Questions tagged [borrowing]
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5
questions
5
votes
1answer
162 views
βυκάνη < būcina: vowel reduction undone in borrowings from Latin?
So I've come across this word βῡκάνη, ostensibly borrowed from Latin būcina ('an ox-horn trumpet'), from bou- ('ox') + canere ('to sing'). The lack of vowel reduction is immediately striking; ...
5
votes
1answer
162 views
From which Greek dialect did Hebrew borrow *awēr* "air"?
The Hebrew for "air" is אוויר avir, earlier awīr or awēr. This is obviously a borrowing of the Greek word that appears in Attic as ἀήρ, and would be ἀϝήρ in other dialects. The Hebrew word must have ...
10
votes
1answer
724 views
When did the Romans start using Z?
Several of my recent questions have touched on the letter Z, which was introduced fairly late to the alphabet (it's disappeared from its Phoenician position and been added back in at the end, in its ...
5
votes
1answer
289 views
Are there any indeclinable adjectives?
I had until recently believed that only nouns could be "declinable" versus "indeclinable": most nouns follow set declensions patterns, while a few (mostly foreign, like Abraham from Hebrew, but some ...
10
votes
4answers
799 views
Aut "rex Azteca" aut "rex Aztecus"?
In Spanish, azteca as an adjective doesn't seem to inflect for gender, though it does for number: azteca, aztecas. Hence the phrase el rey azteca.
In Italian, azteco seems to be a perfectly regular ...
