Hi!
This caught my attention today because its etymology doesn't seem to add up in my mind.
Some linguists attest "a domoli" (which in English would be translated as "to assuage/appease") to the Slavic maliti. Maliti means "to shrink/to belittle" in Slavic languages. Others (like Tiktin) don't accept a Slavic etymology and would rather class the word as having an unknown etymology.
I wonder; is the Romanian word d(e)o- + moale (“soft”; from Latin mollis) a possible etymology? Is there a possible connection to the English word mollify (to ease a burden; from Latin mollire)?
I think that the word resembles the Latin mollire much more than the Slavic maliti and in addition, the meaning is much closer to mollify. What do you guys think?
robbie
This caught my attention today because its etymology doesn't seem to add up in my mind.
Some linguists attest "a domoli" (which in English would be translated as "to assuage/appease") to the Slavic maliti. Maliti means "to shrink/to belittle" in Slavic languages. Others (like Tiktin) don't accept a Slavic etymology and would rather class the word as having an unknown etymology.
I wonder; is the Romanian word d(e)o- + moale (“soft”; from Latin mollis) a possible etymology? Is there a possible connection to the English word mollify (to ease a burden; from Latin mollire)?
I think that the word resembles the Latin mollire much more than the Slavic maliti and in addition, the meaning is much closer to mollify. What do you guys think?
robbie