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Additional Basque-English Comparisons Miguel Echegaray has shared with us several additional suggestions of possible etymological connections between Basque and English words (cf. Newsletters 14, p.3 and 16, p 2). Some words may echo the old European use of stone as a material for both implements and large monuments. English gavel, meaning both ‘a mason’s setting maul’ and ‘mallet of a presiding officer’ is usually thought to be of unknown origin, but may be compared to Basque gabi ‘hammer, mallet, sledge hammer, drop hammer,’ which seems to reflect a pre-Romance stem gab-. It has long been noted that several Basque words for hand-implements seem to be formed from the word (h)aitz ‘stone’, such as aizkora ‘ax’ and (h)aitzur ‘hoe’ (cf R. Gallop, A Book of the Basques, pp. 85-86). It is conceivable that English adz, adze (Old English adesa), also usually thought to be of uncertain etymology, may reflect a formation of this type. English moraine ‘deposit of boulders, stones, or other materials left by a glacier’ is a borrowing from the Savoyard dialect of French, moréna. Sr. Echegaray notes a possible connection of this word with Basque more, attested in place names, which seems to be an archaic word for ‘dolmen’ (cf. L. Michelena, Fontes Linguae Vasconum, vol. 1, pp. 19-27 [1969]). Other striking comparisons are made with English words of uncertain etymology. Busy (Old English bysig, bisig, with cognates in Dutch and Low German) is reminiscent of Basque bizi ‘alive, lively’ bizi izan ‘to live.’ Haze, formerly meaning ‘thick fog’ rather than the present ‘thin mist,’ resembles Basque (h)aize ‘wind.’ Giblet, from Old French gibelet ‘stew of wild fowl,’ suggests Basque gibel ‘liver,’ although a Germanic etymology is pointed to by some. And hurdy-gurdy, a name for various musical instruments played by turning a crank, can be thought of as related to Basque gurdi ‘cart,’ with a commonly found reduplication pattern. Bilbao Presented with Festschrift The Social Sciences Center of the Desert Research Institute and the Basque Studies Program co-hosted a reception in honor of Hon Bilbao on Thursday, January 26, 1978. The occasion was the formal presentation to him of Anglo-American Contributions to Basque Studies: Essays in Honor of Jon Bilbao, edited by William A. Douglass, Richard W. Etulain, and William H. Jacobsen, Jr. This Festschrift, or honorary volume, was released in December as No. 13 in the Desert Research Institute Publications in the Social Sciences series. The presentation was made by Dr. Don Fowler, the director of the Social Sciences Center. Mr. Harold G. Morehouse, Director of the University of Nevada Library, added his appreciation of Bilbao’s work in developing the Basque Collection. Friends and associates joined in this recognition of Jon Bilbao’s many years of contributions to Basque studies. |
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