Hittite <hurkis>/wheel

[JoatSimeon at aol.com]

>X99Lynx at aol.com writes:

>This is STRONG STUFF.  It certainly seems to NEGATE the idea - often repeated
>earlier on this list - that all IE languages shared a common word for wheel.

-- well, no, it doesn't.  As mentioned, Hittite 'hukri' derives from PIE
*hwergh, as does Tocharian A/B 'warkant' and 'yerkwanto'.

Tocharian A/B also have a reflex of PIE *kwekwlom, 'kukal' and 'kokale', and
possibly of *rotho, 'ratak'/'retke'.

What this suggests is that PIE had several words for wheel; as does English.

Some dropped out of one language or another, or were subject to semantic
shift. (Eg., in Sanskrit the reflex of *rotho becomes "chariot", rather than
"wheel".)

>The often repeated position was that "the wheel word" had to have entered PIE
>before it split up, because the word was univeral among IE languages.

-- "widespread", actually.

>And because the sound changes "the wheel word" underwent in those languages
>show the word entered before those sound changes occurred.

-- yup.

>seem to have DISAPPEARED completely.

-- nope.

>It may strike some readers as obvious that FOUR wheel words WILL NOT support

-- better than one, actually.  Also words for "wheeled vehicle" and "to
travel by vehicle".

>They can clearly see things with a certainty that is not revealed to us
>ordinary mortals.

-- only to linguists, apparently.