From: dalmatia@eburg.com
Date: Wed Jul 01 1998 - 10:35:14 EDT
Carl W. Conrad wrote:
> Actually Ken Tolliver is quite
> right: the root is *KU- and the -N- is a common nasalizing verbal formative
> element for present-tense forms.
Well, so much for my 'dog' theory!! And I'm not going to jump to the
conclusion that a dog is a nasalized kiss either ~ That inference will
take a HUGE arm twist!! :-)
I am wondering, however, if this might be one of those words that
plays on the tension between kiss and dog in their similarity of
sound. The idea of grovelling and getting down on the ground and
approaching someone in utter obeisance is certainly canine behavior,
whereas standing up, bowing the head slightly, and sending a kiss
toward someone with a gesticulation of the hand is much more a
respectful gesture between equals, and perhaps the word denotes this
entire range of behaviors, [including lip-o-suction of the toes!!].
I really do not know, obviously ~ Zodhiates simply says it might come
from the root meaning dog, upon which I initially posted that
derivation.
Are we limited to only one of the roots here?
George
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