Talk:кобь

Etymology

Aleksej Šaxmatov, as quoted by Vasmer, suggests that the Slavic word was loaned from Celtic (cf. Irish cob - victory). However, Vasmer rejects this theory. Is it acceptable to mention it? The uſer hight Bogorm converſation 19:55, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Šaxmatov's fantasies. There are only 2 or 3 possible Celticisms in Slavic, and this is not one of them. Celtic languages were not spoken at the area where Slavs expanded at that time they did. This word has disputed origin: possibly inherited from PIE (in which case whence also Old Irish and - believe it or not - English happen), and according to others that is totally vague and we're dealing with substratum word. Most IEist are very hesitant to postulate PIE reconstruction (sth like *kob- here) if the word is not attested in either of the 3 big guys (Sanskrit, Greek, Latin), which this isn't. --Ivan Štambuk 21:37, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, Vasmer mentions some dubious relation with Sanskrit kābavas, but nothing more unambiguous. Yet I am thinking of the Gallic invasion of the Balkans, when huge groups of Celtic people joined the indigenous Thracians, but there were no Slavs there at that time... They arrived one millenium later and I have no idea how long the Celtic people on the pæninsula may have præserved their language or if they were rapidly assimilated. The uſer hight Bogorm converſation 22:24, 9 December 2009 (UTC)