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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: Is there a doctor in the house?
Message-ID: <D1Iysr.Dx@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <3dptc6$nul@gordon.enea.se>
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 1994 14:26:50 GMT
Lines: 29

In article <3dptc6$nul@gordon.enea.se> sommar@enea.se (Erland Sommarskog) writes:
[re the Germanic cognates of the obsolete Russian _lekar'_ `physician']

>Now is the question: do we have the same word here, or do we
>have a coincidence?

The former.  Our Main Library is closed until 5 January, so I have no
access to Vasmer's Russian ED, but Aleksander Bru"ckner's Polish ED
says that the Old Slavic root _l&k_ is borrowed from Gothic (_le=keis_
`medical man', _le=kino=n_ `cure, heal'), which (or whose Old Germanic
ancestor) in turn is borrowed from Celtic (Irish _liaig_ `physician').

>[...] wouldn't we expect it in the West-Germanic languages?

The _OED_ lists the archaic verbs _leech_ and _lechne_, along with
more Old Germanic cognates (OE _la'cnian_, _l&'cnian_; ON _l&'kna_,
OTeut _l&=kino=jan_).

>Another question is the Polish -arz, this seems to be related
>to the Swedish -are or more generally the Latin -arium. Is that so?

It seems _-arI_ was a productive suffix already in Old Slavic.
I can't say anything about its etymology at the moment.

-- 
`Release Jesus wi this mob hangin aroon?  Nae chance!'  (The Glasgow Gospel)
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk, iad@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
