably begins with /fV/; which, as anyone who was studied
> Ibero-Romance knows, is a no-no. Is there an Old Castilian, Gasco'n or
> Aragone's form /*alda, *alde/ ?

Sp. falda is a Germanic borrowing into Romance (It., Oc., Cat., Ptg,
falda). Coromines suggests from Frankish *falda `fold', cf OHG falt. ME
fald, related to Goth falthan, OHG faldan, OE fealdan, ON falda `to
fold'; related by Onions to PIE *pel/*pl- with a *-t- extension; cf. Gk
dipaltos, diplasios `twofold', haploos `simple'; Lat plicare `to fold'.

Perhaps if we want to advance this 'research programme' we should impose
on ourselves a self-denying ordinance against etymologizing off the
cuff.

Max
___________________________________________________________________________
Max W. Wheeler <maxw at cogs.susx.ac.uk>
School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1273 678975; fax: +44 (0)1273 671320
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