http://druidjournal.net/2006/06/30/taboos-in-proto-indo-european/ Guidance and Inspiration from Nature and the Ancient World. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:45:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://druidjournal.net/2006/06/30/taboos-in-proto-indo-european/#comment-15756 Druid Journal Word of the Day » Blog Archive » Hand Mon, 14 May 2007 11:25:52 +0000 http://druidjournal.net/2006/06/30/taboos-in-proto-indo-european/#comment-15756 [...] I discussed this at length last year in a couple of my first posts, Taboos in Proto Indo European and What did Hand Mean Before it Meant Hand?. I suggested that the Indo European god of the sun was associated with hands — both because of the strength and creative energy of the sun, and because the sun’s rays can be seen as its fingers — and because of this, the word men (hand) became holy — in fact, it became taboo, too holy to say. Because men was no longer available, possibly the ancient Proto Germanic speakers decided to use a euphemism to refer to their own hands; and they may have chosen the Proto Indo European root kandaz, meaning “brilliance” (and ancestor of candle and possibly kindle), so as to make the connection with the sun god clear, but not overt enough to be rude. But in Proto Germanic, a great many sounds had changed; so instead of saying kandaz, they said handaz. [...] [...] I discussed this at length last year in a couple of my first posts, Taboos in Proto Indo European and What did Hand Mean Before it Meant Hand?. I suggested that the Indo European god of the sun was associated with hands — both because of the strength and creative energy of the sun, and because the sun’s rays can be seen as its fingers — and because of this, the word men (hand) became holy — in fact, it became taboo, too holy to say. Because men was no longer available, possibly the ancient Proto Germanic speakers decided to use a euphemism to refer to their own hands; and they may have chosen the Proto Indo European root kandaz, meaning “brilliance” (and ancestor of candle and possibly kindle), so as to make the connection with the sun god clear, but not overt enough to be rude. But in Proto Germanic, a great many sounds had changed; so instead of saying kandaz, they said handaz. [...]

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