LL-L: "Symbols" LOWLANDS-L, 31.JUL.2000 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Edwin Michael Alexander [edsells at idirect.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Symbols" LOWLANDS-L, 30.JUL.2000 (03) [E]

At 05:07 PM 07/30/00 -0700, Antero Helasvuo wrote:
>  The Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary gives
>this ethymology: [1850­55; < Skt svastika, equiv. to su- good, well (c. Gk

>eu- EU-) + as- be (see IS) + -ti- abstract n. suffix + -ka secondary n.
>suffix].

With all due respect to Random House, other authorities suggest that it is
"sva" (self) + asti (3rd pers sing active of root as, "to be", i.e., "he
she or it is") + ka (like English "-ness" or HG "-keit").  How to
translate?  Perhaps "it is itself", i.e. it is complete and whole.  "Su",
by the way, is clearly not related to Gk "eu" (good).  "Su" is found in
many IE languages, as in "su-preme" (the highest first) and French "sous"
(above).

If Random House is right, then they must explain the Sandhi (elision rules)

which only yield sv-astika, when the word is svaastika (that is, with a
long middle "a" indicating that, according to Sandhi, two short "a"s have
elided.

And this is why we all say swastika and not sw at stika.

Ed Alexander
JAG REALTY INC.
80 Jones Street Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8R 1Y1
Pager: 905-545-0177  Fax: 905-525-6671 Email: edsells at idirect.com
Jag Realty Inc.: http://www.deerhurst.com/jag/
Ontario Ultra Series:  http://ous.kw.net/
Burlington Runners Club: http://www.deerhurst.com/brc/

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