sidus, sideros, oh my

topic posted Fri, September 9, 2005 - 8:46 AM by  jheem
Latin sidus, sideris, 'star, constellation' is sometimes compared with Greek sideros 'iron', but they're probably not related. First, that intitial /s/ in Greek is problematic. Cognate words in Latin like sol 'sun' and sal 'salt', begin with rough breathing /h/ in Greek: helios and hals respectively. Some have connected Latin sidus with Germanic words for silver and slag, but it's usually traced back to PIE *sueid- 'to glow'.
posted by:
jheem
SF Bay Area

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