Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱorkeh₂

This Proto-Indo-European entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Indo-European

Noun

*ḱorkeh₂ f

1. pebble, gravel, small stone

Descendants

• Proto-Indo-Iranian: *ćárkaraH
  • Proto-Indo-Aryan: *śárkaraH
    • Sanskrit: शर्करा (śárkarā, “gravel, grit, pebbles, shingle”) (see there for further descendants)
• >? Proto-Hellenic: *krókā (metathesis)
  • Ancient Greek: κρόκη (krókē, “pebble on the seashore”), κροκάλη (krokálē)
    • ⇒ Ancient Greek: κροκόδειλος (krokódeilos, “crocodile”, literally “pebble-worm”)

Unsorted formations

• ⇒ Sanskrit: कृकलास (kṛkalāsa, “lizard, chameleon”, literally “pebble-sitter”)

Further reading

• Pokorny, Julius (1959), “k̑orkā (k̑rokā?)”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 615: “Kies, Kiesel”
• Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), “?*k̂orkehₐ-”, in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 547: “pebble, small stone”