Aportaciones del vasco medieval a la reconstrucción del léxico protorromance

Abstract

Abstract The present paper addresses three particular issues in the reconstruction of the Proto-Romance lexicon, offering an insight from the field of Basque historical-etymological studies. In the evolution from Proto-Romance */ˈdɪk-t-u/ to Idio-Romance dit/dicho ‘said’, the variant *deito is not attested; the Basque word deitu ‘call, be named’, however, bears witness to the ancient existence of that form. In support of this, I offer further documental evidence of that form in a medieval Aragonese text. This paper also sheds light on the irregular vocalism of Gascon puts ‘well’, which does not show the regular evolution */ˈʊ/ > /o/. I will argue that the metathesis of a glide may have prevented that change from taking place; again, data regarding some medieval variants of Basque putzu ‘well’ will prove crucial in settling the question. In a final note, the dialectal persistence of some archaic semantic values of a Proto-Romance word, */ˈnɛk-e/ ‘violent death’, */neˈkat-u/ ‘kill’, will be assessed with the help of the Basque evidence.